jjares reviewed The Great Schism: The History and Legacy of the Split Between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches in 1054 on + 3262 more book reviews
This book takes the long way around explaining the Schism; meaning that Charles Rivers explains how the Catholic Church was split along political lines (The Roman Empire with Rome at its head and The Byzantine Empire with Constantinople as the capital). With so much landmass and so many people in the Roman Empire, it was difficult to keep the operation running smoothly. Thus, two capitals were initiated. It worked for a time politically and religiously. However, it became cumbersome to ask Rome's opinion of all religious questions.
A basic issue was that the western part of the empire used Latin for communication while the eastern empire used Greek. In the west, the papal authority eventually oversaw the emperors and kings of the areas. However, in the east, the Church only dealt with religious issues, not politics.
As Constantinople was a much-richer area, they became less willing to be subordinate to Rome.
But the cracks started to emerge when Pope Nicholas I interfered with the establishment of a Patriarch of Constantinople (leader of the Eastern Church) in the 820s (CE). It was called the Photian Schism and lasted for about 4 years. In the Nicene Creed, the Roman Church recognized that the Holy Spirit comes from both God, the Father, and Jesus, the Son. In the Eastern Church, they believed and believe that the Holy Spirit comes from God, the Father. Period.
Interestingly, over the years, the Eastern Church looked to transition back to earlier forms of their religion, while the Western Church looked to reform their practices (adding new ways of doing things). This made the two churches less able to meet in the middle. But Humbert's ex-communication of the Eastern Church was the final straw. This book makes the point that the schism was based on the intolerance of each other's cultural values. They saw their own cultural values as 'the only true one." (location 828)
Fortunately, this book addressed the issue of the Crusades and their effects on the Schism. It only made things worse. The author also introduced the papacy of John the 23rd, as a man trying to reduce the hostilities between the two largest sections of the Christian Church. I really liked the summary the author wrote about hope for the future.
A basic issue was that the western part of the empire used Latin for communication while the eastern empire used Greek. In the west, the papal authority eventually oversaw the emperors and kings of the areas. However, in the east, the Church only dealt with religious issues, not politics.
As Constantinople was a much-richer area, they became less willing to be subordinate to Rome.
But the cracks started to emerge when Pope Nicholas I interfered with the establishment of a Patriarch of Constantinople (leader of the Eastern Church) in the 820s (CE). It was called the Photian Schism and lasted for about 4 years. In the Nicene Creed, the Roman Church recognized that the Holy Spirit comes from both God, the Father, and Jesus, the Son. In the Eastern Church, they believed and believe that the Holy Spirit comes from God, the Father. Period.
Interestingly, over the years, the Eastern Church looked to transition back to earlier forms of their religion, while the Western Church looked to reform their practices (adding new ways of doing things). This made the two churches less able to meet in the middle. But Humbert's ex-communication of the Eastern Church was the final straw. This book makes the point that the schism was based on the intolerance of each other's cultural values. They saw their own cultural values as 'the only true one." (location 828)
Fortunately, this book addressed the issue of the Crusades and their effects on the Schism. It only made things worse. The author also introduced the papacy of John the 23rd, as a man trying to reduce the hostilities between the two largest sections of the Christian Church. I really liked the summary the author wrote about hope for the future.
