L’oíkonomía cristiana
L’oíkonomía cristiana

Summary/Abstract: Oíkonomía is reflected in the collective imaginary of Byzantine medieval society as a project of the imperial power and the ecclesia to distribute and administer symbolic and material goods representing the sacred image. It is at the same time a strategy for managing real historical situations, for easier overcoming social and spiritual crises, as well as ensuring the community's path to Salvation. The Byzantine imaginary coalesces around the glorified imperial power (a Roman heritage); but, since the emperor is “delegated” by God to rule the community of believers, he also has the duty to control the dissemination of the sacred image within the boundaries of the empire (a Christian addition). The collective imaginary is at the same time a mirror and a means of this divine “ministry”, blending faith and imperial ideology in a single construction to be preserved in the memory of the Christian community. In order to outline a possible conceptual genealogy of the Byzantine imaginary, I have followed an “archaeological” path of investigation and identification, as well as contextual analysis of certain notions like oíkonomía, eíkōn, and oíkonómos, but also of discursive formations or semantic micro-basins.

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