Devotion, Miracles, and Power: The Religious Rhetoric of Resistance against the Ottomans

This paper considers the role of religious rhetoric in late Byzantine literature of resistance against the expanding Ottoman Empire. Drawing upon fifteenth-century siege accounts by authors like John Kananos, Demetrios Chrysoloras, John Anagnostes, and Gennadios Scholarios, it argues that as the military and political power of the Byzantine state waned, religious discourse became a tool for interpreting events and contesting official ideas of power. Public devotion and appeals to divine figures, particularly the Theotokos, constructed a collective identity centered around Orthodox faith in the face of overwhelming odds. Narratives of miraculous intervention are central to these texts, often explaining Byzantine survival or victory not through imperial might, which is frequently depicted as weak or ineffectual, but through direct divine action. This rhetorical move questioned old emperor-centric models of authority. Miracles could legitimize the Byzantine cause while simultaneously highlighting the ruler’s limitations, thereby shifting agency towards the divine and collective decision-making. Furthermore, the paper explores the theological explanation for defeat, where sieges are framed as divine punishment for collective sin. This rhetoric of divine justice was prominent in the laments that tried to make sense of catastrophe but also as a call for spiritual renewal. In sum, this paper argues that the religious rhetoric of resistance was not merely a devotional exercise but a document that echoed tensions in the Byzantine politics and society. It was used to negotiate and understand the trauma of defeat and construct new sources of power when traditional authority proved insufficient.