The Great Schism: Historical Friday

When we look around at our churches today, unity is typically not one of the words that come to mind. Just driving around town where I live I can count at least a dozen or so different types of churches. There are Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, Churches of Christ, Christian Churches, Catholics, and the list goes on.

In the past, and now, we typically focus on what makes us different from the other churches around us. The Churches of Christ, the group I'm affiliated with, in particular likes to do this. We focus on the different ways we worship, conduct services, administrate, and preach. Sometimes our very identity is based on how different we are from others instead of what we do.

What if I told you that we had far more in common than we think? The majority of churches in America are actually much closer together than we realize. The biggest division in Christianity isn't between Baptist and Catholic or Lutheran and Church of Christ, but between the West and the East.

The Great Schism

In AD 1054 Christianity was forever changed. This was the year that the church split. Up until this point there had really only been one church. It's hard to believe but the first 1,000 years of Christianity was a time of unity, at least in name. The churches all over the world worked with each other, talked with other, and didn't distinguish themselves with different names. The organization was different than what many of us would consider biblical, but there was one church all the same.

So what happened to this state of unity? Well, two big things. The first is cultural differences. The churches in the West were developing under a very different kind of culture than those in the East. This had been going on since the very beginning of Christianity. The Eastern half of the Roman Empire (Greece, Turkey, Palestine, and Egypt) was heavily influenced by Greek culture. The Western half (Italy, North Africa, France, Spain, Germany, and Britain) was heavily influenced by Roman culture. 

The second big thing that happened is that those in power wanted more. The church at this time was divided up and governed by bishops, much like the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches today. Among these bishops there were several who had superior standing over the rest, sometimes referred to as patriarchs. They typically were the bishop over important cities. The big five were located in Alexandria (Egypt), Jerusalem (Palestine), Antioch (Southern Turkey), Constantinople (Northern Turkey/Greece), and Rome (Italy). 

As you can see, four of the five were located in the East. This meant that they had to share power and influence. This also meant that they all participated in shaping the culture. This left only one powerful bishop in the West, the Bishop of Rome (aka the Pope). 

The Pope wanted to be in complete control over the church and the Eastern bishops didn't like that. After a couple hundred years of tension simmering between the two, in 1054 it boiled over. Both sides excommunicated each other, and not just the bishops but every Christian considered under that bishop's authority. It is only in the last century that the West and the East have started talking again.

Conclusion

You may be wondering why I'm talking about this. Well over the next two weeks we will look at the differences between Eastern and Western Christianity. I think you will see from those discussions just how culturally influenced our faith can be and still is. We live in the West, and our churches reflect that fact.

Another reason I am covering this is to learn about the millions of brothers and sisters in Christ that believe the same things we do, but with a completely different cultural mindset. This can be challenging, but in the end it expands our own understanding of Christ and deepens our relationship with him. Interacting with different cultures is one of the best ways to identify the solely cultural elements in our own faith.