Ron Paul Curriculum 7th Grade History
Taught by Professor Bradley Fish
Lesson 40 Essay: The Split of the Roman Catholic Church
Written by KryssaLee Baze
The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church used to be united as one, but several important events led to what is called the East-West Schism. Constant strife and tension finally divided them into two different entities.
In 1054 A.D., Michael Cerularius attempted to cut down the Latin church. Pope Leo IX then sent one of his cardinals to attempt to force Constantinople, where the rebellious Cerularius' Eastern Church was, and make them submit to Rome. Cerularius, who was head of the Eastern Church, simply refused.
This wasn't the only cause of the church split, but it was the last straw. There were also doctrinal differences that assisted in raising the climax to the falling out and creation of these two churches.
The Western church believed that the Pope was the head of the church. However the Eastern church believed that the Pope was the "first among equals". Also in the West, the Pope was allowed to run the church, but the East didn't want the Pope ruling them.
The West wanted to prevent Arianism from resurfacing. Arianism was a sect of Christianity that questioned the deity of Christ. In the Nicene Creed, the Western church inserted the "Filioque". This was a phrase that inserted the statement that Jesus Christ was God into the Nicene Creed, thus slightly altering the original copy. The Eastern church was not consulted when this happened, and didn't agree with changing the original script.
The West church became the Roman Catholic Church, and the East became the Eastern Orthodox Church. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox didn't have an authority like the Pope. Also the Roman Catholic Church was separate from the state, while the Orthodox Church was under the state's jurisdiction.
The two churches are still separate to this day, and continue to have theological differences.
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