Pope Francis, Private audience of Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice CAPP at Clementine Hall, Vatican City. (Attribution: Christoph Wagener)
‘The Vatican says Pope Francis and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet in Cuba next week in a major step to heal the 1000-year-old schism that divided Christianity between East and West’. (Washington Post, Friday, February 5th, 2016)
Vladimir Putin with bishops of Russian Orthodox Church. (Attribution: Kremlin.ru)
Rev 13:3-4
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
In 1054, the Catholic Church split into two parts. The Eastern part, known as Orthodox or Greek Orthodox under the Patriarch in Constantinople and the Western part under the Pope in Rome. This was due to irreconcilable differences.
Those differences included whether or not the Pope in Rome had the Pre-eminent jurisdiction in the Church, and the place of the See of Constantinople in Church hierarchy. The doctrinal differences included who or what was the source of the Holy Spirit and whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist.
The Greek churches in southern Italy were forced to close or accept the Latin liturgy. Michael Cerularius, the Patriarch of Constantinople ordered closure of all Latin churches in Constantinople in retaliation.
Pope Leo IX sent a Papal Legate to Constantinople to remove the title of Eccumenical Patriarch from Michael Cerularius, and insist he accept the authority of the Pope as Head and Mother of the churches. Cerularius refused and the Papal Legate Cardinal Humbert excommunicated him. Cerulariuas in return excommunicated Cardinal Humbert and the other Legates.
These opening shots began a century long rift that ended in a complete schism that has lasted to this day.
This schism not only affected the church, but human politics as well. Remember, The Roman Empire had been divided into two parts. Rome remained the Capital of the Western Roman Empire; and the Eastern Roman Empire, centered in Constantinople, became known as the Byzantine Empire. Each division has it’s own Emperor and it’s own laws.
Several attempts have been made over the thousand year schism to bring about some form of reconciliation, but to no avail.
Will these men bring it about? Only time and God’s will can tell.
Leon Sexton
Legacy Institute
