The Great Schism of 1054

1. The Great Schism of 1054 Megan Kaczinski, MicaelaOtt, and Paul Tomko

2. The Great Schism of 1054 The Great Schism divided medieval Christianity into the Eastern and the Western Churches. The date that the Church officially split, was on July 6, 1054.

3. Why the Church Split The Church split along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political, and geographical lines. The Church split because of “disagreements over papal interference into the life of the Church of Constantinople and Bulgaria as well as differing liturgical practices”(lasvegasorthodox.com 3/16/2010). Another problem was that the Popes of the time, were claiming ascendancy, which means dominant power, over Church affairs, which in turn, led to more disagreements.

4. Why the Church Split (Continued) Lastly, political advancements in the West led to the Pope and other Western leaders to make claims on properties and authority over troubled areas that the Emperor in Constantinople was unwilling to accept. The outcome of these problems increased constriction and diminished communications.

5. The Western Church After the Great Schism of 1054, the Western Church became the Roman Catholic Church. Today, the Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian Church and is composed of more than a billion members . She still today, preserves the belief that it is “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.” These characteristics are now known as the four marks of the Church.

6. The Eastern Church After the Great Schism of 1054, the Eastern Church became known as the Orthodox Church. Today it is officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church. The Orthodox Catholic Church has the world’s second largest Christian Community, with approximately 300 million members.

7. The Church Today Many problems of The Great Schism of 1054 have been resolved, but there are still a few problems that are around today. Present day popes and Eastern Orthodox leaders have previously met to discus compromise between the two Churches.