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constantinople and the triumph of christianity in the roman empire
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Although the Eastern orthodox church shares roots with the Roman Catholic church, they have many contrasting beliefs.
One major issue that divided the two churches is that controversy of icon use in their rituals and worship. The western church deemed the images appropriate while the Eastern church, influenced by the Iconoclasm movement of Leo III, believed such icons were against the teachings of the Old Testament.
Another major dividing issue between the two churches was the possession of power.Traditionally, the Pope was the top leader of the church and all matters of divinity were his concerns, but this changed when Eastern Europe adopted Caesaropapism. With this practice there was no separation of church and government. The emperor in the east began controlling the church through his newly appointed eastern Pope, and therefore controlled all divine and earthly matters. An example of this can be seen through Constantine's influence at the Council of Nicaea, around 325 C.E.
Due to the "new Pope" of the east, the pope in the west was fighting for respect and began to look for ways of reform to restore the reputation of the church. Pope Leo I began some of this reform by giving direction on how the church should care for the poor and needy, and Gregory I reorganize the financial aspects of the church to insure the church's money was going to support the missions of the church.
One of the biggest spiritual reforms was the development of monasteries. Before this time monasteries were a place for social revolutionaries and rejects, but St. Benedict set up a code of values for these monasteries that emphasized such values as prayer, poverty, obedience and chastity. Therefore, monasteries became an acceptable way to show devotion to God and the church.
One of the best political reforms the church focused on was missionary work and conversion of key leaders such as Clovis. By converting these key leaders the church was able to up the membership by enormous numbers because when a leader is converted so are that leader's followers or people.
As all these reforms and disagreements continued the major controversy of power was mounting. The Eastern and Western Popes were competing for respect, and as a result, they excommunicated each other in 1054. This is referred to as the schism, or separation, and the official beginning of the Eastern Orthodox church as a separate religion from the Roman Catholic church.
orthodox also believed that the catholics were going against the scripture, making their own rules
Also, the monarchs or Europe challenged the church and the pope’s power, since church was even more powerful than some of the European kingdoms and monarchies. European monarchies did not like that the church was wealthy and had influence upon people, so they got against the church and its pope.
In its doctrine statements, "the Greek Orthodox church strongly affirms that it holds the original Christian faith, which was common to East and West during the first millennium of Christian history" (Meyendorff 18).
Before the split of 1054, the Roman Catholic Church or Western church and the Eastern Orthodox Church or Byzantine church were almost one with each other. The two churches held the same ideals and got along with one another the majority of the time. They had previous splits in the past but they were never a permanent situation because they usually found a solution to their issues and differences. The split between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in 1054 seemed to have no resolution when their theological, political, and cultural differences became too much for them to harmonize upon.
The Great Schism is also known as the East-West division. It is obvious that this division was on the basis of the geography. The geography problem was not the only reasons, but also the“…cultural, political, and economic factors; yet its fundamental cause was not secular but theological.”(Kallistos43-44). As the results of the Great Schism, the eastern side of Europe established the Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox Church. The western side created the Latin-speaking Roman Catholic. Both of the churches believe that they were superior to the other. The Roman Catholic Church believed that it is the mother church. In other word, it is the origin because that it centered at the city Rome, which was the place that Peter had a deep connection with. The Eastern Orthodox believed that it held the truth, even though it is not the origin church but it had truth. This increased the tension of the estrangement, and led to the conflict. "…It was over the matter of do...
By this time, the two sides of the church had disagreed on many philosophies. Such as if they should use yeast in their bread and the large issue of the trinity. They tried to stay out of each others’ hair. Before the East-West schism of 1054, also known as the break of the church, the church and state were supposed
From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices. Martin Luther had witnessed this himself, “In 1510 he visited Rome and was shocked to find corruption on high ecclesiastical places”
Basic principles had to be returned to the church, as there were still many issues. Priests married and had families, which was against church verdicts. The act of simony, selling and buying of church positions, was an extensive practice. The last major issue was the kings who appointed bishops, when only the church had the capability to do so. All these complications lead to the reformation of the church. Now the laws against priest marriages and simony were enforced by the church leader, the pope. The church was composed as a kingdom, with the pope as its head, and the papal Curia, as the pope...
The world religions of Islam and Christianity may have their differences to the naked eye, but when you take a closer look into their histories similarities arise. They both went through transformations that had drastic impacts on the way they were controlled and the way that the religion was taught to the followers. Christianity and Islam have both experienced splits between their members due to the fact that followers thought that their beliefs were the correct way to practice the religion. While these transformations are long in the past, the splits that have occurred within each religion continue to have lasting effects on Islam and Christianity to this day.
Behind the elaborate fresco paintings and splendid architecture, Eastern Orthodox Church has played a significant role in the preservation of Christian tradition throughout history. Since the transfer of the imperial capitol of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople, the Eastern Orthodox Christianity has evolved into a distinct branch of Christianity (Steeves). As Timothy Ware, the author of The Orthodox Church, suggests, major intellectual, cultural, and social developments that were taking place in a different region of the Roman Empire were not entirely consistent with the evolution of Western Christianity (Ware 8). These traditions and practices of the church of Constantinople were adopted by many and still provide the basic patterns and ethos of contemporary Orthodoxy. The Eastern Orthodox Church has adopted unique organizational features, beliefs, and traditions constituting itself as a unique branch of Christianity.
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
The east-west schism which is generally known as the ‘Great Schism’ is the break of the bond between what is now called the eastern orthodox and the western Roman Catholic churches. The split began in the 11th century, as a result of disagreement and quarrels between the Byzantium (orthodox) and the Roman Catholics. Their separation grew wider apart from each other over the century. The cause of the split of the east-west church are numerous, ranging from the filioque doctrine to the crowning of Charlemagne by pope Leo III and the excommunications of the representatives of popes.
In conclusion, the process of growth and expansion for both Eastern and Western religions has been a great journey. As mentioned before Eastern religions expanded in a very peaceful manner, while the growth and expansion of the Western religions was more violent. They both went through many changes and adaptions which included some blending of cultures and beliefs. In some cases the result was a new religion. In the end, both religions had to go through as process of great growth and expansion to become the World religions of today.
The Great Schism originated in 1309, when Pope Clement V moved the papacy from Italy to Avignon, just outside of French territory. The move was the result of the constant power struggle in Rome between the Pope and the king. The purpose of the move was to insure the Pope freedom of action, but it appeared that the move allowed the King of France, Phillip the Fair, to wield a great deal of influence over the Pope. Many felt that the presence of the papacy in France compromised the Pope's independence and made it the vassal of the French King. In 1376, Pope Gregory XI made a significant move and returned the papacy to Rome. After his death, the College of Cardinals convened to choose the new Pope. "The people of Rome and the vicinity, turbulent and easily roused, had, under the sway of circumstances, loudly declared their preferences and antipathies, and endeavored to influence the decision of the cardinals" (Knight). The Roman mobs insisted on an Italian pope, and the cardinals elected Urban VI. The French did not approve of the new Pope or the method by which he was chosen, so they elected their own Pope, Clement VII, who would once again rule from Avignon. As a result, "Western Chris...
1. Wrong doctrine teachings. Assertion that final authority was only the bible while the Roman Catholic Church asserted that the church was overall supreme controlling political institutions, economic activities and artistic developments.