The Great Schism
SLMS/10
The Great Schism of 1054
EastEast-West Differences
•The Great Schism of 1054, also known as
the East-West Schism, was the event that
split the Christian Church into eastern and
western sects. The term schism means split.
•This event is significant because
it represents the first definitive
break in Christian unity.
•Out of this break came the western Roman Catholic Church, and
the Eastern Orthodox Church.
•Eastern and Western churches had been
growing apart for years as they developed
different practices, and sometimes, they
adopted different doctrines
(religious beliefs or rules).
•For starters, church services in
the east were conducted in
Greek — which was the language
of the majority of people. In the
west, church services were conducted in
Latin, a practice which continued in the Roman Catholic Church until the 1960s.
•Secondly, churches in the east were allowing their priests to marry. The western
churches would not embrace this, and the
Roman Catholic Church continues to disallow this practice.
•Third, the eastern churches allowed divorce in certain circumstances. The western
churches forbid divorce, and the Catholic
Church continues to frown on it today.
•Finally, the issue of icons. Icons are religious pictures that were used to aid in worship. The eastern churches had outlawed
their use, suggesting it was idol worship.
The west disagreed with this policy.
The Final Straw
•The schism in Christianity was a long time
coming. Obviously, there had been differences between the east and west for many
years, but this issue was the breaker.
•The pope is also known as the
Bishop of Rome. As the Bishop of
Rome, he claimed supremacy over
the Bishops of other major cities,
including Constantinople. This irritated the Bishop, or Patriarch (as
he preferred to be called), of Constantinople.
•The eastern Patriarchs argued that the
Pope had authority only over the west, and
that the Patriarch of Constantinople had
authority over the east.
•This disagreement peaked in 1054 when
Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I excommunicated each other, or kicked each other
out of the church. Excommunication was a
very serious penalty, because it meant no
access to the sacraments, and no entrance
to heaven.
•This finalized the break in the Church that
had been building for many years. Eastern
Orthodoxy was born.
Result?
•Eastern Orthodoxy would come to dominate Eastern Europe in the form of Greek
and Russian Orthodoxy. It helps to explain
some of the cultural differences between
eastern and western Europe.
•The split was nasty, and left hard feelings
which spilled over into the Crusades. Western knights sacked Constantinople and
killed Orthodox Christians.
Global History
The Great Schism
Name _____________________________________
1. Define: schism -
5. Explain the deal breaker.
2. What was the Great Schism of 1054?
3. What was its significance? Its result?
6. Define: excommunication 4. What were the differences between Eastern and Western Churches?
West
East
1.
1.
2.
2.
7. What was born out of the break?
8. What were some results of the split? (At
least 2)
3.
3.
4.
4.
Global History
The Great Schism Key
Name _____________________________________
1. Define: schism - split
5. Explain the deal breaker.
2. What was the Great Schism of 1054?
The Great Schism of 1054, also known as the
East-West Schism, was the event that split
the Christian Church into eastern and western sects.
The Bishop of Rome (the Pope) claimed supremacy over the Bishops of other major cities, including Constantinople. This irritated
the Bishop, or Patriarch (as he preferred to
be called), of Constantinople. The eastern Patriarchs argued that the Pope had authority
3. What was its significance? Its result?
only over the west, and that the Patriarch of
Constantinople had authority over the east.
This event is significant because it represents the first definitive break in Christian
This disagreement peaked in 1054 when
Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I excomunity. Out of this break came the western
Roman Catholic Church, and the Eastern Or- municated each other.
thodox Church.
6. Define: excommunication 4. What were the differences between Eastern and Western Churches?
to be expelled from a Church and all the
ceremonies associated with the faith (ie. bapWest
East
tism, marriage, confession, last rites)
1. Church services were
conducted in Latin
2. Churches would not
allow their priests to
marry
1. Church services in the
east were conducted in
Greek
2. Churches in the east
allowed their priests to
marry
3. Churches forbid divorce
3. Churches allowed divorce in certain circumstances
4. Churches allowed the
use of icons
4. Churches had outlawed the use of icons,
suggesting it was idol
worship
7. What was born out of the break?
This finalized the break in the Church that
had been building for many years. Eastern
Orthodoxy was born.
8. What were some results of the split? (At
least 2)
1) Eastern Orthodoxy would come to dominate Eastern Europe in the form of Greek and
Russian Orthodoxy.
2) This helps to explain some of the cultural
differences between eastern and western
Europe.
3) The split was nasty, and left hard feelings
which spilled over into the Crusades. Western knights sacked Constantinople and killed
Orthodox Christians.
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