Great Schism

(noun)

The break of communion between what are now the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, which has lasted since the 11th century.

Related Terms

Examples of Great Schism in the following topics:

  • The Great Schism of 1054

    • The centuries-long gradual religious separation between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires culminated in the institutional separation known as the East-West Schism.
    • The East–West Schism, also called the Great Schism and the Schism of 1054, was the break of communion between what are now the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, which has lasted since the 11th century.
    • This was only the first act in a centuries-long process that eventually became a complete schism.
    • This was known as the East-West Schism.
    • The religious distribution after the East-West Schism between the churches of the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire in 1054 CE.

  • The Fourth Crusade

    • The Fourth Crusade is considered to be one of the final acts in the Great Schism between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, and a key turning point in the decline of the Byzantine Empire and Christianity in the Near East.
    • Andrew II of Hungary waged the Bosnian Crusade against the Bosnian church, which was theologically Catholic but in long-term schism with the Roman Catholic Church.
    • The collapse of the papacy's moral authority and the rise of nationalism rang the death knell for crusading, ultimately leading to the Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism.

  • The Crusades

    • To the east of Europe lay the Byzantine Empire, composed of Christians who had long followed a separate Orthodox rite; the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches had been in schism since 1054.
    • Urban responded favorably, perhaps hoping to heal the Great Schism of forty years earlier, and to reunite the Church under papal primacy by helping the eastern churches in their time of need.

  • Discontent with the Roman Catholic Church

    • The Protestant Reformation was the schism within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other early Protestants.
    • The Protestant Reformation, often referred to simply as the Reformation, was a schism from the Roman Catholic Church initiated by Martin Luther and continued by other early Protestant reformers in Europe in the 16th century.
    • Following the breakdown of monastic institutions and scholasticism in late medieval Europe, accentuated by the Avignon Papacy, the Papal Schism, and the failure of the Conciliar movement, the 16th century saw a great cultural debate about religious reforms and later fundamental religious values.
    • A revolt against Aristotelian logic, it placed great emphasis on reforming individuals through eloquence as opposed to reason.
    • The European Renaissance laid the foundation for the Northern humanists in its reinforcement of the traditional use of Latin as the great unifying language of European culture.

  • The Romanovs

    • However, the direct male blood line of the Romanov Dynasty ended when Elizabeth of Russia died in 1762, and Peter III, followed by Catherine the Great, were placed in power, both German-born royalty.
    • Under Alexis I’s rule, the Orthodox Church also convened the Great Moscow Synod, which created new customs and traditions.
    • This historic moment created a schism between what are termed Old Believers (those attached to the previous hierarchy and traditions of the Church) and the new Church traditions.
    • At the death of Alexis I in 1676, a dynastic dispute erupted between the children of his first wife, namely Fyodor III, Sofia Alexeyevna, Ivan V, and the son of his second wife, Peter Alexeyevich (later Peter the Great).

  • The Western Schism

    • The Western Schism, or Papal Schism, was a split within the Roman Catholic Church that lasted from 1378 to 1417.
    • Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance (1414–1418).
    • Efforts were made to end the schism through force or diplomacy.
    • The council elected Pope Martin V in 1417, essentially ending the schism.
    • Explain the events that led to the Western Schism, as well as its eventual resolution

  • The Church During the Italian Renaissance

    • The late Middle Ages was a period of political intrigue surrounding the Papacy, culminating in the Western Schism, in which three men simultaneously claimed to be true Bishop of Rome.
    • While the schism was resolved by the Council of Constance (1414), a resulting reform movement known as Conciliarism sought to limit the power of the pope.
    • On the one hand, it was a time of great artistic patronage and architectural magnificence, where the Church pardoned and even sponsored such artists as Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, Bramante, Raphael, Fra Angelico, Donatello, and da Vinci.

  • Living in Europe

    • The fourteenth century was filled with a great deal of transformation and turmoil.
    • The population had grown leading up to this period and Europe had also made great improvements in technology, art, and politics.
    • Conflicts between the pope and the Holy Roman Empire continued in Central and Southern Europe that included a schism marked by two popes claiming the title and the first sparks of Protestant Reformation.

  • The Development of Papal Supremacy

    • Decisions made at the Council of Nicea (325) about the divinity of Christ led to a schism; the new religion, Arianism, flourished outside the Roman Empire.
    • This led to further schisms.
    • The second great phase in the process of papal supremacy's rise to prominence extended from the mid-11th to the mid-13th century.

  • Work in Industrial America

    • While those fears were partly borne out in practice, as the Building Trades Department did acquire a great deal of practical power gained through resolving jurisdictional disputes between affiliates, the danger that it might serve as the basis for schism never materialized.