The citizens of Constantinople gloried in the magnificence of the imperial palace, which was a token of divine favour. This was at the heart of that identification of empire and capital that was so important an aspect of Byzantine ideology. It fed the citizens’ sense of self- importance and was the cause of some resentment elsewhere. It raised the question of the new capital’s status in relation not only to the empire, but also to the church at large. The old established centres of Christianity, such as Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome, saw the church of Constantinople potentially as an instrument for imperial control of the church universal. Its prestige was for the moment limited by its lack of good apostolic origins and by its failure to develop any distinct doctrinal position, in contrast to Alexandria, Antioch, and Rome, in the so-called Christological dispute.