Pastor Steve Paulus

Patristics Part Two

The Schism between Orthodoxy and Catholicism

XI. The Schism between Orthodoxy and Catholicism

During the first eight centuries of church history, there was no concept of Catholic and Orthodox Churches as separate entities, though the concept of a Greek and Latin church had come into being. There was a catholic or universal church, led by bishops (patriarchs) of apostolic churches (churches founded by apostles). Certain stresses entered into the common life of the eastern and western church which developed over a long period of time. The eventual result was the schism or split between the eastern (Eastern Orthodox) and western (Roman Catholic) churches. The ultimate parting of the ways is traced to the year 1054 (the result of a papal decree of excommunication against Michael Cerularius, patriarch of Constantinople) or 1204 (the sacking of Constantinople by western Crusaders). How did the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church lose its visible unity and become two separate, estranged entities? Most historian see it is a long story.

A. The dissolution of the political unity of the Roman Empire

By the time of Constantine, the seat of power in the Roman Empire was moving eastward. There had long been eastern and western administrative districts in the Roman Empire. The founding of Constantinople on the Bosporus in the east led to a shift of political power away from the city of Rome. With the dissolution of the western empire and its dismemberment by barbarian tribes in the fifth century, Byzantium, the eastern empire, gained political stability and ascendancy over the troubled west. Moreover, these districts were separated by a language barrier. Latin had replaced Greek as the lingua franca in the west, but had never become the common language of the east.

The emperor in the east remained the dominant personality, even in the affairs of the church, continuing to call councils and approve or even appoint the patriarch (bishop) of Constantinople. By contrast the bishop of Rome (pope) became the dominant ecclesiastical and civil authority in the west. Beyond that the pope claimed universal jurisdiction over, not only the western churches, but the churches of the east as well.

With the crowning of Charlemagne on Christmas day 800 A.D. and the founding of the Holy Roman Empire, the administrative unity of the Roman Empire was fractured. The pope’s role in the coronation emphasized the secular as well as ecclesiastical power of the pope which eastern bishops were not willing to recognize.

B. The Dissolution of the Ecclesiastical Unity of the Catholic Church.

From earliest times, the bishop of Rome was given a primacy of honor in the life of the Catholic Church. This was established by tradition (letters of Clement, Ignatius, Irenaus), by practice (papal intervention in the quartodeciman controversy, papal representation at Nicea, Chalcedon, Leo’s tome), and by canon law (conciliar decisions at Nicea, Constantinople, Sardica). However, a different understanding of primacy developed between east and west. The east taking a first among equals approach with bishops of patriarchal sees, as opposed to the role of doctrinal and ecclesiastical primacy claimed by the bishop of Rome.

Distinct beliefs in Christology, differing beliefs about the papacy, and differing liturgical practices arose between east and west. In particular, the western use of the filioque in the Nicene Creed, differing practices regarding clerical celibacy, and distinct liturgical practices (e.g. leavened vs. unleavened bread, the use of an iconostasis in the liturgy, views on icons), differing theological languages and styles, all contributed to a distinct identity for the two churches.

C. The Rise of Islam

The rise and spread of the Islamic faith was much more of a challenge and concern for the Eastern Church than the Western. Large portions of the Eastern Church (Antioch, Jerusalem, Caesarea, Damascus, Persia, Alexandria, all of North Africa) quickly became Muslim territories. Christians were minorities with limited rights struggling for survival. Papal claims to universal ecclesiastical and theological jurisdiction were meaningless to churches under the authority of the crescent. Byzantium and Constantinople itself fell to the Muslim Turks in the 15^th century (1453). Later some Catholic regions would also fall to the power of the Ottoman Empire, as Spain had fallen to the Muslim Moors in earlier times.

D. Turning Points Leading to Schism

In addition to causes already cited, several events are traced as primary causes of the great schism. First is the Photian schism of 858, when Pope Nicholas deposed Patriarch Photius of Constantinople going beyond the recognized bounds of his jurisdiction in the eyes of the Orthodox.. In 800 A.D. Charlemagne was crowned as emperor of the western Roman empire. The establishment of the Holy Roman Empire was considered a usurpation of empirical authority by the pope. Then there was the controversy over the official form of the creed:

The filioque controversy seems to have originated in the sixth century Visigothic Spain where the Arian heresy was endemic. The Arians claimed that the first and second persons of the Trinity were not coeternal and equal. In an effort to enforce traditional theology, Spanish churchmen added a phrase to the Nicene Creed, “ex Patre Filioque,” which amended the old form to state that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Son as well as the Father. However, it had been agreed in the fourth century that no change in the wording of the Creed, except by councilor consent, was possible (C.T. Marshall, “Schism, The Great,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology,” Walter Elwell, ed.).

This, along with the claim to unique Petrine authority by the pope, was a primary source of conflict between the bishop of Rome and the other patriarchates. These eventually led to the excommunication of the patriarch of Constantinople by papal legate Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida in 1054. The breach was deepened irreparably when Crusaders from the west sacked Constantinople in 1204.

Some Eastern Rite churches have returned to unity with the Roman church by acknowledging the pope’s authority while keeping their distinctive eastern liturgies and discipline (e.g. married priests). These churches have been termed as Uniate and are concentrated in Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania. They are considered aberrant by the Orthodox churches in these countries.

“In 1965, Pope Paul VI lifted the ban of excommunication against Michael Cerularius.” (C.T. Marshal in EDT). The role of the bishop of Rome in the church, i.e. Petrine authority and papal infallibility (codified at Vatican Council I in 1869) have been the primary source of contention between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

Sources:

Kenneth Scott Lautourette. The History of Christianity

C.T. Marshall, “Schism, The Great,” in Evangelical Dictionary of

Theology,” Walter Elwell, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,pp.980-1.

Philip Meyer, “Constantinople,” in The New Schaff-Herzog encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. III, S.M. Jackson, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1950.

Jaroslav Pelikan. The Growth of Medieval Theology, Vol. 3 in The Christiqn Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine.Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1978.

Donald E. Queller, ed. The Latin Conquest of Constantinople. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1971.

Timothy Ware. The Orthodox Church. New York: Penguin Books, 1963

Friedrich Wiegand, “Crusades” in The New Schaff-Herzog encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. III, S.M. Jackson, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1950.

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