Introduction The two branches of Christianity, East and West have existed since the early church. The Schism of 1054, marked the official division of these two faiths. The contrast was not just between the Latin West and Greek East, but instead also the Roman Catholics and Protestants. Western Christianity incorporates the Roman Catholic church, while the Eastern Christianity comprises of Eastern Orthodox. The leader of the Roman Catholic church is a supreme bishop, known as the Pope. The teachings of the Catholic church are established in the Nicene Creed and the main overseeing body of the Church resides in Vatican City. The Eastern Orthodox church has no one leader and sees each bishop and Patriarch (high-ranking) bishop as fundamentally …show more content…
The Great Schism of 1054 marked the official division of the East and West Christianity. The Schism has lasted since the 11th Century. At the time of the Schism, the Roman Catholic church was led under Pope Leo IX and the Orthodox church was ‘led’ (in retaliation to the Pope being the leader of all churches) by Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Michael I Cerularius. Definition of Key Terms To answer this question, I need to define key terms such as East, West, Catholic, Orthodox, Pope, Patriarch and Schism. Beginning with East; in context with this unit, East refers to the Eastern Orthodox church. In 1054, this included Eastern Slavic Principalities and the Byzantine Empire (Greeks). The Eastern Byzantium Empire spoke Greek in contrast to the West who spoke Latin. West is the other side of the spectrum, which included the Roman Catholic …show more content…
It is suggested that Paul the Apostle led the lasting impact of Jesus’ story. Paul spread Christianity into the Roman Empire, Europe and Africa. The Roman Empire had established itself in Rome. When Constantine became Emperor of Rome, he proclaimed his conversion to Christianity and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. In 324 CE, Constantine made a major move which would become the beginning of the East-West Schism. Constantine decided to move the Capital of the Roman Empire (in the West) to Constantinople (in the East). Constantine became the first Patriarch of Constantinople. Paul’s message of faith helped spread the word of Jesus throughout Europe, but he also contributed to the coming East-West