Transcript 1 Religious Experience Middle Ages to Schism

Christian Development
The Western Catholic Church
from the Middle Ages to the
Schism(1054 C.E.)
History
• In 313 C.E., Roman Emperor Constantine issued the Edict
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of Milan. This edict allowed Catholics to worship without
interference, and stopped massive persecutions of early
Catholics.
Catholicism became the official religion of the Empire.
The Roman Empire experienced great change: The Empire
no longer seemed to be united and seemed to have 2
distinct sections; East and West.
By 330 C.E., the capital had moved to Constantinople, in
the Eastern section of the Empire.
In the West, the empire declined and the economy failed,
and Rome’s population decreased as a result of the
invasion of a Germanic tribe called the Visigoths (410 C.E.)
History
• Islam developed, and the southern shore
of the Mediterranean came under Islamic
control.
• Without a clear political and economic
centre, a period of poverty began.
• Catholicism became the common bond
that unified Western Europe.
Western History-Rome
 The title of Pope continued to be given to the
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bishop of Rome – he was seen as the
successor of St. Peter.
The position of the Pope kept Western
Catholicism stable.
Study of Sacred Scripture helped to make
Catholic teachings more clear and easily
understood.
Theology (particularly work of St. Augustine)
helped Catholics use Church teaching as the
basis for a way of life for all believers.
Monasteries became central to maintaining
Catholicism.
The Schism (Break)
 Because the Roman empire was divided (Eastern
and Western), differences developed.
 In 1014 C.E. the Papacy in Rome declared that the
filoque clause, must be included in the Form of
the Nicene Creed… no other forms of it were
acceptable.
 Eastern Catholics resisted being told what to do
by a power hungry papacy based in Rome and
resisted change just because they were told to.
 This historical separation came to a climax point
in 1054 C.E. when the leaders of each Church
excommunicated (expelled-kicked out) the other
leaders.
Orthodox Christianity
• Eastern Orthodox Christianity developed its own
structure of churches, liturgical traditions, and
customs.
• The Eastern Orthodox Church has a leader
called the Patriarch of Constantinople, which is
similar to the pope.
• It has a number of self-governing churches,
usually divided along cultural lines (Russian,
Ukrainian, Romanian, Serbian, etc)
• The Eastern Orthodox Church has much smaller
numbers today, owing to the fact that many of
its followers converted to Islam after that
religion’s rise and great success.
East and West Today
 In 1965, a largely symbolic healing of the
East-West schism occurred.
 Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI
mutually lifted the ex-communications
imposed more than 1000 years earlier.
 However, the two Churches remain
separate institutions and kind of see
themselves as sister and brother with a
common parent-Jesus.