The Great Schism
By: Elizabeth Ruffley

The Great Schism consists of two major events:
· The seperation of the Eastern [Greek] and Western [Latin] branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic church.
[1054]
The period (1378 - 1417) during which the Western church had first two, and later three, lines of popes.

The relationship between the east and west was already bitter.

So When the
barbaric "Germanic" tribes began invading across Europe. This invasion had the effect of plunging Europe into what is known as the Dark Ages. The combination of economic and political turmoil, geographical distances, and linguistic differences, created a rift that caused the eventual estrangement of West from East.



The actual definition of a schism is a formal division within, or separation from, a church or religious body over some doctrinal difference.

In the year 1378, the Roman Catholic Church split when the King of France decided that he did not like the Italian Pope and elected one of his own. The Great Schism lasted for about 68 years, during which time there were two popes claiming authority over the Catholic Church. This was one of the main factors which caused the Great Schism.

Most people spoke latin not greek.Relations between the Greek speaking Eastern of the Byzantine empire and the Latin speaking Western traditions within the Christian Church reached a terminal crisis. This crisis led to the separation between the Eastern and Western churches and is referred to as the Great Schism of 1054.






Western Europe was politically divided over which pope to support.Following the split, the papal offices began to lose authority. Finally between 1414 and 1418, the Council of Constance was successful in healing the Schism. The deposition of the Avignon Pope induced the resignation of the Roman Pope. Therefore, the schism was healed and there was room for the election of a single pope, Pope Martin V, who reigned from 1417-1431.


external image great_schism.jpg external image great-schism.gif
The Churches Split







Bibliography

East-West Schism. April, 15th 2009. Wikipedia. April, 15th 2009<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East-West_Schism>

The Great Schism. HelpFul. April, 15th 2009<http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/gschism.htm>