Soon, Serenus, having returned to Pontus, was granted an audience with his long-missed Caesar, Manuel, in a small office at the Trabzon Palace.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries and a joint prayer, the two conversed eagerly as they always did.
After sharing their respective activities over the past few months, Serenus, overcome with emotion, stood up from his wooden chair and exclaimed loudly, "Oh, Your Majesty, Holy Father above, why have you undertaken so many initiatives these past days?
I missed so many historical moments; isn't that such a pity?"
Manuel, seated in his chair, heard this and his lips twitched slightly, barely suppressing a smile. "You are right, but…"
Hearing Caesar's words, Serenus was full of curiosity.
However, Manuel did not continue as Serenus expected, but rather deflected his curiosity with a slightly humorous remark, "It's nothing; I forgot earlier, and I forgot later. Let's talk about something else."
Although Serenus was still full of questions, since Manuel had said so, he shifted the topic to other matters. "Speaking of which, Your Majesty, what do you think of church unification?"
"That depends on whether it's church unification led by the orthodox or church unification led by the Catholic," Caesar replied casually.
"Hmm, Your Majesty, I mean church unification dominated by the Roman Catholic Church."
"…"
Manuel fell silent, for he recalled a major religious-political event that, in his previous life's true history, seemed to be unfolding at this very moment: the Council of Florence.
In the true history of 1439, at the Council of Florence, presided over by Pope Eugene IV, the then East Rome Emperor John VIII sent envoys to agree to the Pope's initiative for religious unification, seeking the Catholic world to launch a Crusade to relieve Constantinople's predicament.
Ultimately, Constantinople agreed to Rome's demands, assenting to the initiative for religious unification led by the Catholic Church; and the Catholic world, for its part, kept its promise, inciting a grand Crusade led by monarchs such as Władysław III, King of Poland and Hungary, with the intention of expelling the Ottoman from the peninsula west of the Bosporus, and incidentally rescuing the "former" Eastern Orthodox believers who had nominally unified religiously.
Then came the well-known defeat at Varna, where even the most proactive Władysław III was beheaded by the Ottoman on the spot.
After the Battle of Varna, Constantinople was essentially waiting for death.
And the subsequent defeat at Kosovo ① further solidified the Ottoman's hegemonic position in Eastern Europe.
But this was also the last chance, Manuel thought with a serious expression.
He had originally been concerned that his rather reckless expansion in Asia Minor might trigger a butterfly effect, leading to the so-called convergence of timelines ②.
Now, it seemed he might have overthought it?
No, that's not right!
If so, would Varna still happen?
Then all his efforts over the years would be for naught!?
Upon realizing this, Manuel's heart was completely panicked.
This was even slightly evident on his face now, making him look somewhat like a saint whose faith had collapsed.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?" Seeing Manuel's expression, Serenus was utterly bewildered.
He had never imagined that Manuel would be filled with such indignation and worry over church unification.
Could it be that Caesar, who usually seemed to view the clerical class with only utilitarian motives, surprisingly possessed a devout soul?
Just as Serenus was pondering the extent of his Emperor's piety, the other party had already regained his original composure.
"It's nothing, I just overthought some trivial matters. Let's continue discussing church unification."
Although he still had doubts, Serenus now had to temporarily suppress his many questions and continue discussing the matter of church unification.
As he recounted parts of his conversation with Moria Despotate Constantine, Manuel gradually entered a state of stroking his chin, deep in thought.
In Manuel's eyes, even without temporarily considering unpredictable military and political major events like Varna or Kosovo, the so-called church unification was a paradoxical sugar-coated bullet.
In true history, John VIII and his successor Constantine XI suffered many setbacks in domestic and foreign affairs because they accommodated church unification dominated by the Catholic Church.
For example, the Hesychast faction ③, which held considerable influence in East Rome during this period, repeatedly interfered with the various administrative measures of these two Basileus, including but not limited to various counter-arguments on religious matters, uniting Constantinople citizens to accuse the Emperor of blasphemy, and so on.
At first glance, these clerics and citizens seemed like a bunch of rebellious traitors, but the opposition of the Hesychasts and other factions to the Emperor was not purely for their own self-interest.
Because, in fact, the Constantinople Emperors' subservience to the Pope ultimately only brought about an advantage in public opinion within the Catholic world and the tragic defeat at Varna.
And due to their concessions in the religious sphere, until 1453, the Constantinople orthodox Church and its believers were, in a sense, in an awkward position where all their statuses were inferior to that of the Roman Patriarch, with the result that by the end of church unification, even Lucas Notaras, the last minister of the Palaiologos Dynasty, couldn't help but utter that famous quote:
"I would rather see the Turk's turban than the Pope's triple crown."
Despite Lucas Notaras being a pragmatist in religious-political matters, advocating for church unification and alliance with the West.
Not only domestically, but abroad, the orthodox Patriarchs of Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch ④ also jointly opposed the results of the Council of Florence.
And Isidore, the Metropolitan of Moscow who also participated in this Council, was dismissed and exiled by Grand Prince Vasily II "the Blind" of Moscow for advocating unification, despite the Grand Prince initially clearly supporting it.
In summary, Manuel truly did not want to express any support for this so-called church unification.
However, because the Eastern European Catholic countries might launch a Crusade as in true history, he was not very keen on opposing it either.
Religion is truly troublesome, Manuel thought.
Out of this thought, in the end, he merely brushed off the topic with Serenus, stating his lack of interest in matters without benefit.
This made Serenus grumble inwardly: even for a devout believer, ignoring this issue was too much of a pity; he had spent a lot of effort convincing Constantine to let Manuel participate in the church unification process.
However, Caesar did not notice his indignation, but instead bent down to retrieve something from under the table.
"Alas, I might not necessarily not participate.
But since you are back, I believe it is necessary for me to have you re-engage in the 'process of history.'"
Although he didn't know why, as soon as Serenus heard this quietly altered self-appellation, he couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end with a shiver.
As this thought just surfaced in his mind, the esteemed Manuel brought out a stack of paper files as tall as his waist from under the table.
"Come, these are all the tasks you've missed during this period.
In the next few days, you will surely remember this joyful time of 'participating in history.'"
"Your Majesty, no!!!"