![[Great_Schism_with_former_borders_(1054).png]] While Islamic scholarship was exploring new areas of philosophy and science, the Christian world was falling into a Schism that was as much political as it was theological. The Eastern Orthodox Church, based in Constantinpole, and the Catholic Church, based in Rome, differed on some very esoteric interpretations of the Nicene Creed, dealing with the relationship of the Father, Son, and Spirit aspects of the divinity. They also disagreed on the recipe for the eucharist (leavened or unleavened bread), fasting practices, and clerical celibacy. The larger differences, however, were political disagreements both within the Church organizations and in their relationships with the outside world. Internally, the Catholics regarded their Pope as the direct descendant of Saint Peter and thus the highest authority; while the Eastern Church preferred an ecumenical relationship in which the five patriarchs (of Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria) would each have equal votes. The Byzantines also saw the crowning of Charlemagne and later of the Holy Roman Emperors as a direct challenge to their authority as the "real" Roman Empire. And of course, the Catholics spoke Latin and the Orthodox spoke Greek. ![[Saint_Sophia,_Constantinopolis.jpg]] *6th-century Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years* In 1053, Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople closed Latin churches in the city and criticized Western practices. Pope Leo IX responded by sending a delegation led by Cardinal Humbert to assert papal supremacy and resolve disputes. Negotiations failed and after Leo IX's death, Humbert dramatically placed a bull of excommunication against Cerularius on the altar of Hagia Sophia in 1054. Cerularius retaliated by convening a synod that excommunicated the delegates. These mutual excommunications symbolized the schism and solidified the separation of Christianity into two major traditions: Roman Catholicism in the West and Eastern Orthodoxy in the East, each developing distinct hierarchies, liturgies, and doctrines as they drifted farther apart. The divide deepened with the Crusades, particularly the Fourth Crusade in 1204, when a Catholic army would sack Constantinople. ----- Next: [[11.14 - Anglo-Saxon England]] Back: [[11.12 - Muslim Science]]