The Christian Church: East and West

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The Christian Church East and West

• The great Western and Eastern schism

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Schism

• A schism is a breaking of a relationship between
  two groups who still hold essential beliefs in
  common

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As the Eastern and Western sections of the Empire
grew apart, so did the Eastern and Western
Churches

• Political directions
• Language barrier
• Religious Leadership
• Theological disputes
• Filioque
• Iconoclast
• Celebration of the Mass
• Church structure

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Political Directions

• East

• West

• Political issues pope became the emperor
• Appointed new emperors
• Waves of Barbarian invasions,
• small Barbarian kingdoms emerge
• No centralized state
• Pope and the Church begin to maintain peace and
  order

• Political issues line of Emperors back to
  Constantine
• Rejected the emperor from the West
• Emperor in charge of politics
• Pope- in charge of religion
• Centralized state

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Causes of East-West Schism PoliticsThe Pope
steps in Leo, Gregory, etc.

• Eastern church

• Western church

• The emperor is strong and there is no need for a
  pope.
• In fact, the Eastern Emperor functions as Super
  Bishop

• The Pope gains authority so that by the 8th C.,
  he crowns a new Emperor of Rome (e.g.
  Charlemagne) even though there was an Emperor at
  Constantinople

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Thus, in the West,Empire Falls Papacy Rises
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Causes of East-West SchismLanguage Barriers

• With the fall of Rome and because of various
  barbarian territories, Church doctrines and
  theology began to develop separately in the east
  and the west.
• Because people did not travel as much, there was
  less interaction between scholars of Greek and
  Scholars of Latin.
• Because neither knew what the other was writing
  (because they did not speak the same language),
  they came to different conclusions
• West church speaks Latin
• Eastern Church speaks Greek

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Causes of East-West SchismTheological Disputes
Filioque

• East

• West

• No need
• Father sends both the Son and the Spirit into the
  world
• Creed belongs to whole church
• West should not change it
• Council stated that creed was not to be changed
• West violated this
• Bishop of Rome was going too far
• Eastern Church still today recites the original
  Creed
• Without the word and the Son

• Added the Filioque
• Filioque means and the Son
• Filioque was added to the creed as protection
  against Arianism
• Son is divine
• Filioque puts the Son on same level as Father
• Charlemagne accused the Eastern churches of
  heresy for not adding it

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Filioque controversy

• Western church

• Eastern church

• . We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the
  giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and
  the Son (filioque). With the Father and the Son,
  He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken
  through the Prophets.

• And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of
  life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together
  with theFather and the Son is worshipped and
  glorified, Who spoke through the prophets.

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Theological disputes Iconoclast Controversy

• Iconodules image devotees
• favored icons as a medium for communication with
  God

• Iconoclasts image breakers discouraged and
  destroyed icons

• Emperor Leo III in 726 (Eastern)
• Get rid of icons!
• They violate the 2nd Commandment
• You shall not make for yourself any carved
  image, or any likeness of anything that is in
  heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
  that is in the water under the earth you shall
  not bow down to them nor serve them.
• Leo thought that the use of icons and images in
  worship hurt efforts to convert Jews and Muslims
  to Christianity because Jews and Muslims more
  strictly observe the 2nd Commandment
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Pope Gregory II (Western)
• Icons and images actually help people understand
  the Incarnation of God in the person of Jesus
  Christ
• Christ made God visible so its OK to make images
  of the visible God
• Visual learners
• Good for those who cannot read

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And to this day, Icons in the East, and in the
west are good
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Unless you are Protestant
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Causes of East-West SchismReligious leadership

• East

• West

• Leadership
• Priests can marry
• The Churchs highest authority is the ecumenical
  council
• Pope is first among equals

• Leadership
• Priests can no longer marry
• The Churchs highest authority is the Bishop of
  Rome
• Pope is also first among equals

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The Mass and church structure

• West

• East

• In Greek but also in vernacular
• Altar separated from congregation by curtains and
  wall panels.
• Eucharist consecrated by priests behind panels.
• Scripture reading occurred in front of panels, to
  congregation
• Men and women seat separately
• Women cover their hair with a veil

• In Latin
• Church architecture altar not hidden
• Similar structure to today liturgy of the Word,
  then Liturgy of the Eucharist

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Church Structure

• Western church

• Eastern church

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The East-West Schism

• Refers to the separation of the churches from the
  west and east
• Officially happened in 1054 .
• Some Eastern Churches decided to stay in union
  with Rome by accepting the supremacy of the pope
  over the entire church
• Therefore, today there are Eastern Orthodox
  Churches and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches
• The vast majority of Eastern Christians are
  Orthodox and are not officially in union with the
  Church centered in Rome