In Byzantium there was a huge rise of Monasticism. The Edict of Milan and the conversion of Europe to Christianity was what caused the rise of Monasticism. Martyrdom came to an end and now all joy is acquired through a struggle through the Passions. The Cross becomes a key part in the struggle against the Passions. The Monks were to keep Christianity focused on eternal life rather than on the world. The asceticism of the time was to give up everything and not focus on any worldly possession. It was a spiritual struggle to the Kingdom of Heaven. This struggle was necessary to get to Heaven. There were four parts of Monastic tradition. The first was fasting. The Monks never ate meat. They only ate vegetables and every once in a while. During the Great Fast, or Lent, they never ate fish. Only vegetables were to be eaten. The second tradition was poverty. This was the vow to be poor. They gave up all possessions and became support for the poor. They also became the center for charity. The third was celibacy. The Monks could not partake in any sexual activity of any kind. They also were not allowed to have a spouse or any significant other. The last of the four was obedience. The Monks had to listen to what their abyss of the monastery and tried to never do anything again for self will (“Religion & Ethics-Christianity”). All of this led to humility, the mother of all virtues. It was a complete rejection of pride, the mother of all vices.
When Christianity arose, the Council of Nicaea occurred. This occurred in 325 under the Emperor Constantine. The Council was the first Ecumenical council and resulted in the doctrine of the first Christian doctrine and declared that those who believed Jesus not to be God, but only man, were heretics. This doctrine was known as the Nicene Creed (Noss 486-487). It was important because it was the first attempt to have a general consensus in the Christian Church. The Council of Nicaea was not the only consensus formed. The main Christian cities formed to what became known as the Pentarchy. These cities were Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. It was composed of five bishops and they all oversaw the Church and all worked together as a council. There were autocratic rights and they all had to agree on the views of the Church. One of the main issues they came to a ruling on was Iconoclasm. This was an example of the church rules over all. The emperor at the time, Constantine Copronymus banned all icons and used the military to destroy all of them. However, the council decides in 787 that icons are acceptable. The Church rules over all and the emperor cannot be autocratic at all. The issue of Iconoclasm was indirectly the reason for the separation of Church and state.
Up until this point in time, all Christians were getting along. Even though this was still true, two of the five major cities emerged greatly. These two cities were Rome, in the West, and Constantinople, in the East. Therefore, the Pentarchy went down to a Diarchy. They had major cultural differences most of all. In the West (Italy) the people began using Latin and converted the Old and New Testament to this new language. In the East they used Greek still and their Old and New Testament were still in Greek (“Religion Facts”). In the West there was the Latin Mass and in the East there was the Greek Divine Liturgy. In the West, priests were supposed to be celibate, and in the East, they were allowed to marry and have children. Needless to say, there were many slight differences that emerged from the two cultures. With all of these differences occurring, the Great Schism ultimately was a result. One of the main causes of the Great Schism was “Papal Primacy”. This was the largest problem. The problem was that he early Church was governed by bishops. Leo the Great looked at the “Petrine Primacy” and justified why the bishop of Rome was the main leader. The bishop of Rome was seen as the first among equals, but does not have the main authority. Then Honorius the ruler was a heretic and was eventually excommunicated. However, the Papacy becomes the ultimate defender of the faith as a result.
Another issue was the issue of the Filioque. This literally means “of the son”. This is associated with the Nicene Creed that was established in 325. The council revises the Creed in 381. The original Creed states, “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father”. The issue of the Filioque is that the West changed their Creed to “who proceeds from the Father and the Son”. This was a huge problem because the east did not believe this to be true. This caused a major part of the Schism because now that there are two different Creeds, there are two entirely different faiths, and two entirely different churches. This was the worst thing that could have occurred in the Church (“Religion Facts”).
Another cause was Patriarch Photius of Byzantium. He decides to excommunicate the Pope of Rome in 866 AD. As a result, Pope Nicolas I of Rome excommunicates Photius in 867 AD. This resulted in the separation of churches up to this day. All of these things lead up to what actually, truly began the Great Schism in 1054 AD. At this time the Pope of Rome was still hostile toward s the Patriarch. Therefore he writes a letter saying that the Patriarch must submit to the Pope and sends Cardinal Humbert to give it to the Patriarch. He slams the letter down on the altar during the Liturgy at Hagia Sophia. As a result, the Patriarch excommunicates the Pope and vice versa (“Religion & Ethics-Christianity”). This results in the division of Christianity altogether and the West is the Roman Catholics and in the East is the Greek Orthodox faith. Both of these churches still claim to be the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church.
Following the Renaissance, there was a Papal Schism and a decline in Roman Catholicism. The argument between France and Italy was to decide what nationality the Pope was. As a result, there were two Popes. One of them was located, in Rome and the other was located in Avignon. During the Conciliar movement, a third Pope is added to the list. They all refer to each other as the anti-Christ. The Papacy does not recover until the beginning of the 15th century.
As Catholicism continued to decline, the Protestant Reformation began. It began on October 31, 1517 after a priest monk posted the ninety-five Theses. Martin Luther was the main cause of this. He was a priest monk who was looking for justifications of the Catholic Church. His main problem with the Church was indulgences. As he researched he came up with the ninety-five Theses. This backfired in his face and ultimately caused the creation of the Lutheran Church. The idea of “Sola Scriptura” was born, which meant scripture alone. If the religion was not based on the scripture alone, it was not considered to be Christianity. Also, the clergy of the Lutheran church was not ordered to be celibate. They were allowed to marry and have significant others. This reformation ultimately came as a reaction to the Roman Catholic Church (Neusner 305). Another major influence of this was John Calvin. He came up with the notion of pre-destination. This was not a part of the Catholic Church and also led to the decline. All of these things combined ultimately led up and caused the decline of the Catholic Church and established religions that are still present today. Between the four main religions, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodox, and Lutheranism, they were all very important in establishing western civilization. Judaism was what started western civilization and was the basis for lifestyles. As a result of this, Christianity was created. It built off of Judaism. Christianity, however, did end up splitting into two very powerful types of religion; Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodox. Although these are two separate religions, they are very similar in their beliefs and are based off the same idea. The Lutheran Church was created as a result challenging the Roman Catholic Church and established another religion that is still present to this day. All of these religions would not have been created unless the other one was present. They all somewhat bounce off of each other’s beliefs and they all have formed Churches that are said to be the one, true religion.
Works Cited
Haskins, James. “World Religions.” History and Comparisons of Major Religions. [Online] Available http://www.greatdreams.com/religin3.htm/, April 6, 2008.
Neusner, Jacob. Religious Foundation of Western Civilization. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006.
Noss, David, and Blake R. Grangaard. A History of the World's Religions. Twelfth Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2008.
“Religion & Ethics- Christianity.” [Online] Available
