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The Eleventh Century:
The Great Schism
Three historical highpoints define this century.
The Great Schism
The Eastern and Western Church officially split in 1054. Tensions between the two Churches started in the late 5th century and culminated with the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius and Pope Leo IX excommunicating one another.
By the time of the Schism four major differences existed between the Eastern and Western Church. These differences were the following:
- The Eastern Church used the Greek language while the Western used Latin.
- The Eastern Church used leavened bread for the Eucharist while the Western used unleavened bread.
- The Western Church enforced celibacy for its priests and religious while the Eastern Church allowed its priests to marry.
- The Western Church used the "filioque" while the Eastern Church did not. *
Popes Deal with Abuses
Popes Leo IX (1049-1054) and Gregory VII (1073-1085) called numerous synods and gatherings to combat the abuses that had made their way into the Church. They also made progress in reducing the Emperor's power over the papacy and put it back into the hands of the Cardinals and Popes. In 1075 Gregory wrote and published the "Dictates" which gave the Bishop of Rome supreme authority over the entire Church.
The Beginnings of the Crusades
When Jerusalem fell to the Turks in 1071, the Eastern Emperor, out of fear, called upon the Pope for help. Pope Urban II (1088-1099) responded by calling the "knights of Christendom" to help defend the East against Muslim aggression. Many knights responded to the Pope's call. In 1095 the Christian knights defeated the Muslim army at Jerusalem and recaptured the city.
*During the Council of Toledo in 589, the filioque was added to the Creed. It placed "and the Son" at the end of the phrase "the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father."