What led to the split in the Christian Church in 1054?

Answer 1

Answer

The Eastern Schism in 1054 had a long and troubled history, it was mostly over politics. For more details see the two brief paragraphs below:

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

Answer 2

The split of Chrisianity 1054The title of Pope was not used until the fourth century; until then the title was "Bishop of Rome." The first papal see was traditionally the Apostle Peter, who had been martyred in ROme in AD 67. It is from this that the popes claimed the authority of represtenting Christ in the Chruch, becoming the rulers of all Christendom. For the frist five centruies of Christianity the bishops of Rome ahd shared the leasership of the Church with the other bishoprics in the Eastern Empire, but as these ancient churches were lost to the spread of Islam, Rome found itself at the center of the Chirstian Church. The first significant pope was Leo I (440-461), who successfully deffened Rome from Attila "The Hun" and the Vandlas. He was later follwed by Gregory I (590-604), who reformed the systems and ritual of the Church and who gave his name to Gregorian chants. The Church, now led by the papacy, became stronger in part due to the churches placing themselves under Rome's protection from either the growing Frankish Empire or the comtinued threat of Islamic incasion. The other major center of Chirsianlity was at Constantinople, where the practice of worship had begun to differe from that of the western Christians. in 1054 Chrisitanity separated into two sitinct froms, Catholic in Western Europe and Orthodox in parts of eastern Europe, Russia and Near Asia. Doctrinal ReasonThe filioque dispute; in the West at (I think) the Council of Carthage the word filioque, meaning "and the son", was added to the Creed of Nicea to emphasise the dual progession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the son. This was done to highlight the destinction between orthodox Christianity and the hetrodox Arian sect that was very powerful in Visigothic Spain.

The Eastern Church was unaware of this addition at the time as Carthage was not an Ecumenical Council and it became a block to the unification of the Patriarchates of the East with that of the West.

Answer 3

The year 1054 marked the split in Medieval Christianity into Eastern and Western branches, also known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. This split is sometimes referred to as the East-West Schism or the Great Schism.

Answer 4

The Great Schism of 1054 AD had three main causes, which were: 1) Papal claims of supremacy, 2) the change to the Creed (adding the 'filioque'), and 3) Papal teachings about purgatory and indulgences.

In addition to these, there were a few other lesser reasons, such as the use of unleavened bread, the laity receiving communion as bread only, rather than bread and wine together, the separation of baptism and confirmation, and the compulsory celibacy of Catholic clergy, the use of statues, and not allowing divorced people to re-marry. However, most other beliefs about the Christian faith remain the same.

The reasons for the East/West schism are complicated and developed over a period of many centuries; even the date of 1054 is largely symbolic of a process that started much earlier and ended much later. There were cultural, linguistic, and liturgical differences from rather early, and although these were never seen as church-dividing, they probably contributed to mutual misunderstandings. The two biggest issues were the addition of the word filioque (and the Son) to the Western text of the Creed, and the growth of papal power. In addition were a host of smaller conflicts, over matters such as the use of leavened bread vs. unleavened bread for the Eucharist, fasting on Saturday, etc. The schism was probably inevitable by the ninth century, but a case can be made that it was not "final" until the East repudiated the reunion Council of Florence in 1453. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Historical background During the period of persecution, the Early Christian Church developed differently according to the part of the Roman Empire; the Church in the East developed differently from the West and the Church in Africa (Copts) differed again. After the legalisation of Christianity, the Church came to accept that there were 3 main leaders (Patriarchs): the bishops of Alexandria, Antioch and Rome. To these were added the bishop of Constantinople (by the Council of Constantinople in 381) and the bishop of Jerusalem (by the Council of Chalcedon in 451). With Constantine's transfer of the capital of the Empire to Constantinople, the Empire was effectively split into two sections: East and West. (Diocletian formally divided the Empire into 2 sections in early part of the 4th century) The Church When the western part of the Empire fell into decay, and was eventually overrun by invaders, the political, judicial and social responsibilities of its officials were assumed by the leaders of the Church in the West, centred on Rome. Inevitably, this dual responsibility led to a centralisation and codification of the manner in which things were done in the Western part of the Church. The Church in the East, largely unaffected by the collapse of the Western Empire, continued to be less centralised. As time progressed, the Bishop of Rome (acknowledged by the others as being First Among Equals) began to claim greater authority due to the apostles Peter and Paul being martyred in that city. This claim was refuted by the other patriarchs. However, Rome's position became strengthened when the spread of Islam effectively isolated and diminished the influence the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, leaving Rome and Constantinople in something of a state of rivalry. A further cause of tension arose when the Western Church inserted the "filioque" into Nicene Creed. Traditionally, the Holy Spirit was seen to proceed from God the Father; the insertion of the "filioque" clause meant that, in the West, the Holy Spirit was believed to proceed from God the Father and God the Son. For the Church in the East, Rome had overstepped its authority by altering a Creed which had been approved by an ecumenical council. In 867 the Patriarch of Constantinople (Photius I)declared the insertion to be heretical, thereby accusing the Patriarch of the West (the Bishop of Rome) of heresy. Other factors also caused the East and West to drift apart: language, different manners of liturgical celebration, different approaches to solving ecclesiastical conflict, different ways of explaining doctrine and the gradual imposition of clerical celibacy in the West. The consummation of the schism is generally dated to 16 July 1054 due to a disagreement between the Patriarch of Constantinople and the papal legate who had been sent to solve a disagreement several matters: the type of bread to be used in the Eucharist, the claim to greater power by the Bishop of Rome and the Patriarch's use of the title "Ecumenical". However, in reality little changed in the lives of ordinary Christians or the clergy. The two churches continued to drift apart with the rise of nation states in the West (the Byzantine Empire continued) and the disaster of the Fourth Crusade when the crusaders attacked and looted Constantinople. In brief, as was already mentioned in the first , the schism between East and West developed over centuries and the reasons are several: linguistic, societal, judicial, ecclesiastical, political and theological. See related links

CatholicThere is no one simple for this tragic split of the Church into two halves, it went on for centuries, and if it had been a simple , would have been healed by now. But there are many things that went into it, sadly many of them were political not religious. It is to be hoped that the split will be healed soon, and we should all keep this in our daily prayers.

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from The Modern Catholic Dictionary, edited byDonald 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.

Answer 5

There were two Great Schisms: the Eastern Schisms, when the eastern churches broke in half, and half of each Eastern Rite left the Catholic Church to form their own national churches, in the eleventh century, and the Great Western Schism, in the fourteenth century, when the Pope moved to Avignon, France, and the Western Church was rent in half with half supporting the pope in Avignon, and the other half supporting the pope in Rome.

Answer 6

Catholic Answer
There is no one simple answer for this tragic split of the Church into two halves, it went on for centuries, and if it had been a simple answer, would have been healed by now. But there are many things that went into it, sadly many of them were political not religious. It is to be hoped that the split will be healed soon, and we should all keep this in our daily prayers.

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.

Answer 7

The Catholic Church was founded by Our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, who guaranteed that it was His Church and would remain One and Holy until the end of the world. It is HIS Body and He send the Holy Spirit to guide it always. As such it cannot "split" although groups can and have left it, so in a sense, you could say that they split from it, but the Church, itself, cannot split. The Orthodox left in the 11th century, the protestants left in the 16th century, the Old Catholics and Polish National Catholics left in the 19th century, and the Philippine National Church and the Society of Pius V left in the 20th century; but the Church as established by God remains whole.

Answer 8

Western Europe & Eastern Europe disagreed over the use of icons.