The Great Schism of
1054
How did we get here?
Christianity began as one church
around 33 AD with the
followers/apostles of Christ.
 Today there are three main branches
of Christianity:
 Roman Catholic
 Eastern Orthodox
 Protestant

The Normans are a Nuisance



Around 1020, the Normans (or Vikings)
invaded the Southern half of Italy.
Pope Leo IX of Rome tried to defeat the
Normans but lost badly.
The Normans captured the Pope and
began closing down churches in the
Southern half of Italy, which was
controlled by the Byzantine Empire.
Tension Rising



During the beginning of the 11th century,
there were already tensions between the
east and west.
After Diocletian divided the east and
western Roman empire, they had grown
apart because of distance.
When Christianity began, arguments
began over which diocese should be
considered the most powerful.
Starting a Fight




The Norman invasion caused problems
between the east and west.
The Byzantine churches spoke Greek and
had different customs than the Roman
church.
The Normans made the churches they
conquered use Latin rituals.
To get even, the Emperor in the east
made the Latin churches over there use
Eastern customs.
So What was the Big Deal?




There was already tension between the
Byzantine and old Roman Empire.
The Eastern priests could marry before
they became priests. Rome didn’t agree.
The Roman church used unleavened bread
in their mass. The east thought this was
too “Jewish”.
The Eastern church had Greek mass. The
Roman Church used Latin.
More Issues than Time Magazine



The priests of the two churches dressed
different.
The Eastern church worshipped icons that
represented religious figures. The west
saw this as idol worship.
The Two Major Issues



The Eastern churches did not like how the
Pope of Rome claimed himself to be the
head of the Christian church.
If anyone, the Eastern church believed the
patriarch (bishop) of Constantinople
should be the head.
In 1054, the final straw came when the
Western Church added the filioque to their
creed which included the “Holy Spirit” in
the Christian Trinity.
Childish Solution



In 1054, Pope Leo IX of Rome and the
Patriarch/Bishop of Constantinople
decided to excommunicate each other.
Excommunication is the worst punishment
a member of the Christian Church can
receive.
They are not allowed to receive
sacraments and have no hope of entering
heaven, according to Christian beliefs.
Creation of a New Church


The result of the 1054 Schism is the
division between the Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox Church.
The word Orthodox means dedication to
the traditional faith.

The Eastern church believed that they
followed traditional Christian beliefs and
unlike the Roman church with they viewed
as greedy and too close to Judaism.
Main beliefs of Eastern Orthodox
Church



Eastern Orthodox Christians are not
considered Apostolic (key word “apostle)
because they don’t follow the divinity of
St. Peter.
They do not recognize the supremacy of
the Pope.
The two churches have never gotten back
together but did reconcile their differences
in the 1900s.
Hagia Sophia