The Great Schism
The Great Schism was the rift that formed in the Church in the eleventh century AD (normally dated at 1054), leading to the "Roman Catholic" Church, hereafter known as the Western Church, and the "Greek Catholic/Orthodox” Church, hereafter known as the Eastern Church.
Before
The Church from the fourth century onwards had 5 patriarchs or heads, and each one governed a jurisdictional area: The Bishop of Rome, the Bishop of Alexandria, and the Bishop of Antioch. They were joined by the Bishop of Constantinople and by the Bishop of Jerusalem, both confirmed as patriarchates by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The patriarchs held authority over fellow bishops in the Church. Among them, the Bishop of Rome held a higher status, due to his position as the successor of Saint Peter. Moreover, the Pope was of particular importance, as Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire. Even after Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople in 330, the Pope retained his position as first among equals (primus inter pares) in the hierarchy.
Origins of Division
Due to the degree of paganism in Rome, Emperor Constantine created a new Christian empire, deciding to move the capital to Byzantium (later renamed Constantinople). Around this time, and shortly after this move, Germanic tribes began invading across Europe. This invasion plunged Europe into the "Dark Ages." The combination of economic and political turmoil, geographical distances, and linguistic differences created a rift that caused the eventual estrangement of West from East.
Theodosius the Great, who died in 395, was the last Emperor to rule over a united Roman Empire; after his death, his territory was divided into western and eastern halves, each under its own Emperor. By the end of the fifth century, the Western Roman Empire had been decimated by the barbarians, while the Eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) continued to thrive. Thus, the political unity in the Empire was the first to fall.
The Church became caught up in a series of disputes and conflicts that tested it’s resolve and resilience. The Church of Constantinople was the first to break. It wasn’t until the separation of some Eastern Churches, in 431 and 451, that a lasting break took place in 1054, the effects lasting to this day. The First Crusade started two centuries of battle between Christianity and Islam for control over the Holy Land and other Christian territories. Later, a struggle provoked by Church leaders led to division within the Church.
Theological differences had plagued the Eastern and Western churches since the Arian heresy. After the Nestorian heresy was condemned, which denied Mary’s role and Mother of God, some Eastern churches began to separate from the Western church.
Latin and Greek Languages
The dominant language of the West was Latin, while that of the East was Greek. Soon after the fall of the Western Empire, the number of individuals who spoke both Latin and Greek began to dwindle, and communication between East and West grew much more difficult. Western theologians did not have access to, nor could they read, the writings of the Eastern theologians. Because of this, most Western theology was based on a few key Latin theologians, whereas the East had numerous Greek theologians and did not have to focus on any particular theologian's teaching.
The flexibility of the Greek language (approximately ten times the vocabulary of Latin) allowed for more expressive and deeper writings. The decline of literacy in the West led to the clergy being the primary teaching authority. This is contrasted with the East where general education and more universities created a literate populace, and thus more lay theologians who played an active role in the church. With linguistic unity gone, cultural unity began to crumble as well.
The growing list of differences between East and West simply exacerbated the tensions. One of the most striking differences was that as new people were evangelized in the West, they had to use Latin as their liturgical and ecclesiastical language, while looking to Rome for leadership. On the other hand, missionaries from the East translated the Bible into the language of the people. When the new churches in the East became mature, they became self-governing and administratively independent from their mother church. In the West, Rome began to require all clergy to be celibate; whereas, in the East they retained married clergy.
Church and State
The churches differed in their views of relationship between church and state. The East accepted the emperor’s dominance, who was seen as the Vicar of Christ (title reserved for pope). Thus, it was his responsibility to call Church Councils, help settle doctrinal disputes and name the patriarch of Constantinople. In the West, the Pope had primacy over the church and claimed authority over government and society.
Iconoclast Controversy
During the 700’s, the Iconoclast Controversy took place. The Byzantine emperor Leo III condemned the worship of sacred images, believing it was a form of idolatry. He ordered the destruction of all icons, an act known as iconoclasm, and tried to impose a world-wide policy against the use of icons and sacred images on the church. The Pope disagreed with the emperor, saying that icons were an important part of Christian faith. The 787 Second Council of Nicaea supported the Pope, causing further tension between the East and West.
The Filioque
The East objected to Western changes in the liturgy, which it saw as innovations, such the use of unleavened bread for the Eucharist and the popularity of the Western Athanasian Creed. A dispute between the two churches arose when Emperor Photius condemned the Latin Church’s inclusion of the word filioque (“and from the Son”) in the Nicene Creed, accusing the church of heresy. The term differs from the Eastern church’s teaching that the Holy Spirit descended from the Father through the Son. Filioque was not part of the creed developed at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, yet the word continues to be one major difference between Eastern and Western Churches.
The Decisive Split
The two churches accepted the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, as the successor of Saint Peter. However, the Byzantine Church felt that this authority has been taken too far when the popes began to declare their authority over the whole church, including the Eastern church, taking power away from the patriarch of Constantinople. In 1054, Patriarch Michael Cerularius of
Constantinople declared that because of their differences, the two churches could not be in union. Pope Leo IX sent legates to meet with Cerularius, attempting to reach an understanding. The crisis peaked when Cerularius closed all Latin churches in Constantinople, excommunicated all priests who followed the Latin tradition, and halted the use of filioque in the Nicene Creed.
Pope Leo send a legate to Constantinople to issue a papal bull demanding Cerularius’s submission to the Pope. When he refused, the legate, with no authority to do so, excommunicated him. In turn, Cerularius called a council to condemn the Pope’s representative and excommunicate the Pope. He declared that he was in charge of the Byzantine church. Most Eastern churches sided with the patriarch.
Other Causes
• Disputes in the Balkans, Southern Italy, and Sicily over whether the Western or Eastern Church had jurisdiction.
• The designation of the Patriarch of Constantinople as Ecumenical Patriarch, which was understood by Rome as universal patriarch and therefore disputed.
• Disputes over whether the Patriarch of Rome, the Pope, should be considered a higher authority than the other Patriarchs, or whether he should be considered merely primus inter pares, "the first among equals."
• Following the rise of Islam as a political force, the relative weakening of the influence of the Patriarchs of Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria, resulting in Rome and Constantinople emerging as the two real power centers of Christendom, with often competing interests.
• The practice of celibacy began to be required for all clergy in the West, as opposed to the Eastern discipline whereby parish priests could be married if their marriage had taken place when they were still laymen.
Conclusion
So, while the filioque (“and the son”) controversy is often cited as the cause of the Great Schism, with the Eastern and Western bishops excommunicating each other, it was, in fact, only the breaking point. Differences, disagreements, and distance had been laying the foundation for the Great Schism for centuries. The Great Schism was essentially the “forerunner” of the Protestant Reformation, with a refusal to accept the unbiblical concept of the supremacy of Rome at its core.