The dispute

The dispute

Before the 400's, a single Christian church existed. But it consisted of several nationalities. Each nationality expressed the Christian faith in its own language and liturgy and, at times, its own theology. Gradually, cultural, geographic, political, and religious differences led to the development of several separate churches in the East Roman Empire. Beginning in the 400's, the Eastern churches began to drift away from the authority of Rome and the church in the West.

Many political, cultural, and geographical factors contributed to the final split in 1054. Two religious issues are generally considered the chief causes of the break. One issue concerned a phrase added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed called the filioque. At issue was the understanding of the concept of the Trinityóthe existence of God as a union of three Persons (the Father, the Son [Christ], and the Holy Spirit). Orthodox Christians use the original text of the creed, which states that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. They base their belief on a passage in the Gospel of Saint John (John 15: 26). Roman Catholics and other Western Christians use a later form of text, which states that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son. This additional phrase is the filioque. Another issue was the Roman papal claims to authority over the entire church.

Excerpt adapted from the "Roman Catholic Church" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999