In 1054 the largest church split to date occurred, the Roman Catholics in the west(Rome) and the Orthodox church in the west(Constantinople). But Why? What caused the split of the churches? It is quite simple actually, the main reason for the split is one latin word, Filioque. The word means and the son. Theologians in the west were drawn to the word for its place in the trinity. There belief was that the holy spirit proceeded from the father and the son. At the council of Toledo the western Church officially added the phrase into the Nicene Creed. Since then the churches in the west have said the extra word while saying the creed.
The eastern churches on the other hand while still holding true to the three persons as one, like to emphasize the threeness of the trinity. In the mid 1000’s the phrase came under the spotlight. The churches were headed for a showdown which would be the schism of 1054. Many wonder how the churches managed to stay together as long as the did. For hundreds of years the churches had had …show more content…
Michael Cerularius, a patriarch of Constantinople, had condemned the western church for using leavened bread for the eucharist. Leo IX sent emissaries to iron out the differences. The efforts failed. The more the sides talked it seemed the more they disagreed. Finally Leo IX’s legates were forced to go into the Hagia Sophia and put a papal bull of excommunication on the high altar. Cerularius then reacted by convening a council of bishops that that excommunicated pope leo and his church. One of the reasons was the Filioque clause in the nicene creed. They argued that the western churches had overstepped their boundaries when they by adding the clause to the creed. They said the eastern churches had remained pure. Filioque clause was an easy hook to lie the blame of all the disagreement on. The result of all of this was the split of the churches on July 16,
The eastern churches on the other hand while still holding true to the three persons as one, like to emphasize the threeness of the trinity. In the mid 1000’s the phrase came under the spotlight. The churches were headed for a showdown which would be the schism of 1054. Many wonder how the churches managed to stay together as long as the did. For hundreds of years the churches had had …show more content…
Michael Cerularius, a patriarch of Constantinople, had condemned the western church for using leavened bread for the eucharist. Leo IX sent emissaries to iron out the differences. The efforts failed. The more the sides talked it seemed the more they disagreed. Finally Leo IX’s legates were forced to go into the Hagia Sophia and put a papal bull of excommunication on the high altar. Cerularius then reacted by convening a council of bishops that that excommunicated pope leo and his church. One of the reasons was the Filioque clause in the nicene creed. They argued that the western churches had overstepped their boundaries when they by adding the clause to the creed. They said the eastern churches had remained pure. Filioque clause was an easy hook to lie the blame of all the disagreement on. The result of all of this was the split of the churches on July 16,