1. Causes of the East–West Schism:
– The East–West schism originated from political and ecclesiastical discord reflecting basic theological differences.
– Documents from that era reveal intellectual alienation between the two sections of Christendom.
– The dispute often revolved around regional differences in usages and customs.
– Allegations of blasphemy were common between the two sides.
– The clash of irreconcilable ecclesiologies was the underlying cause of the East–West schism.
– The ecclesiologies differed in the concept of a pope with universal jurisdiction versus a patriarchal superstructure with synodal communion.
– Controversies included celibacy among Western priests and the allowance of marriage for Eastern parish priests.
– The formal split occurred in 1054 due to a series of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes.
– The procession of the Holy Spirit, the use of leavened or unleavened bread in the Eucharist, and iconoclasm were prominent issues.
– The closure of Latin churches in Constantinople by Patriarch Michael I Cerularius and the subsequent excommunications escalated tensions.
– The papal legate’s demand for recognition of the pope’s universal jurisdiction led to excommunications on both sides.
– The split extended along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political, and geographical lines, exacerbated by subsequent events like the Crusades and pillaging of Constantinople.
2. Ecclesiological Disputes:
– The question of episcopal authority in the Church, particularly between Rome and Constantinople, was a recurrent source of tension.
– Subscriptions to the universal ecclesiology of St. Cyprian of Carthage were criticized by Nicholas Afansiev.
– Different ecclesiologies include communion, eucharistic, baptismal, trinitarian, and kerygmatic theology.
– Additional ecclesiologies are hierarchical-institutional, organic-mystical, and congregationalist.
– The Eastern Churches viewed every local city-church with its bishop, presbyters, deacons, and people celebrating the eucharist as constituting the whole church.
– Eucharistic ecclesiology implied ontological equality of bishops with each bishop being Saint Peter’s successor in his church.
– The churches formed a common union of churches according to this perspective.
3. Attempts at Reconciliation:
– Reconciliation efforts between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches have been ongoing.
– In 1965, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I nullified the anathemas of 1054 as a gesture of goodwill.
– The absence of full communion between the Churches is acknowledged in the Code of Canon Law.
– Contacts between the two sides continue through delegations and visits by the heads of each church.
– Reconciliation efforts by the ecumenical patriarchs have faced criticism from some Orthodox members.
4. Theological Differences:
– The Catholic Church views ecclesiological issues as central to the split.
– Catholic Church considers Eastern Orthodox beliefs not heretical.
– Orthodox reject doctrine of Papal authority.
– Orthodox maintain collegiality of bishops.
– Catholic Church upholds eucharistic ecclesiology.
– Eucharistic ecclesiology emphasizes local church significance.
– East–West schism revolves around authority of bishops and dioceses.
5. Theological Issues and Beliefs:
– Catholicity defined by adherence to Scripture and Holy Tradition.
– Orthodox Church never accepted the pope as leader of the entire church.
– Church reflects the reality of the incarnation.
– Local church manifests the body of Christ.
– Eucharistic ecclesiology upheld by Catholic theologians.
– Church is a mystery of unity like the Eucharist.
– Local church must be the body of Christ in that place.
– Theological significance of the local church affirmed.
– Eucharist celebrated in union with the Church everywhere.
The East–West Schism, also known as the Great Schism or Schism of 1054, is the break of communion between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches since 1054. A series of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes between the Greek East and Latin West preceded the formal split that occurred in 1054. Prominent among these were the procession of the Holy Spirit (Filioque), whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist, iconoclasm, the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans in 800, the Pope's claim to universal jurisdiction, and the place of the See of Constantinople in relation to the pentarchy.
| Date | 16 July 1054 – present |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Great Schism, Schism of 1054, Eastern Schism |
| Type | Christian schism |
| Cause | Ecclesiastical differences Theological and liturgical disputes |
| Participants | Pope Leo IX Ecumenical Patriarch Michael I Cerularius |
| Outcome | Permanent split of the two churches into the modern-day Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church |
The first action that would lead to a formal schism was taken in 1053: the Greek churches in southern Italy were required to conform to Latin practices, under threat of closure. In retaliation, Patriarch Michael I Cerularius of Constantinople ordered the closure of all Latin churches in Constantinople. In 1054, the papal legate sent by Leo IX travelled to Constantinople in order, among other things, to deny Cerularius the title of "ecumenical patriarch" and insist that he recognize the pope's claim to be the head of all of the churches. The main purposes of the papal legation were to seek help from the Byzantine emperor, Constantine IX Monomachos, in view of the Norman conquest of southern Italy, and to respond to Leo of Ohrid's attacks on the use of unleavened bread and other Western customs, attacks that had the support of Cerularius. The historian Axel Bayer says that the legation was sent in response to two letters, one from the emperor seeking help to organize a joint military campaign by the eastern and western empires against the Normans, and the other from Cerularius. When the leader of the legation, Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, O.S.B., learned that Cerularius had refused to accept the demand, he excommunicated him, and in response Cerularius excommunicated Humbert and the other legates. According to Ware, "Even after 1054 friendly relations between East and West continued. The two parts of Christendom were not yet conscious of a great gulf of separation between them. ... The dispute remained something of which ordinary Christians in East and West were largely unaware".
The validity of the Western legates' act is doubtful because Pope Leo had died and Cerularius' excommunication only applied to the legates personally. Still, the Church split along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political, and geographical lines, and the fundamental breach has never been healed: each side occasionally accuses the other of committing heresy and of having initiated the schism. Reconciliation was made more difficult by the Latin-led Crusades, the Massacre of the Latins in 1182, the West's retaliation via the Sacking of Thessalonica in 1185, the capture and pillaging of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and the imposition of Latin patriarchs. Over time, the emergence of competing Greek and Latin hierarchies in the Crusader states, especially with two claimants to the patriarchal sees of Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem, made the existence of a schism clear. Several attempts at reconciliation did not bear fruit.
In 1965, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I nullified the anathemas of 1054, although this was a nullification of measures taken against only a few individuals, merely as a gesture of goodwill and not constituting any sort of reunion. The absence of full communion between the Churches is even explicitly mentioned when the Code of Canon Law gives Catholic ministers permission to administer the sacraments of penance, the Eucharist, and the anointing of the sick to members of eastern churches such as the Eastern Orthodox Church (as well as the Oriental Orthodox churches and the Church of the East) and members of western churches such as the Old Catholic Church, when those members spontaneously request these. Contacts between the two sides continue. Every year a delegation from each joins in the other's celebration of its patronal feast, Saints Peter and Paul (29 June) for Rome and Saint Andrew (30 November) for Constantinople, and there have been several visits by the head of each to the other. The efforts of the ecumenical patriarchs towards reconciliation with the Catholic Church have often been the target of sharp criticism from some fellow Orthodox.
