The patriarch of Constantinople laid claim to the spiritual leadership of Christians in the lands from S. Italy/S. Balkans to Asia Minor’s eastern borders, and from Russia to North Africa. In 1054, matters came to a head, mainly because of the expansion of the influence of the Roman papacy over the Christian churches in S. Italy.
Attempts at peace failed, and in 1054, Christianity divided into two main churches: the Western or Roman Catholic Church, and the Greek Orthodox Church in the east. Most of the nations and groups of Western Europe remained Catholic, while those who had been converted by missionaries from Constantinople largely remained loyal to the Orthodox Church.
What were the major differences between the Western and the Greek Church?.
What were the major differences between the Western and the Greek Church?
