Important Facts about the Great Schism of 1054 - split between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches
The Great Schism of 1054 was the split between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches. In 1054, relations between the Greek speaking Eastern of the Byzantine empire and the Latin speaking Western traditions within the Christian Church reached a terminal crisis. This crisis led to the separation between the Eastern and Western churches and is referred to as the Great Schism of 1054. The Christian Church split along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political, and geographic lines. The split, the Great Schism of 1054, led to the development of the modern Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
The Great Western Schism in Western Christendom: 1378 - 1417
The Great Western Schism occurred in in Western Christendom from 1378 - 1417. In 1378 the papal court was based in Rome and an Italian was elected pope as Pope Urban VI. The cardinals in the French interest refused to accept him, declared his election void, and named Clement VII as pope. Clement withdrew to Avignon, whilst Urban remained in Rome. Western Christendom could not decide which one to obey. Some countries declared for Urban, while other countries accepted Clement. The spectacle of two rival popes, each holding himself out as the only true successor of St. Peter, continued for about forty years and injured the Papacy more than anything else that had happened to it.
The Council of Constance 1414 - 1418
The schism in western Christendom was finally healed at the Council of Constance. There were three "phantom popes" at this time, but they were all deposed in favor of a new pontiff, Martin V. The Catholic world now had a single head based in Rome, but it was not easy to revive the old, unquestioning loyalty to him as God's vicar on earth.The religion became Roman Catholic.
