The Great Schism of the East and West

The Great Schism stemmed from events that happened in 1054 between the Orthodox and Catholic churches; the East and the West. (1) however, there were many events that were leading to this great divide for many decades before. Many of the Counsel's that met before tried to head off all of the differences that would eventually cause this Schism however, there were leaders on each side that were stuck in there own beliefs that couldn't come together to reconcile their differences. Though some of the beliefs were just out right heresy there were some that were somewhat correct if added with the beliefs of other theologians of the time.

Bishop Ware said it correct when he said, "These two distinctive approaches were not in themselves contradictory; each served to supplement the other, and each each had it's place in the fullness of the Catholic tradition." (2) He went on to say that the divide and with no oversight both sides would take their views to an extreme. As speculated, the East and West did just that. They both would add their own theological ideas to their beliefs and creeds. In doing so there became to different extreme approaches of worship and theological views.

After the Great Schism the West started "adding" "and the Son" and filoque which asserted the doctrine of the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son as well as from the Father; this was not admitted by the East. Therefore, "The Orthodox complained that the West was was violating the spirit as well as the of what had transpired at Nicea." (3) The Council at Nicea was an important event because it dealt with Christological issues and the Nicene Creed was seen as the first set of Christian doctrines. For a religious organization to blatantly add to it whether right or wrong, in their viewpoint, caused even more of a division.

Looking back at schisms and specifically the Great Schism there is much that can be learned in our churches today. There are many different denominations or religious affiliations that are very different in their beliefs and though there may not be any way that we can change all of thier beliefs, but as Christians we can do as Christ would by loving them and telling them the truth in a caring way. Just as there were the "Councils" to try to head much of all of this off I'm not sure that we are going to be able to close the gap on the many schisms we have today.

However, I believe that if we do as Christ commands us to, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15; NKJV), we will come closer to closing that gap. This is my favorite version of the Great commandment as the word "creature" hints that we are to preach to everyone of all nations, creeds, male or female, or background. This means even to those with other beliefs than ours with chance of hopefully turning them to the Truth; after all there are many religious organizations that have really gotten way off track. But, I will say that some or even many will not hear the Truth because they have been blinded just as those during the early church era. One last note about what Christ said, "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matt. 7:14; NKJV). But, that doesn't mean that we aren't supposed to do our part to fulfill the Great Commission!

References

1. Noll, Mark A. Turning Points, Third Edition: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012). Kindle E-Book Loc. 2526.

2. Ibid., Kindle Loc. 2570.

3. Ibid., Kindle Loc. 2582.