1. What was the nature of and what things contributed to a renewal in the Christian church just prior to the Great Schism of 1054?
Whether one terms it a 'renewal' of 'institutional advance', the Catholic church in the West underwent considerable change and reform in the two centuries leading up to the Great Schism, change which underscored the growing gulf between it and the eastern church. The inbuilt tendency towards organization and hierarchy that always operated within the Roman church contrasted sharply with the failure of the eastern patriarchates to move forward. In the West, land grants such as the Donation of Constantine allowed the Papacy to assume the role of independent potentate and to treat equally with kings and emperors whilst documents such as the 'False Decretals' were deployed to 'spin' the claims of the Roman pontiff to spiritual authority within the church and over secular rulers. The Roman church was largely free of secular interference in its affairs and was therefore able to consolidate its control over the faithful without hindrance. The emerging Doctrine of the Mass (verging upon the theology of Transubstantiation formally adopted in 1545), assisted in this process by emphasising the influence of a sacred hierarchy culminating in the Papacy which alone could admit the believer to the redemptive power of God. Continuing success in the mission field, especially in Scandinavia in the ninth and tenth centuries, further underlined Roman prestige whilst the reforms in the monastic orders, in particular the Cluniac houses, helped the papacy by enhancing the knowledge of Latin, setting higher standards for the clergy and educating more learned and devout churchmen. Fortunately, too, the supply of corrupt popes was interrupted from time to time by outstanding incumbents of the papal throne such as Nicholas I and Leo IX who were able to restore the papacy to its proper role.
2. What issues made the Great Schism of 1054 almost inevitable? What event became the 'straw that broke the camel's back'?
The two churches had been growing apart, vexatiously, for centuries before the Great Schism and it is likely that the split would have occurred eventually over some issue or other, whether major or minor. The Eastern Church had had to contend with pressure from the Muslims, interference from the Byzantine emperors who would not accept the primacy of the patriarchs and meddling by the Roman pontiffs who demanded that the weakened patriarchates should recognise their authority. The Eastern church was also riven by internecine disputes over such diverse issues as clerical marriage, independence of bishops in their sees, beards and iconolatry which the emperors had prohibited but which the Roman church continued to promote and practice. The actual schism came about as the result of a dispute over the use in the West of unleavened bread which the eastern church had disallowed. A mission sent from the West to resolve the dispute led to such an escalation of tension as centuries-worth of grievances were raised, that the Pope and the Patriarch formally excommunicated each other (actions which were only rescinded in 1965). Any contacts between the two churches thereafter were generally hostile and unproductive and they grew steadily apart.
3. What were the consequences of the Great Schism of 1054 especially as it related to Eastern Christianity?
After 1054, the Orthodox church remained isolated from the West and did not share in the developments which occurred in Western Europe such as the growth of urban life and culture, the emergence of a middle-class closely associated with the business of the church, the foundation of numerous universities and the cultural efflorescence of the Renaissance in many areas of Europe. The East remained in a time warp with little updating of liturgy or theology and such missionary activity as took place could not rival the success of the western missions. Unsupported by the authority of the wider church and the Roman pontiffs, the eastern church was prey to imperial meddling and remained both superstitious in outlook and highly parochialised.
Whether one terms it a 'renewal' of 'institutional advance', the Catholic church in the West underwent considerable change and reform in the two centuries leading up to the Great Schism, change which underscored the growing gulf between it and the eastern church. The inbuilt tendency towards organization and hierarchy that always operated within the Roman church contrasted sharply with the failure of the eastern patriarchates to move forward. In the West, land grants such as the Donation of Constantine allowed the Papacy to assume the role of independent potentate and to treat equally with kings and emperors whilst documents such as the 'False Decretals' were deployed to 'spin' the claims of the Roman pontiff to spiritual authority within the church and over secular rulers. The Roman church was largely free of secular interference in its affairs and was therefore able to consolidate its control over the faithful without hindrance. The emerging Doctrine of the Mass (verging upon the theology of Transubstantiation formally adopted in 1545), assisted in this process by emphasising the influence of a sacred hierarchy culminating in the Papacy which alone could admit the believer to the redemptive power of God. Continuing success in the mission field, especially in Scandinavia in the ninth and tenth centuries, further underlined Roman prestige whilst the reforms in the monastic orders, in particular the Cluniac houses, helped the papacy by enhancing the knowledge of Latin, setting higher standards for the clergy and educating more learned and devout churchmen. Fortunately, too, the supply of corrupt popes was interrupted from time to time by outstanding incumbents of the papal throne such as Nicholas I and Leo IX who were able to restore the papacy to its proper role.
2. What issues made the Great Schism of 1054 almost inevitable? What event became the 'straw that broke the camel's back'?
The two churches had been growing apart, vexatiously, for centuries before the Great Schism and it is likely that the split would have occurred eventually over some issue or other, whether major or minor. The Eastern Church had had to contend with pressure from the Muslims, interference from the Byzantine emperors who would not accept the primacy of the patriarchs and meddling by the Roman pontiffs who demanded that the weakened patriarchates should recognise their authority. The Eastern church was also riven by internecine disputes over such diverse issues as clerical marriage, independence of bishops in their sees, beards and iconolatry which the emperors had prohibited but which the Roman church continued to promote and practice. The actual schism came about as the result of a dispute over the use in the West of unleavened bread which the eastern church had disallowed. A mission sent from the West to resolve the dispute led to such an escalation of tension as centuries-worth of grievances were raised, that the Pope and the Patriarch formally excommunicated each other (actions which were only rescinded in 1965). Any contacts between the two churches thereafter were generally hostile and unproductive and they grew steadily apart.
3. What were the consequences of the Great Schism of 1054 especially as it related to Eastern Christianity?
After 1054, the Orthodox church remained isolated from the West and did not share in the developments which occurred in Western Europe such as the growth of urban life and culture, the emergence of a middle-class closely associated with the business of the church, the foundation of numerous universities and the cultural efflorescence of the Renaissance in many areas of Europe. The East remained in a time warp with little updating of liturgy or theology and such missionary activity as took place could not rival the success of the western missions. Unsupported by the authority of the wider church and the Roman pontiffs, the eastern church was prey to imperial meddling and remained both superstitious in outlook and highly parochialised.
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