Great Schism

Great Schism

I had an interesting interview today, with a woman who was alive during the era of the Great Schism. Her name is Katherine, and she gave me some very big details about what really happened during this split

Q: Now Katherine, could you tell me a bit about before the split

A: Why of course. We were all just one big religion, living under the same European roof. We shared everything, the church had always been such a huge part of the government, and I honestly couldn't imagine a society not being like that! The Pope was doubly powerful and everyone pretty much believed the same things.

Q: Now the split, why did it happen? Who was it between? When did this occur?

A: I am pretty sure a lot of the split had to do with religious icons, I mean like which ones we are supposed to use I guess. It was between the east and the west, or you could think of it as between the Byzantines and the Pope. In 1054, things got very official. The problems got worse in 1054, and the split finally happened. This created two different religions, eastern and western Christianity. It was a pretty radical split.

Q: Well if it was split, what two religions were formed? Was anything else split up?

A: Obviously the Eastern and Western ones. To be more specific, the religions are Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic. Another big thing that split were languages, the two that were split between the religions were Greek and Latin. The Pope and Patriarch were at odds with each other and excommunicated one another. This caused even more disputes between religions. They made marriage into a big deal and it’s very different in the two religions.

Q: So a lot changed during this split? How do you think it’s going to impact the future?

A: Well I would have to say that the creation of two separate main religions will have an impact. These will probably stick around for a while and maybe even make it to the distant year of 2010. These two didn't exist before, so I'm sure this will play a role in the future.