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Why Did Christians Attack Christians in
the Crusades in 1095?
(The Answer Starts Years Before)
• The first picture is of Leo IX,
Pope of the Western Church
based in Rome (1049-1054)
• The bottom picture is of
Michael the Patriarch of the
Eastern Church based in
Constantinople (1043-1059)
• They excommunicated each
other in 1054 and started a
schism that lasted until the
1960’s
• This break between the Western
and Eastern churches is called
the Great Schism.
Definitions You Should Know:
• schism (noun).
• the division of a group into mutually antagonistic
factions
• a faction formed as a result of a schism
• a division within a religious denomination or a
breaking away from it, usually on the grounds of
differing beliefs or practices
Definitions You Should Know:
• Excommunicate:
– To exclude a baptized member of the Church
from the ceremonies and sacraments of the
religion, most especially Holy Communion
which is crucial for Christian worship
– To be put out of Church membership
The Great Schism Happened as a
Result of these Issues:
• Power issues: Papal Supremacy vs.. the Eastern
View of Bishops as “Brothers” of Equal
Importance (the Pentarchy)
• Doctrinal issues (what was believed to be correct
belief) like use of icons, the nature of Christ,
celibate or married priesthood, and Papal
infallibility
• Political issues like the Pope supporting the
Franks who had taken historically Byzantine
colonies.
Let’s Look at Each of Those
Causes More Carefully
The Second Commandment:
You shall not make for yourself a graven image,
or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on
earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You
shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the
Lord your God, am a jealous God.
Exodus 20:4
As a Result:
• Emperor Leo III (717 to
741) thought that the use
of icons was against the
Second Commandment
and a sin. He also saw that
it was a major obstacle to
the conversion of
Moslems who held tightly
to the commandment….
And at that point
Byzantium bordered by
many Islamic lands.
Destruction of Icons
• So in 726 CE he published
a decree that declared that
all images were idols and
ordered their destruction.
• His son Constantine V
carried out the order with
gusto! (You can see all the
gold has been removed and
the wood that this icon was
painted upon was broken
and then glued back
together --(white lines.)
“Icon 101”
• The word icon comes
from the Greek word
eikon which means
“likeness or image of”.
• Icons for our study are
religious art that depicts
stories or persons of
Christians
• Icons were made as long
ago as the first century
CE.
• This is a website to
explore:
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/Byzantiu
m/byzantium_main.asp
Some icons were/are believed to possess
miraculous powers especially the icon of
Theotokos (Mary the Mother)
Another Definition to know:
Iconoclast (noun)
• From Greek meaning “icon smasher”
• Is a noun used to mean someone who
wanted to destroy icons and not have them
used (historic meaning)
• Currently an iconoclast is a person who
challenges or overturns traditional beliefs,
customs, and values
The Western Church and the Pope
disagreed:
• In the area that Rome
had lost (Europe) that
the Pope’s controlled
icons were very
necessary!
• Icons were a big help
in teaching folk who
couldn’t read about
Christianity!
So what happened:
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The Popes of the time Gregory
II and Gregory III had a fierce
battle about icons with Leo and
his family.
First Gregory III
excommunicated Leo and all
other iconoclasts of the East
(Byzantium)
Next Leo sent a fleet of war
ships to sea near Ravenna
Then there was a storm which
sunk many of his ships.
As a result of this “act of God,”
as far as the Pope and the
Western Church was
concerned, Leo lost his hold in
the Byzantine colonies in the
Italian peninsula and the Pope’s
power was increased in that
area.
The Council of Nicaea!
• The Western and Eastern
Churches argued and
insulted each other about
this for many years.
• Finally in 787 a council
was called to solve the
argument.
• Representatives from both
the Pope and the Patriarch
attended.
Primary Source of the Decision
on Icons:
It was determined that "As the sacred and life-giving cross is everywhere
set up as a symbol, so also should the images of Jesus Christ, the Virgin
Mary, the holy angels, as well as those of the saints and other pious and
holy men be embodied in the manufacture of sacred vessels, tapestries,
vestments, etc., and exhibited on the walls of churches, in the homes,
and in all conspicuous places, by the roadside and everywhere, to be
revered by all who might see them. For the more they are contemplated,
the more they move to fervent memory of their prototypes. Therefore, it is
proper to accord to them a fervent and reverent adoration, not, however,
the veritable worship which, according to our faith, belongs to the Divine
Being alone — for the honor accorded to the image passes over to its
prototype, and whoever adores the image adores in it the reality of what
is there represented."
However, Suspicion and Distrust
Remained….
A Second Reason for the Great
Schism: Power and Politics
• The Pope (in 800 CE)
needed a strong secular
ruler to keep order so that
the Church could thrive
and continue to create
converts and keep folks
faithful to Christianity….
• His lands were being
attacked by a group named
the Lombards (yep, like
the area of Italy called
Lombardy….)
Definition to know: secular
• Not religious or spiritual in nature
• Person or group that is focused on “day to
day life” and the needs of Earthly existence
in contrast to a focus on spirit or an
afterlife
A Fateful Decision:
• Pope Leo III found such a
ruler in Charlemagne -King of the Franks….
• To ensure a strong
connection between
Charlemagne and the
Church the Pope crowned
Charlemagne “Holy
Roman Emperor”
• The Byzantine Empress
Irene didn’t like that
much!
The Empress Irene of the
Byzantine Empire
•
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•
Originally from Athens, she was
brought to Constantinople to be the
bride of Emperor Constantine V
She had one son and when her
husband died she ruled as a Regent
from 780 to 790
She actively participated in the
Council of Nicaea and seemed to
be making peace with the West
But …..when her son, Constantine
VI grew old enough to want to rule
on his own…She had his eyes
gouged out and imprisoned
him….He died of the wounds and
she became the first woman ruler
of Byzantium
Irene as Emperor (She didn’t call
herself Empress….)
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Men (especially the Pope) didn’t
recognize her right or ability to rule….
And so the Pope crowned Charlemagne
Irene tried at that point to arrange a
marriage between she and Charlemagne
That didn’t work out and war between
the Byzantine army and the Frankish
knights began over Byzantine holdings
near and on the Italian peninsula
She was overthrown in 802 and exiled
to the a small island off the coast of
Byzantium where she lead a life of
poverty until her death
Years after her death she was canonized
a saint in the Orthodox church for her
role in the Council of Nicaea and for
her protection of the poor during her
rule.
So…Charlemagne is Considered the First
Holy Roman Emperor and “The Father of
Medieval Europe”
• His name means “Charles the
Great”
• He was 6 ft. 4 in. tall so he was
a GIANT to those he ruled
• He valued learning and ancient
learning
• He forcibly converted many
pagan tribes during his reign
• He stopped the Islamic invaders
of Europe at the Pyrenees in the
north of Spain
Much of what had been Byzantine’s
Empire became Charlemagne’s
Kingdom…
Pope as “Father” or “Brother”
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And because Charlemagne had
been given his right to rule by the
Pope….
The Pope’s role and hence the role
of the Roman Catholic Church
became a dominant power in
European society for at least the
next 700 years until 1500 or so.
So when (in 1054) the Patriarch of
the Constantinople said he was a
“brother” of the Pope (meaning he
had equal power and prestige)
those were “schismatic” words…..