Main content
AP®︎ World History
Great Schism or East-West Schism part 2
After hundreds of years of increasing division between the Latin Church led by the Pope in Rome and the Eastern. Greek church led by the Byzantine Emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Great Schism in 1054 marks the beginning of the formal division between what will be known as the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Want to join the conversation?
- How did the Eastern Orthodox Church become the major religion in Russia? I saw in the video that parts of Crimea were controlled by the Byzantine empire, was that how the religion gained a foothold in the region?(3 votes)
- Missionaries from the Byzantine Empire spread the gospel of Jesus Christ northwards. People who came to identify with that gospel and faith did so according to the pattern through which the good news came to them, and were included in the Orthodox faith.(1 vote)
- One of the biggest differences between the Orthodox and the Catholic churches is that there is a Purgutory in Catholic church and it is kind of a place where people answer for their sins(get punished), hovewer, there is no purgutory in Orthodox church. And I am getting very confused in the internet looking for differences/comparisons of the Purgutory and Hell&Paradise. Can anyone help me please?(1 vote)
- According to the Catholic doctrine, all souls go to heaven. Purgatory serves as a transitional stage where sinners are purged of their sins before entering heaven.(2 votes)
- Were there any other sects of Christianity that were not involved in these conflicts?(1 vote)
- Coptic, Ethiopian, Nestorian, Syriac and other "further east" or African Christianities were not involved.(2 votes)
- What is are some of the differences now between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches?(1 vote)
- I have two questions, first in regards of the church itself, the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. Did the Eastern Orthodox elected another Patriach and split from the Catholic Churh?
Second, in regards to Melkite Greek Catholics, where do they stand in all this? They were Byzantine rites but who was their Bishop or Pope, following Rome or Constantinople?(0 votes)- The "Great Schism" did, indeed, grow from some theological differences, but it was also cultural, economic, political and social. From the Greek side, one would not say that the Eastern church "split off".
As for the Melkite Greek Catholics, I got the following from their web site: https://catholicexchange.com/an-introduction-who-are-the-melkite-greek-catholics
Within the Byzantine family of Churches is an Eastern Catholic community called the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. In a sense, and in the minds of many of the faithful, the Melkite Church understands herself as an orthodox church in communion with Rome, and a bridge between East and West, Catholic and Orthodox. Until the 18th century, Melkite Greek Catholics were members of the larger Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch throughout the territory known today as Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan, known then as ‘Greater Syria’. In the Middle East, under the Ottoman Empire, our Church was officially Orthodox, and not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. By the 16th and 17th century came Jesuit missionaries who preached and provided support for Orthodox Christians in Syria, and over time, within the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, arose a catholic party and an orthodox party, which culminated in the election of two Patriarchs: one leading many of the bishops, clergy and faithful to union with Rome, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and the other remaining in communion with the other Orthodox Churches, the Antiochian Orthodox Church.(0 votes)
Video transcript
- [Instructor] Now, the notion
of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Holy Roman Empire does not last much beyond Charlemagne. After his death, over the
course of the ninth century, his empire is broken up,
his successors are not able to carry on the title. But then we get into the 10th century. As you can see here, the
empire of Charlemagne is now broken up. The West, West Francia,
starting to resemble modern-day France, not quite exactly. And the eastern two thirds
are now under the control of Otto, a German king. And because of his ability
to offer protection, and frankly just his power, he is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. One of the reasons why
this is significant, once again, it's saying,
hey, the Byzantine Emperor isn't really the heir
to the Roman Empires. This Holy Roman Emperor,
but Otto is able to create a line of Holy Roman
Emperors that continues all the way until 1806
when they are conquered by Napoleon Bonaparte. Now, the Holy Roman Empire itself, and Voltaire famously said,
"It is neither holy nor Roman, "nor an Empire." Over various days in its
history is fragmented. It's many kingdoms with
different levels of autonomy. But under Otto, it was quite unified. Now as we get into the 11th century, the divide between East and West becomes even more pronounced. We've already talked about
this ongoing power struggle between West and East,
between which bishops have primacy over Christendom. We've talked about, hey,
who is the real heir to the Roman Empire? We've talked about Latin versus Greek. We've talked about the Germanic kings having influence now, and
really following the West. We've talked about the
notion of fo-lo-quay. And those aren't all of the issues. On top of that, you have
this notion of leavened and unleavened bread. Where in the West, in their
mass, when they are consecrating the bread to be viewed
as the body of Christ. They used unleavened
bread based on the belief that this is what Christ
used during the Last Supper. In the East, they said no, we have agreed to use leavened bread. And so this is one further tension. Even more than the actual
issues are the sense of, "Well, why do you think you have the right "to tell me what to do?" And as we get into 1053,
you have what are known as the Latin churches in
Constantinople being shut down by the patriarch of Constantinople. Patriarch Cerularius, or Carry-u-larius. Saying that, "Hey, these
guys are going against "what is actually
acceptable in Christianity." Now in retaliation, you have Pope Leo IX shutting down what would
be known as Greek churches and how they practice in
the Italian Peninsula. Either closing them down or forcing them to practice the way the Latins practice. Now there's a whole
complicated series of events as we go into 1053 and 1054. Letters are sent back and forth. Eventually, Pope Leo IX sends a delegation to Constantinople. Part of it is to see
if they can coordinate against Norman conquerors
on the Italian Peninsula. But part of it is also to make clear what Pope Leo IX believes,
that, "Hey, you have no right "to criticize us about
this unleavened bread. "You don't have authority over us. "I am the pope in Rome. "I have the seat of Peter,
first amongst apostles." And the leader of the delegation is a particularly proud
and principled individual. When they go to Constantinople, Patriarch Cerularius
doesn't even meet them. Essentially he's rebuffing their demands. And so because of that,
that delegation decides to excommunicate Cerularius, the Patriarch of Constantinople. The leader of what is now the most important church in the East. Remember, the other significant
centers of Christianity are now under Muslim rule. Well, in retaliation to
that, Patriarch Cerularius says, "Hey, you can't excommunicate me. "In fact, I'm going to excommunicate you." And he excommunicates the delegation. Excommunication says, "I am saying you "are no longer part of the church." Now, when all of these
cross excommunications are happening, many people
probably viewed this as, "Hey, this is just a power
struggle between folks, "probably not a big deal." But remember, this is over
centuries of increasing division. Not only do you have language division, in the West, you have a leaning towards these Germanic kingdoms. In the East, they say, "Hey,
we are the real Roman Empire." You have these issues of
fo-lo-quay, and other things. And this event in 1054
eventually gets known as the Great Schism,
or the East-West Schism because it only gets further
and further cemented. And they get only further
and further apart. As you get to the end of the 11th century, the Crusades begin. And we'll do more videos
detailing the Crusades. Where the Western kings
start sending folks at first on the surface to try to help
the Byzantines reconquer land from the Muslim empires. But even when they are successful, they don't give that land
back to the Byzantines. They actually set up Crusader kingdoms. And as they make their way
through the Byzantine Empire, they cause, for the most
part, a bit of a stir. They're not particularly respectful through the lands that they pass. And it really comes to
a point in 1204 where at the end of the fourth Crusade, the Crusaders actually decide,
even though the purpose was arguably to reclaim
land from the Muslims, the Crusaders decide to siege and sack Constantinople
itself and take over. Now a few decades later,
the Byzantine nobility is able to retake it. But that kind of cements the difference between the Latin and the Greek church. Known today as the Catholic Church, followed by roughly one
and a half billion people and the Eastern Orthodox Church, followed by roughly 250 million people.