The Great East-West Schism
On July 16th, 1054 three legates entered the church of the Hagia Sophia, in during the Divine Liturgy on a Saturday afternoon and placed a Papal Bull of Excommunication on the altar.
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This action led to riots among the people of then Constantinople, being as the residents sided with the defacto leader of the Byzantine empire, Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople against Pope Leo IX in Rome.
Papal Bulls, By Arthur Edward Waite
This effectively started what historians call the East-West or Great Schism; however the legitimacy of the actual Papal Bull is often questioned. The three legates seemed to be acting on their own authority, and not that of the Pope Leo IX.
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History tells us that Pope Leo IX had died 5 months before. Upon being defeated at the Battle of Civitate, he was held in Honorable Captivity in Benevento for 10 months. He died in March of 1054, shortly after being returned to Rome.
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Friendly relations remained for several decades between the common people. But the divide between the Holy Roman Empire in the West and the Byzantine Empire in the East continued to grow during the next few centuries, leading to the eventual sacking of the Hagia Sophia during the 4th Crusade.
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There were many reasons for the schism, both theological and political. While both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe in a fundamentally Judeo/Christian orthodoxy, they base their teachings on traditions originating in different regions.
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The West (Rome) is founded on the Latin writings and teachings. This can be evidenced in the traditonal Roman Catholic Mass preformed in Latin. To this day Vatican City is the seat of the Catholic Church, and it resides inside of the city of Rome, and is its own, independant country.
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The East, on the other hand, is founded on the Greek writings and philosophies, often referred to as the “Gnostic” tradition. This can be evidenced in something as telling as the name Hagia Sophia. “Sophia” being the Greek word for “Wisdom”.
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