Black People in Byzantine Society

By Apostolos Karpozilos

In Byzantine sources we do not find specific references to black people as a separate group that lived on the margins of Byzantine society due to their distinct color, their characteristics, their language or their culture. The sources, insofar as we know, do not seem to indicate the existence of a black people who were on the margins of society in urban centers or elsewhere, even during the period when the empire included areas of South Arabia and North Africa, with their mixed populations of nations and races.

Archbishop Iakovos and Martin Luther King Jr.

On March 26, 1965 Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America was featured with Martin Luther King Jr. on the cover of LIFE magazine. The New York Times reported, "The striking cover of Time magazine that showed Dr. King side by side with the black-garbed Archbishop Iakovos marked a new presence of Greek Americans and the Greek Orthodox church in American life."