The Great Schism of 1054
Great Schism
The Great Schism of 1054 marked the formal break in communion between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. At its core, the division was ecclesiological, concerning how authority functions within the Church.
Rome increasingly claimed that the Pope possessed universal jurisdiction over all Christians, asserting that he was the supreme head of the Church whose authority was final and binding. The Eastern Church rejected this claim, maintaining that the Church is governed conciliarly through councils of bishops.
From the Eastern Orthodox perspective, the Pope held a position of honor as first among equals, but not a monarchical authority over the entire Church. Rome’s growing centralization of power was seen as an innovation that violated the ancient conciliar structure inherited from the Apostles.
Alongside ecclesiological disagreements, theological differences also intensified. One major issue was the filioque, whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, as taught in the East, or from the Father and the Son, as later added in the West. The East viewed this addition as an unauthorized alteration of the Creed and a distortion of Trinitarian theology.
Differences in theological approach further deepened the divide. Western theology increasingly emphasized scholastic methods, legal categories, and systematic philosophical definitions, while Eastern theology remained more mystical and apophatic, prioritizing direct experience of God over rational explanation.