The East–West Schism that occurred in 1054 represents one of the most significant events in the history of Christianity. It includes various events and processes that led to the schism and also those events and processes that occurred as a result of the schism. Eastern and Western Christians had a history of differences and disagreements, some dating back to the period of Early Christianity. At the very root of what later became the Great Schism were several questions of pneumatology and ecclesiology. The most important theological difference occurred over various questions regarding the procession of the Holy Spirit, and the use of the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. One of the main ecclesiological issues was the question of papal supremacy. Other points of difference were related to various liturgical, ritual, and disciplinary customs and practices. Some political and cultural processes also contributed to the breakout of the schism.
Origins
Eric Plumer writes "the divergence of the Eastern and Western churches, leading ultimately to the East-West Schism, was a process of many centuries, influenced by a host of political, cultural and theological factors. Similarly, Roger Haight asserts "the [East-West Schism] should not be understood to have occurred in the mutual excommunications [of 1054]" because those excommunications were "only one factor in a much longer and larger story involving cultural, political and theological factors." Because so many factors contributed to the ever-widening separation between East and West, it is difficult to point to a specific date when it began or even identify a single primary cause of the schism. While most sources agree that the separation between East and West is clearly evident by the Photian schism in the 9th century, some point to tensions going back as far as the 4th century as the early signs of the separation between East and West.Rome and the Eastern Churches by Aidan Nichols pages 227-272 (chapter "The Photian Schism and the 'Filioque'") Publisher: Ignatius Press (February 1, 2010) Orthodox apologists point to incidents as early as the 2nd century as examples of claims by Rome to papal primacy and rejection by Eastern Churches.
Some scholarsCleenewerck, Laurent His Broken Body: Understanding and Healing the Schism between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Washington, DC: EUC Press (2008) pp. 145-155 have argued that sporadic schisms in the common unions took place under Pope Victor I (2nd century), Pope Stephen I (3rd century) and Pope Damasus I (4th and 5th century). Later on, disputes about theological and other questions led to schisms between the Churches in Rome and Constantinople from 482 to 519 and from 866 to 879. The idea that primacy in the Church was transferred along with the transfer of the imperial capital from Rome to Constantinople, was posited as early as the 6th century by John Philoponus and further advanced by Photios I of Constantinople in the 9th century. Constantinople, as the seat of the ruler of the empire and therefore of the world, was the highest among the patriarchates and, like the emperor, had the right to govern them.Milton V. Anastos, Aspects of the Mind of Byzantium (Political Theory, Theology, and Ecclesiastical Relations with the See of Rome), Ashgate Publications, Variorum Collected Studies Series, 2001.
After the fall and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, the early learning centers of the Church were Antioch and Alexandria. Founding of the Church of Alexandria had been assisted by Mark,John Binns, An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2002, p144 one of the Seventy Apostles. Saint Thomas was said to be instrumental in establishing the Church in the Persian Empire and satellite kingdoms, although Saint Addai and Saint Mari, two of the Seventy Apostles were credited with most of the work of establishment in Persia. The Church of the East was as large as the Mediterranean Church for some centuries, especially in the 6th to 8th centuries with its movement into the Far East.John Binns, An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2002, esp pp 28-29
In the 4th century when the Roman emperors were trying to control the Church, theological questions were prevalent throughout the Roman Empire.John Binns, An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2002, pp 162-164 The influence of Greek speculative thought on Christian thinking led to divergent and conflicting opinions.John Binns, An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2002, p68 Christ's commandment to love others as He loved seemed to have been lost in the intellectual abstractions of the time. Theology was used as a weapon against opponent bishops, since being branded a heretic was the only sure way for a bishop to be removed by other bishops. Over the course of history, tensions have arisen when church leaders have been perceived to have overstepped their bounds.
Rise of Rome The first institution to fail in the early Christian Empire was politics. In the 5th century, western imperial power fell prior to the invasion of the Barbarian kings. However, the increase in power of the pope resulted in the retread of previous politicians, which in effect blurred the fine line between secular and ecclesiastical power. Up until the ecumenical councils, Rome was regarded as an important centre of Christianity, especially since it was the capital of the Roman Empire. The eastern and southern Mediterranean bishops generally recognized a persuasive leadership and authority of the bishop of Rome, but the Mediterranean Church did not regard the bishop of Rome as any sort of infallible source, nor did they acknowledge any juridical authority of Rome. The church at Rome claimed a special authority over the other churches because of its connection with the apostles Peter and Paul. In the first three centuries, Rome gained increasing recognition as one of the centers of Christianity. However, the extant documents of that era yield no clear-cut claims to, or recognition, of papal primacy.
Historian Will Durant writes that, after Jerusalem, the church of Rome naturally became the primary church, the capital of Christianity.Durant, Will. Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972 Rome had an early and significant Christian population. The Apostle Peter is seen as founder of the Church in Rome,The Illuminator, The Newspaper of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh, Oct.-Dec. 2004, p.7 and the bishops of Rome as his successors."Linus was bishop of Rome after the holy apostle Peter"Pope Benedict XVI is "the 265th successor of the St Peter" Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, 2007 Annual Report to His All Holiness Bartholomew While the Eastern cities of Alexandria and Antioch produced theological works, the bishops of Rome focused on administration.
Father Thomas Hopko, a leading Orthodox theologian, writes: "The church of Rome held a special place of honor among the earliest Christian churches. It was first among the communities that recognized each other as catholic churches holding the orthodox faith concerning God's Gospel in Jesus. According to St Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch who died a martyr's death in Rome around the year 110, 'the church which presides in the territories of the Romans' was 'a church worthy of God, worthy of honor, worthy of felicitation, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy of sanctification, and presiding in love, maintaining the law of Christ, bearer of the Father's name.' The Roman church held this place of honor and exercised a 'presidency in love' among the first Christian churches for two reasons. It was founded on the teaching and blood of the foremost Christian apostles Peter and Paul. And it was the church of the capital city of the Roman empire that then constituted the 'civilized world (oikoumene)'."Roman Presidency and Christian Unity in our Time
Quartodeciman controversy and beyond Towards the end of the 2nd century, Victor, the Bishop of Rome, attempted to resolve the Quartodeciman controversy by excommunicating churches in the Roman province of Asia. This incident is cited by some Orthodox Christians as the first example of overreaching by the Bishop of Rome and resistance of such by Eastern churches. Laurent Cleenewerck suggests that this could be argued to be the first fissure between the Eastern and Western churches. The Quartodeciman controversy arose because Christians in the Roman province of Asia (Western Anatolia) celebrated Easter at the spring full moon, like the Jewish Passover, while the churches in the rest of the world observed the practice of celebrating it on the following Sunday ("the day of the resurrection of our Saviour")Eusebius, Church History, chapter 23 In 155, Anicetus, Bishop of Rome, presided over a church council at Rome that was attended by a number of bishops including Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Although the council failed to reach agreement on the issue, ecclesiastical communion was preserved.Orthodox Answers: An Orthodox Christian Historical Timeline A generation later, synods of bishops in Palestine, Pontus (Northern Anatolia) and Osrhoene in the east, and in Rome and Gaul in the west, unanimously declared that the celebration should be exclusively on Sunday. In 193, Pope Victor I presided over a council in Rome and subsequently sent a letter about the matter to Polycrates of Ephesus and the churches of the Roman province of Asia. In the same year, Polycrates presided over a council at Ephesus attended by several bishops throughout that province, which rejected Victor's authority and kept the province's paschal tradition. Thereupon, Victor attempted to cut off Polycrates and the others who took this stance from the common unity but later reversed his decision after bishops that included Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, interceded, recommending that Victor adopt the more tolerant stance of his predecessor, Anicetus.Eusebius, Church History, chapter 24
Despite Victor's failure to carry out his intent to excommunicate the Asian churches, many Catholic apologists point to this episode as evidence of papal primacy and authority in the early Church, citing the fact that none of the bishops challenged his right to excommunicate but rather questioned the wisdom and charity of doing so. Orthodox apologists argue that Victor had to relent in the end and note that the Eastern Churches never granted Victor presidency over anything other than the Church of Rome. The rejection of Bishop Anicetus' position on the Quartodeciman by Polycarp and later Polycrates' letter to Pope Victor I has been used by Orthodox theologians as proof against the argument that the Churches in Asia Minor accepted the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome or papal supremacy.
The opinion of the Bishop of Rome was often sought, especially when the patriarchs of the Eastern Mediterranean were locked in fractious dispute. The bishops of Rome never obviously belonged to either the Antiochian or the Alexandrian schools of theology and usually managed to steer a middle course between whatever extremes were being propounded by theologians of either school. Because Rome was remote from the centres of Christianity in the eastern Mediterranean, it was frequently hoped its bishop would be more impartial. For instance, in 431, Cyril, the patriarch of Alexandria, appealed to Pope Celestine I, as well as the other patriarchs, charging the patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius with heresy, which was dealt with at the Council of Ephesus.