First Class

February 21, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I just had my first real class (one where I lectured) and it went pretty well. The class was Church History II with Diploma I. The topic was the Great Schism (the split between the Eastern and Western Churches). The students had asked me to lecture on the matter even though the time frame of the class is the Reformation Era. I got good questions from the students and they seemed to engage the material. They got hung up on some issues, but they were ones that I have gotten hung up on before as well — i.e. the role of icons in the Eastern Church and the theology of the Trinity. In fact, one of the students asked me to lecture on the theology of the Trinity — I said I would work on that. I am no theologian! Anyway, it went very well and I am liking teaching. Below is the handout/outline that I gave the students for today. Forgive the few spelling mistakes… I haven’t figured out a few things on my new computer.

Have a great day!

Church History II
The Great Schism

I. Tensions Arise
A. In the first few centuries the persecution of the Church helped it to stay united, since there was a common foe – the Romans
B. As the Church grew and relations with the Roman Empire became peaceful, Church leaders began to develop different theologies and practices

II. Fundamental Theological Differences between and within East and West Emerge
A. The divinity and nature of Christ was agreed upon at the Council of Nicea in 325, but the nature of the Holy Spirit – the third part of the Trinity – was a subject of many debates.
B. There were splits even within the Eastern Church – two different schools of thought (“Antiochene” and “Alexandrine” - the names coming from the two cities where the groups were centered). The debate within these groups was centered on “how can the immutable, eternal God be joined to a mutable historical man” (Gonzalez, Vol. 1, P. 252)
a) Details about these two interpretations of the Trinity can be found on page 252 of Gonzalez’s first volume of The Story of Christianity.
C. The Western Church was not concerned with these detailed points of theology, because they faced invasions from barbarians and accepted the dual nature of Christ (both human and divine).
D. Another key split between Eastern and Western Christianity was the use of icons. Icons are central to Eastern Christianity, but were interpreted as idol worship by the Christians of the West. This debate was an early one and was settled in Western minds in 754 at a Council called for by Constantine V, which forbade imagry (icons) in religious worship. This further split East from West. The decision of 754 was partially and then fully reveresed in 787 (Seventh Ecumeical Council) and 842 when the worship or veneration of images or icons was allowed once again and then normalized. These decisions angered many Western Christians… furthering the divide.

III. Historical Differences
A. It is key to look at the different experiences of the Eastern and Western parts of Christendom. The Roman Empire ceased to exist as a unified entity in 476. The Roman Empire had united Christianity and helped to establish the core tenants of the faith by the calling of the first Ecummenical Councils.
B. With the end of the unified Roman Empire the Western and Eastern remanents developed independently as did their understanding and practice of Christianity.
C. The two branches of Christianity faced different threats. The West faced invasion by the “barbaian horde.” The East, after 650, the threat was from Islam.
D. A key historical (as opposed to theological) difference between the Eastern and Western Churches was the role of the Bishop of Rome (also known as the Pope). Early in Christianity there were five key leaders in the Church. The Bishops of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Rome. These bishops were known as patriarchs and seen as THE leaders of the Church jointly. The Bishop of Rome had no special authority. Note that many of these partiarchs are based in the Eastern part of the Church. After the fall of the Roman Empire (as a united East-West empire) the Bishop of Rome became a larger figure in the Church and, in the West, took on the mantle of leadership of the Church.
E. Also, there was the linguistic split between East and West that furthered the divide. The Christians of the West (or more appropriately, the leaders of the Western Church) spoke Latin, while the Eastern Church’s leadership spoke Greek.

IV. The Schism
A. Most scholars recognize the formal spilt between the Western (or Roman) Church and the Eastern (or Orthodox) Churches as occuring on June 16, 1054. This was the date on which Cardinal Humbert, acting as an ambassador/emissary for Pope Leo IX, declared that the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius, to be excommunicated. Cerularius responded by excommunicating the Pope.
B. One small point that is worth noting is that at the time that Cardinal Humbert declared Cerularius to be excommunicated, the Pope, in whose name Humbert took this action, was dead.
C. The controversy that led to the 1054 excommunication dealt with the celabacy of the clergy. The Eastern Churches had long allowed married clergy, but Rome had outlawed the practice. Also, Eastern Church leaders opposed the use of unleavened bread for communion.
D. Some historians suggest that the schism actually occured in 1204 when Western forces conquered Constantinople.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »