The Great SchismThe Christian Church splits

The Great Schism (Divide)- Must not be viewed as the result of only one quarrel in the Church. - It is not true that after centuries of perfect peace, suddenly on account of one dispute, the Christian world fell apart.

- It was rather a case of a breach of communication caused by long-festering anger and bad feelings, not by a rival theology initially. It would be inconceivable that hundreds of Bishops would suddenly break away from union with their chief, if all had been going smoothly before.

The great schism is rather the result of a very gradual process. Its Causes must be sought centuries before there was any suspicion of their final effect.”

The Catholic Encyclopedia

Schism1054 – Christianity splits into the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Orthodox Church in the East.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in the West is the Pope.

The leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople is the Patriarch along with bishops of the empire.

Factors that caused the Great Schism

• Icons - sacred religious images representing saints, Christ, and Mary, as well as narrative scenes such as Christ's Crucifixion.

• While today the term is most closely associated with wooden panel painting, in Byzantium icons could be crafted in all media, including marble, ivory, gemstone, precious metal, enamel, and mosaic.

Very similar to Muslim angerAbout pictures of Muhammad today

• In 730, Emperor Leo III banned the use of icons. • One pope even ordered the excommunication of a• Byzantine emperor.• Iconoclasts – those who opposed the use of icons

and saw the practice as idolatry• Differences continued and in 1054, everything blew

up when the pope and the patriarch excommunicated each other. Thereafter, the Christian church split between the Roman Catholic Church in the East and the Orthodox Church in the West.