Roman Catholic Church VS Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church
Causes of the Conflict
Roman Catholic Church
- Iconoclasm led to the destruction of many religious art
- Pope Leo III did not see Empress Irene as a true leader so he crowned Charlemagne holy emperor
- Cardinal Humbert went to Constantinople and laid down a bull excommunicating Cerularius, this was a symbolic act and showed that the schism was complete
- Byzantines thought that Christianity was more than a religion but was the foundation of their empire
- Orthodox- "in agreement with right belief"
- Church and gov. was combined into one powerful body
- 200,000,000 followers
- Formed in the 1st-5th centuries C.E.
- People believed that sacred pictures brought them closer to god
- Formed in the 1st - 5th centuries C.E.
- Originated in the Roman - Latin Empire
- 1,000,000,000 followers
- After Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, the bishops formed a "universal" church
- Catholic Christianity began illegal in the Roman Empire in it's earliest days, but within 300 years it became legal and was recognized as the official religion of the Empire
Similarities
- Belief in Holy Trinity (father, son, and holy spirit)
- Crucifixion and resurrection of Christ
- Eternal life
- Future return of Christ and the creation of his everlasting kingdom
- Once one single church
- United in a single faith, Christianity
Eastern Church Hierarchy
Roman Church Hierarchy
- Orthodox clergy was ranked in order of importance
- Emperor held the supreme authority
- Patriarch didn't claim strong authority instead he was "first among equals"
- Most priests were married
- Bishops could only rise from ranks of unmarried clergy
- Pope was the head of the church
- Cardinal appointed by the pope
- Archbishop is a bishop of the main
- Bishop is like a priest ordained to his/her station
- Priest an ordained minister who can administer most of the sacraments
Differences
- Roman Catholic Church's highest bishop is the pope who they believe is infallible
- Eastern Orthodox Church just has a council of bishops because they don't believe any bishop is without fault
- Roman priests cant marry but many Eastern priests already are
- Controversy over use of icons (East influenced by Pope Leo III)
- Different languages (West-Latin, East-Greek)