The Split Between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches soon Ends

2014 anno Domini

Pope Francis bent down and kissed Ecumenical 

Patriarch’s hand in remarkable show of papal respect

Pope Francis and the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians prayed together Sunday inside the Jerusalem church that symbolizes their divisions, calling their historic meeting a step toward healing the centuries -old Catholic-Orthodox schism.
Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew embraced one another in the stone courtyard outside the 12th century Church of the Holy Sepulcher and recited the "Our Father" prayer together once inside, an unprecedented moment of solemnity at the spot where Catholic and Orthodox believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

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The Great Schism of 1054.

The separation between the Eastern and Western churches

 BLUE Catholics    RED Orthodox      PURPLE Protestants    GREEN Muslims 

   History

     The (arch)bishopric of Constantinople has had a continuous history since the founding of the city in 330 AD by Constantine the Great. 
   After Constantine the Great had enlarged Byzantium to make it into a new capital city in 330.

   Soon after the transfer of the Roman capital, the bishopric was elevated to an archbishopric. 
   For many decades the heads of the church of Rome opposed this ambition,

   In 381, the First Council of Constantinople declared that 
"The Bishop of Constantinople shall have the primacy of honour after the Bishop of Rome, because it is New Rome" (canon iii). 

   The Patriarchs refused to confirm this canon. Nonetheless, the prestige of the office continued to grow not only because of the obvious patronage of the Byzantine Emperor but because of its overwhelming physical and geographical importance. In practice, the Bishop of Rome eventually acknowledged this situation.....

   The Council of Chalcedon in 451 established Constantinople as a patriarchate with ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Asia Minor (the dioceses of Asiane and Pontus) and Thrace as well as over the barbaric territories, non-converted lands outside the defined area of the Western Patriarchate (Old Rome) and the other three patriarchates, 

   Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, gave it appellate jurisdiction extraterritorially over canon law decisions by the other patriarchs and granted it honours equal to those belonging to the first Christian see, Rome, in terms of primacy, Rome retaining however its seniority (canon xxviii). 

   Leo I refused to accept this canon, basing himself on the fact that it was made in the absence of his legates. In the 6th century, the official title became that of "Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch

27 ante Cristum

             The Roman Empire...

   When the Roman Empire started to grow and Rome became a more powerful city, a top government position became more and more attractive. 
   Therefore, more and more ambitious men got involved in government. 

   These men believed that Rome would be better served by one man governing the city and empire, as opposed to a group of elected officials. 
   These sole rulers were called emperors. The story behind the first emperor involves one of Ancient Rome's most famous stories.

   The great Julius Caesar led ancient Rome into the next system of rule known as the 

Roman Empire. 

   Julius Caesar wanted to control all of Rome and its empire. This would have led to the end of the system of government used in Ancient Rome for many years. When making a speech in the Senate to support his belief in a one-man rule, Caesar was murdered by Brutus who wanted to keep the old way going. 

   This murder did not stop the problem as Caesar’s supporters started a civil war to try to force their wishes onto Rome. 
   The war was long and costly. Exhaustion led to many Romans supporting Augustus, Caesar’s nephew. To many people he seemed to obvious choice to end the chaos Rome had descended into. 

   Augustus was seen as a strong ruler and he became emperor in 27 BC, bringing to an end the republic of Rome.

   The Roman Empire started only a few years before the birth of Christ…  

   The empire was continuously exposed to geo-political pressures…   To address more effectively the countless invaders, split into two manageable halves.

   The western half dissolve into the turmoils of the Middle Ages.

   The Eastern half (Constantinople) acted as a defensive stronghold against the marauding Mohammedans well into the 15th Century and allowed Christian Europe to reorganize itself and progress through the Renaissance and into "the age of enlightenment".

   The capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans on May 29, 1453 marked the end of the Roman Empire...

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