What issue was the most important cause of the split between the eastern and western halves of christian church?

Answer 1

Philip SchaffIt in his 8 volume "History of the Christian Church" wrote the ultimate separation of the Greek and Latin Churches - "is due chiefly to three causes. The first cause is the politico- ecclesiastical rivalry of the patriarch of Constantinople backed by the Byzantine empire, and the bishop of Rome in connection with the new German empire. The second cause is the growing centralization and overbearing conduct of the Latin church in and through the papacy. The third cause is the stationary character of the Greek and the progressive character of the Latin church during the middle ages."

Answer 2

One thought:

As far as Christianity splitting into factions, the TRUE Christian Church has never split.

Before Jesus died, he'd set up the first congregation of Christians, to preach door to door, and teach people the truth about God's Kingdom and what it would do for mankind, and to collect together those who wanted to be obedient to God and follow his commands. (Matthew 28:18-20)(Matthew 24:14)(Luke 9:2&11)(Acts 20:20). There was one Christian Congregatin, ONE unified teaching, and ALL Christians spoke 'in agreement' (1 Corinthians 1:10)

Some time after John,the last of the apostles, died, the apostasy entered in(Acts 20:29-30) and many turned away from the true teachings and started their own churches, accumulating teachers for themselves who taught what they wanted to hear, and not what Christ had taught.(2 Timothy 4:1-5)

The true Christian Church continues to function worldwide, adhering closely to God's Word, but factions in disagreement continue to break away forming their own followings (Matthew 7:21-23) as was prophesied, until the end when God will step in.

Another thought:

Edited: That is a broad question, and could be answered by the split between Judaism and Christianity, the Lutheran split...what are you trying to learn?

Answer 3

Historical answer

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants.

They objected to ("protested") the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led to the creation of new national Protestant churches.

The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice-especially the teaching and the sale of indulgences or the abuses thereof, and simony, the selling and buying of clerical offices-that the reformers saw as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Church's Roman hierarchy, which included the Pope.

Martin Luther was shocked by the corruption of the clergy on a trip to Rome in 1510. Sixtus IV (1471-1484) established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, thereby establishing a new stream of revenue with agents across Europe.

Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance Popes. He fathered seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, by at least two mistresses.

Fourteen years after his death, the corruption of the papacy that Pope Alexander VI exemplified-particularly the sale of indulgences-prompted Luther to write the The Ninety-Five Theses, which he nailed to the door of a church at Wittenberg in Saxony.

Answer 4

the reason for the spilt is because in AD 330 Constantine left Rome to rule Constantinople today is called Istanbul. So now there were two leaders the emperor in the west and the pope in the east, at first they agreed but Christians in the west spoke Greek and loved new ways of thinking and Christians in the east spoke Latin and were very practical the bishops in the east started 2 speak of Christ in a new way, the emperor agreed with this but the Christians in Rome and pope did not. they did have much in common the creed was one of these things and in AD 1204 (i think it was) the pope added the phrase "and the son...." meaning that the holy spirit was also in the son (as well as the father). they a war started and at the end there was a spilt.

Answer 5

it was to do with the fact that king Henry VIII wanted to divorce wife catherine of aragon but the catholic church wouldn't allow it so he created the church of England, and from then on you could be catholic or protestant

Answer 6

Roman Catholic AnswerIt didn't and it is not possible. When our Blessed Lord established His Church, He guaranteed that It would be One until the end of the world. If God, Himself, is guaranteeing that it can not "split" then we can trust His Word. Nevertheless, the Orthodox, in the eleventh century, did leave the Church mostly over political reasons, so we can speak of a tragic split in the Church into two from that angle. To read more about the schism of the East, read the article below:

Answer 7

A dispute over the Nicene Creed.

Roman Catholic AnswerThe reasons that caused the Eastern Orthodox to split from the Church were many and varied, and built up over a very long time. They were mainly political. The reasons given today: the Filoque clause of the Nicene Creed, the use of unleavened bread in the West and leavened in the East, the primacy of Bishop of Rome, are all factors which have been given - after the fact, but were not the causes.

Answer 8

Catholic Answer
Christianity, by its very definition and creation by Our Blessed Lord can not "split in two", He said that It would be One. And thus it has remained. Tragically, the eastern Bishops went into schism and formed the Orthodox Churches in the eleventh century primarily due to political reasons. See the Catholic Encyclopedia article on The Eastern Schism.

Answer 9

The Great Schism, the split between the eastern and western halves of the Christian church, came about after many disagreements over a period of centuries. The trigger for the final split was the pope's unilateral insistence on inserting the filioque ("and the Son") clause in the Nicene creed, without the approval of a council of bishops. A contributing factor was the pope's attempt to insist that the eastern Church cease to ordain married priests, in line with Latin practice.

The two triggers and many of the earlier disagreements arose from the growing assertion by successive bishops of Rome to be the undisputed leader of the Church, while the eastern Patriarch considered each to be equals, but willing to accept the pope's claim to be a leader among equals.

Perhaps even more important as an issue was the language divide. The eastern Church spoke Greek, the language of the New Testament, while the western Church spoke Latin, and few western clergy ever learnt to read or speak Greek. To a considerable extent, each side simply failed to understand the other.

Answer 10

The most important issue was historical and political, there were almost no religious issues involved, until they were used as reasons after the split. The split goes way back into the first millennium. For a full discussion of the split and the many reasons for it, please read Vladimir Soloviev's book, The Russian Church and the Papacy.

from A Catholic Dictionary, edited by Donald Attwater, Second edition, revised 1957

The Schism of the East the estrangement and severance from the Holy See of what is now called the Orthodox Eastern Church was a gradual process extending over centuries. After a number of minor schisms the first serious, though short, break was that of Photius; from then on tension between East and West increased, and the schism of Cerularius occurred in 1054. From then on the breach gradually widened and has been definitive since 1472. There was a formal union from the 2nd Council of Lyons in 1274 until 1282, and a more promising one after the Council of Florence from 1439 to 1472. After the capture of Constantinople it was in the Turkish interest to reopen and widen the breach with the powerful Roman church; the patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem were dragged into this policy, Russia and the Slav churches stood out the longest of any: none of these churches, except Constantinople itself in 1472, formally and definitely broke away from the unity of the Church. But in the course of centuries the schism has set and crystallized into a definite separation from the Holy See of many million people with a true priesthood and valid sacraments. The origins, causes and development of the schism are matters of much complication, still not fully unraveled.

from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

Separation of the Christian Churches of the East from unity with Rome. The schism was centuries in the making and finally became fixed in 1054, when the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularisu (died 1059), was excommunicated by the papal legates for opposing the use of leavened bread by the Latin Church and removing the Pope's name from the diptychs or list of persons to be prayed for in the Eucharistic liturgy. A temporary reunion with Rome was effected by the Second Council of Lyons (1274) and the Council of Florence (1439) but never stabilized.