In what year was the separation of churches. The division of the Christian church into Catholic and Orthodox: the meaning of the Great Schism
July 16, 2014 marked the 960th anniversary of the split of the Christian Church into Catholic and Orthodox
Last year I “passed by” this topic, although I assume that for many it is very, very interesting. Of course, it’s interesting to me, but earlier I didn’t go into details, I didn’t even try, but always, so to say, “ran across” this problem, because it concerns not only religion, but the whole world history.
In different sources, by different people, the problem, as usual, is interpreted in the way it is beneficial to "its side." I wrote in Mile's blogs about my critical attitude towards some of the current religious enlighteners who impose religious dogma as a law on the secular state ... But I always respected believers of any denomination and made a distinction between servants who are true believers who repent of faith. Well, the branch of Christianity is Orthodoxy ... in two words - I am baptized in orthodox Church. My faith does not consist of going to the temples, the temple I have inside since birth, there is no clear definition, in my opinion it should not be ...
I hope that the dream and the goal of life that wanted to see will come true someday unification of all world religions, - "There is no religion above truth" . I am a supporter of this view. Much is not alien to me, which does not accept Christianity, orthodoxy in particular. If there is a God, then he is one (One) for all.
On the Internet I found an article with the opinion of the Catholic and Orthodox Church on Great split. Copy the text in the diary completely, very interesting ...
Split christian church (1054)
The Great Schism of 1054 - church schism, after which finally happened the division of the Church into the Catholic Church in the West and the Orthodox Church in the East.
HISTORY OF SPLIT
In fact, disagreements between the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople began long before 1054, but it was in 1054 that Pope Leo IX sent legates to Constantinople headed by Cardinal Humbert to resolve the conflict, which began with the closure of 1053 Latin churches in Constantinople by order of Patriarch Michael Cyrilaria in which his sakellarium Constantine threw out the Holy Gifts, prepared according to the Western custom from unleavened bread, from the tabernacles, and trampled on them
Michael Kirulari (eng.) .
However, finding a path to reconciliation failed, and July 16, 1054 in Hagia Sophia, the papal legates announced the overthrow of Kirulari and his excommunication from the Church. In response to this, on July 20, the patriarch betrayed the legacy of anathema.
The split has not been overcome until now, although in 1965 mutual curses were lifted.
REASONS FOR SPLIT
The split had many reasons:
ritual, dogmatic, ethical differences between the Western and Eastern Churches, property disputes, the struggle of the Pope of Rome and the Constantinople Patriarch for primacy among the Christian patriarchs, different languages of worship (Latin in western church and Greek in eastern)
.
POINT OF VIEW OF THE WESTERN (CATHOLIC) CHURCH
The special letter was presented on July 16, 1054 in Constantinople in the St. Sophia Church on the holy altar during the divine service of Pope Roman Cardinal Cardinal Humbert.
The exempt literacy contained the following charges against the Eastern Church:
1. The Church of Constantinople does not recognize the Holy Roman Church as the first apostolic pulpit, which, as the head, is in charge of all the churches;
2. Michael is wrongly called the patriarch;
3. Like the Simonians, they sell the gift of God;
4. Like the Valesians, they cast forth aliens, and make them not only clerics, but also bishops;
5. Like the Arians, they baptize baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, especially the Latins;
6. Like the Donatists, they claim that all over the world, with the exception of the Greek Church, both the Church of Christ, and the true Eucharist, and baptism were lost;
7. Like Nicolas, allow marriages to the servants of the altar;
8. Likewise Severians, the law of Moses is cursed;
9. Similar to the Dukhobors, cut off in the creed of the crest the Holy Spirit and from the Son (filioque);
10. Like the Manichaeas, they consider the leaven animated;
11. Like Nazarenes, Judean bodily cleansings are observed, newborn children are not baptized before eight days after birth, parents are not given communion, and if they are heathen, they are denied baptism.
Exemplary text
POINT OF VIEW OF THE EAST (ORTHODOX) CHURCH
“Seeing such an act by the papal legates, publicly insulting the Eastern church, the church of Constantinople in self-defense, for its part, also condemned the Roman church, or, better to say, the papal legates, led by the Roman high priest. Patriarch Michael on July 20 of the same year gathered a council at which the instigators of church discord received due retribution. The definition of this cathedral said:
“Some ungodly people came from the darkness of the West to the kingdom of piety and to this God-kept city, from which, as from a source, the waters of pure doctrine flow to the ends of the earth. They came to this city like thunder, or storm, or smooth, or better, like wild boars, to overthrow the truth. ”
At the same time, the conciliar definition pronounces an anathema on Roman legates and persons related to them.
A.P. Lebedev. From the book: The history of the division of churches in the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries.
Text full definition of this cathedral in Russian still unknown.
You can familiarize yourself with Orthodox apologetic studies dealing with the problems of Catholicism in the curriculum for comparative theology of the Orthodox Church: link
PERCEPTION OF THE SPLIT IN RUSSIA
After leaving Constantinople, the papal legates went to Rome in a roundabout way to notify other Eastern hierarchs of the excommunication of Michael Kirularia. Among other cities, they visited Kiev, where they were received by the Grand Duke and the Russian clergy with appropriate honors.
In subsequent years, the Russian Church did not take an unambiguous position in support of any of the parties to the conflict, although it remained Orthodox. If the hierarchs of Greek origin were prone to anti-Latin controversy, then the actual Russian priests and rulers not only did not participate in it, but did not understand the essence of the dogmatic and ritual claims against Rome.
Thus, Russia maintained communication with both Rome and Constantinople, making certain decisions depending on political necessity.
Twenty years later, after the “division of the Churches,” there was a significant case of the appeal of the Grand Duke of Kiev (Izyaslav-Dimitri Yaroslavich) to the authority of Pope St. Gregory VII. In his feud with his younger brothers for the Kiev throne, Izyaslav, the legitimate prince, was forced to flee abroad (to Poland and then to Germany), from which he appealed for the protection of his rights to the two heads of the medieval “Christian republic” - to the emperor (Henry IV) and to dad.
The princely embassy in Rome was headed by his son Yaropolk-Peter, who was instructed to “give all the Russian land under the patronage of St. Peter. Dad really intervened in the situation in Russia. In the end, Izyaslav returned to Kiev (1077).
Izyaslav himself and his son Yaropolk are canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Around 1089, the embassy of anti-papa Gibert (Clement III) arrived in Kiev to Metropolitan John, apparently, who wanted to strengthen his position by recognizing him in Russia. John, being a Greek by origin, responded with a message, although compiled in the most respectful terms, but still directed against the “delusions” of the Latins (this is the first non-apocryphal “anti-Latins” non-apocryphal writing in Russia, although not a Russian author ). However, the successor of John, Metropolitan Ephraim (Russian by birth) himself sent a trustee to Rome, probably with the purpose of personally verifying the situation on the ground;
In 1091 this messenger returned to Kiev and "brought many relics of the saints." Then, according to the Russian chronicles, ambassadors from the pope came in 1169. In Kiev, there were Latin monasteries (including Dominican - from 1228), on the lands under Russian princes, with their permission, Latin missionaries acted (for example, in 1181 princes of Polotsk were allowed to monks to the St. Augustinians from Bremen to baptize the Latvians and Livs under their control on the Western Dvina).
In the upper class were (to the displeasure of the Greeks) numerous mixed marriages. Great Western influence is noticeable in some areas of church life. A similar situation persisted until the Tatar-Mongol invasion.
REMOVAL OF MUTUAL ANAFEM
In 1964, a meeting was held in Jerusalem between the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, the head of the Constantinople Orthodox Church and Pope Paul VI, as a result of which mutual anathemas were lifted and in 1965 the Joint Declaration was signed
Declaration of lifting anathemas
However, this formal “goodwill gesture” had no practical or canonical meaning.
From a Catholic point of view, the anathemas of the First Vatican Council against all those who deny the doctrine of the primacy of the Pope and the infallibility of his judgments on matters of faith and morality, uttered "ex cathedra" (that is, when the Pope acts as earthly the head and mentor of all Christians), as well as a number of other decisions of a dogmatic nature.
John Paul II was able to cross the threshold of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kiev, accompanied by the primacy of the unrecognizable by other Orthodox churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate.
And on April 8, 2005, for the first time in the history of the Orthodox Church, a memorial service held by representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate at the head of the Roman Catholic Church was held at the Vladimir Cathedral.
Almost a thousand years ago, the Catholic and Orthodox churches went their separate ways. July 15, 1054 is considered the official date of the gap, but this was preceded by a century-long history of gradual separation.
Akakije schism
The first church schism, Akakiev schism, occurred in the year 484 and lasted 35 years. And although the formal unity of the churches was restored after him, further separation was already inevitable. It all began with what seemed to be a joint struggle against the heresies of Monophysitism and Nestorianism. The Council of Chalcedon condemned both false doctrines and it was at this council that the form of the Creed was approved, which the Orthodox Church still professes to this day. The decisions of the Council caused a long "monophysite confusion." The Monophysites and the tempted monks seized Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, expelling the chalcedonite bishops from there. A religious war was brewing. In an effort to bring harmony and unity in faith, Konstatnipolsky Patriarch Akaki and Emperor Zeno developed a compromise doctrinal formula. Pope Felix II defended the Chalcedonian dogma. He demanded that Acacius arrive at the cathedral in Rome in order to give an explanation of his policies. In response to the refusal of Acacius and the bribing of papal legates by him, Felix II excommunicated Acacius from the Church at a cathedral in Rome in July 484, and he, in turn, struck out the name of the Pope from the diptychs. Thus began the split, called Akakinsky schazma. Then the west and east were reconciled, but "the sediment remained."
Pope of Rome: the pursuit of primacy
Beginning in the second half of the 4th century, the Roman bishop demanded that his church should have the status of dominant authority. Rome was to become the center of government of the Ecumenical Church. This was justified by the will of Christ, who, in the opinion of Rome, endowed Peter with authority, telling him: “You are Peter, and on this stone I will create My Church” (Matthew 16, 18). The Pope considered himself no longer simply the successor of Peter, recognized since then as the first bishop of Rome, but also his vicar, in whom the apostle continues to live and, through the Pope, rule the Universal Church.
Despite some resistance, this position about the championship was gradually accepted by the whole West. The rest of the Church generally adhered to the ancient understanding of leadership through catholicity.
Patriarch of Constantinople: Head of Eastern Churches
The 7th century witnessed the birth of Islam, which began to spread at lightning speed, helped by the Arabs' conquest of the Persian Empire, which for a long time was a formidable rival of the Roman Empire, as well as Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. From this period on, the patriarchs of these cities were often forced to entrust the management of the remaining Christian congregation to their representatives, who were in the localities, while they themselves were supposed to live in Constantinople. As a result, a relative decrease in the importance of these patriarchs occurred, and the patriarch of Constantinople, whose chair already during the Council of Chalcedon, held in 451, was placed second after Rome, thus becoming, to some extent, the highest judge of the Churches of the East .
Iconoclastic crisis: emperors are against the face of saints
The triumph of Orthodoxy, celebrated by us in one of the weeks of Great Lent, is another evidence of the bitter theological clashes of past times. In 726, the iconoclastic crisis broke out: the emperors Leo III, Constantine V and their successors forbade depicting Christ and the saints and reading icons. Opponents of the imperial doctrine, mostly monks, were thrown into prison, tortured.
The popes supported the veneration of worship and interrupted communication with the iconoclast emperors. In response, they joined the Constantinople Patriarchate of Calabria, Sicily and Illyria (the western part of the Balkans and the north of Greece), which until then had been under the jurisdiction of the Pope of Rome.
The legitimacy of the veneration of icons of the Eastern Church was restored at the VII Ecumenical Council in Nicea. But the gulf of misunderstanding between the West and the East was deepening, complicated by political and territorial issues.
Cyril and Methodius: the alphabet for the Slavs
A new round of disagreement between Rome and Constantinople began in the second half of the 9th century. At this time, the question arose as to which jurisdiction the Slavic peoples who entered the path of Christianity were attributed. This conflict also left a deep mark in the history of Europe.
At that time, Nicholas I became the pope, who sought to establish the domination of the Pope in the Universal Church, to limit the intervention of secular authorities in church affairs. There is an opinion that he supported his actions with forged documents allegedly issued by previous popes.
In Constantinople, Photius became the patriarch. It was on his initiative that the saints Cyril and Methodius translated the liturgical and most important biblical texts into Slavic, creating the alphabet for this, and thus laid the foundation for the culture of the Slavic lands. The policy of talking to the neophytes in their dialect brought Constantinople more success than the Romans, who persistently expressed themselves in Latin, gained.
XI century: unleavened bread for the participle
XI century. for the Byzantine Empire was truly "golden." The power of the Arabs finally undermined, Antioch returned to the empire, a little more - and Jerusalem would be liberated. Kievan Rus, adopting Christianity, quickly became part of the Byzantine civilization. The rapid cultural and spiritual growth was accompanied by the political and economic flourishing of the empire. But precisely in the XI century. there was a final spiritual break with Rome. From the beginning of the XI century. the name of the pope was no longer remembered in the Constantinople diptychs, which meant that communication with him was interrupted.
In addition to the question of the origin of the Holy Spirit, there was disagreement between the churches and a number of religious customs. The Byzantines, for example, resented the use of unleavened bread for communion. If in the first centuries, leavened bread was used everywhere, then from the 7th – 8th centuries Communion began to be served in the West by unleavened bread, that is, without leaven, as the ancient Jews did at their Easter.
Duel on anathemas
In 1054 an event occurred that caused the gap between the church tradition of Constantinople and the western current.
In an effort to get the help of the pope before the threat of the Normans who attempted to Byzantine possessions of southern Italy, Emperor Konstantin Monomakh, on the advice of the Latin Argyr, appointed by him as the ruler of these possessions, took a conciliatory position in relation to Rome and wished to restore unity. But the actions of the Latin reformers in the south of Italy, which infringed upon Byzantine religious customs, disturbed the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cyrilaria. The papal legates, among whom was Cardinal Humbert, who arrived in Constantinople for the negotiations on the unification, sought to remove Michael Kirulari. The case ended with the fact that the legates entrusted the bull to the throne of St. Sophia about the excommunication of the patriarch and his supporters. A few days later, in response, the patriarch and the council convened by him excommunicated the legates themselves from the Church.
As a result, the pope and the patriarch exchanged anathemas against each other, which marked the final split of the Christian churches and the emergence of the main directions: Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
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The main course of Christianity, opposed in the IV-VII centuries. Arianism of Nestorianism and other non-Chalcedonian currents, somewhat later divided itself into two branches: the western and the eastern. It is believed that this split was predetermined by the collapse of the Roman Empire in 395 in two parts: the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, whose further historical fates were different. The first of them in a few decades fell under the blows of the "barbarians", and on its former territory in the earlier Middle Ages the feudal states of Western Europe arose. The Eastern Roman Empire, which historians usually call Byzantium, existed until the middle of the 15th century. Feudalism similarly develops here, but it differs significantly from Western feudalism. Relations between church and state were completely different in the West and the East. In the West, in connection with the decline, and then the abolition of the power of the emperor, the authority of the head of the Western Christian church, the Pope, has grown extraordinarily. In the Middle Ages, under conditions of feudal fragmentation, the popes sought to put their power above the power of secular rulers, and more than once they became victors in conflicts with them. In the East, where for a long time the single state and strong power of the emperor remained, the patriarchs of churches (there were several of them - Constantinople, Alexandria of Antioch, Jerusalem, etc.), of course, could not receive such independence and were essentially under the care of the emperors. She played her role in the division of churches and a certain cultural disunity of Western Europe and Byzantium. While the united Roman Empire existed, the Latin and Greek languages were approximately equal throughout its territory. But later in the West, Latin was established as the language of the church and state, while in the East, they mostly used Greek.
Features of the socio-political development of the West and the East, and differences in their cultural traditions - led to the gradual separation of the western and eastern churches. Some differences between them and noticeable already in the V - VI centuries. They are even more intensified in the VIII - X centuries. in connection with the adoption in the West of some new dogmas rejected by the eastern churches. A decisive step towards breaking the unity was made in 589 at the Toledo Church Council, whose decision the Eastern Church categorically did not accept: in the Creed, approved at the Nicene-Constantinople Council in 381, representatives of the Western Church added the doctrine that the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son. In Latin, this teaching sounds like Filioque (Filiogue - filio - son, gue - the preposition "and", put together after the word "son"). Formally, the innovation was made to contrast the teachings of the Arians (who asserted the inequality of God the Son to God the Father) in order to affirm and emphasize this equality. However, this addition has become the main subject of the dogmatic divergence of future independent Orthodox and Catholic churches.
The final split occurred on July 16 in 1054.. When the ambassadors of Pope Leo IX and Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerullaria directly in the service in the church of St. Sophia in Constantinople accused each other of heresy and anathematized. Only in 1965 this mutual anathema was lifted. The name Eastern Orthodox (Greek Orthodox) was established after the Eastern Church, the Catholic (Roman Catholic) after the Western Church. “Orthodoxy” is the “tracing” of the Greek word “orthodoxy” (“ortos” - correct, correct, and “doxa” - opinion). The word "Catholic" means "universal, universal." Orthodoxy was spread mainly in the East and Southeast of Europe. Currently, it is the main religion in countries such as: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Romania and some others. Catholicism for a long time (until the 16th century) was the religion of the whole of Western Europe. In a later era, it retained its position in Italy, Spain, France, Poland and a number of other European countries. Catholicism has its followers in Latin America and other countries of the world.
Distinctive features of the faith of the cult of Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Despite the fact that for many centuries the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches had a sharp controversy on many dogmatic issues, accusing each other of heresy, it should still be noted that similarities are preserved both in religious practice and in elements of dogma. So, both Orthodoxy and Catholicism recognize two sources of dogma: Holy Bible and Sacred Tradition. Holy Scripture is the Bible. Holy Tradition is believed to contain those provisions of the Christian doctrine, which the apostles conveyed to their disciples only orally. Therefore, for several centuries they were preserved in the church as an oral tradition, and only later were recorded in the writings of the Fathers of the Church — prominent Christian writers of the second and fifth centuries. In relation to the Holy Tradition, there are significant differences between Orthodox and Catholics: Orthodoxy recognizes the decisions of only seven Ecumenical Councils, and Catholics - twenty-one councils, whose decisions were not recognized by orthodox and were called "ecumenical" by the Catholic Church. Even before the official separation of the churches in 1054, there were significant differences between the eastern and western branches of Christianity. They continued to grow after the emergence of two independent Christian churches. If you have been to Orthodox and Catholic churches, you could not but pay attention to the difference in worship services, architecture and their internal structure. In catholic church(The word church came to us from the Polish language, it is identical to the Russian church concept. This borrowing is explained by the fact that Poland is the closest Catholic country to Russia. However, not every Catholic church can be called a church. This term usually does not apply to temples in Western Europe) there is no iconostasis that separates the altar from the part of the church where the believers are located, but, as a rule, there are many sculptures, paintings and stained glass windows. An organ plays on the services of Catholics, and only human voices are heard in an Orthodox church. They sit in the church, and stand in the Orthodox Church during the service. Catholics are baptized with all straight fingers from left to right, and Orthodox from right to left and folded three, etc.
But all this is, as it were, the external side, a reflection of deeper disagreements and disputes. Consider the most important distinguishing features of the Catholic dogma, the device of the church, worship. Note that these differences are not listed in order to emphasize the distance between the two branches of Christianity. The question of how to pray, be baptized, sit or stand in the temple, more serious dogmatic disputes should not become a reason for hostility between people. It is simply desirable to know and understand the peculiarities of different religions, which will help us mutually respect the right of every nation and individual to follow the faith of their fathers.
Let's start with the term catholic.Intranslated from Greek it means universal, universal.Before the schism, the Catholic Church was called the entire Christian church, both western and eastern, emphasizing its universal character. But historically, this name was later attached to the western branch of Christianity. Throughout its history, the Western Roman Catholic Church has really sought to become an expression of the interests of all Christians, i.e. claimed world domination.
You are already familiar with the main dogmatic difference: this is the representation of Catholics that the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Holy Trinity) proceedsfrom God the Father and God the Son (filioque).The problem was complicated by the fact that in Christian theological science there was never a unity on how to properly interpret this is the processionwhich is quite logical considered incomprehensible to the human mind. In addition, the Greek verb "to proceed", used in the Creed, was translated into Latin as prose (literally speaking, walking on, continuing), which did not quite correspond to the meaning of the Greek word.
To the uninitiated, this distinction does not seem so important, but for the theological concept of the one and the other Christian churches, it is of the utmost importance: it derives from many other dogmatic discrepancies.
An important specific dogma of Catholicism is the doctrine of “Super-must” (the so-called dogma of the “stock of good deeds”).According to this provision, for the long time of the church’s existence, there has been accumulated an “excess of good deeds” accomplished by Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints. The Pope and the Church dispose of this wealth on Earth and can distribute it among those believers who need it - Catholic theologians believed. As a rule, sinners are more interested in this “surplus”, aspiring to atone for their sins. In Catholicism, as well as in Orthodoxy, the priest, after confession and repentance, can absolve the parishioners of the spiritual authority given to him by God. But this is not a complete forgiveness, since it does not guarantee the deliverance of the sinner from possible punishment for sin on earth and “in the next world” immediately after death. Therefore, from the theory of "super must cases" was born the practice of issuing indulgences (since lat. indulgentia mercy, forgiveness), those. special papal letters, testifying to the full absolution of both committed and imperfect sins due to the “transfer to your account” of the part of the “surplus”. At first, indulgences were given out for any church merit of the penitent, but the idea was brought to a logical conclusion, when the church simply began to sell these papers for money. Such trade has incomparably enriched the church, but it has provoked violent criticism from many contemporaries — after all, immorality in such practices is indeed obvious. It was the protest against the sale of indulgences that was the main impetus to the reformation and the beginning of Protestantism in the 16th century.
Criticism and direct ridicule forced the pope to reconsider this shameful practice: since 1547, the trade in indulgences was strictly prohibited. For certain church merit (or on holidays), indulgences can be issued even now, but not so much to individuals as to whole church communities. The Catholic Church has a peculiar doctrine of heaven and hell. At the Ferrara-Florence Cathedral in 1439, the dogma was adopted that after death the sinner falls into the so-called purgatory (dogma and purgatory), where he temporarily remains in agony, being cleansed by fire (for the first time, Father Gregory the Great spoke about purgatory (VI in) one of the creators of the Liturgy rite. Later he can go to paradise from here. If you are familiar with the work of Dante Alighieri (Divine Comedy ”Dante Alighieri includes 3 parts: “Hell”, “Purgatory”, “Paradise”), then you know that hell, in the view of Catholics, consists of nine concentric circles into which sinners fall depending on the severity of their accomplishment in life. There was no such teaching either in the New Testament or in the teachings of early Christianity. The Catholic Church argued that while the deceased was in purgatory, relatives could, while praying earnestly or donating money to the church, “redeem” him and thereby reduce the torment of a loved one (according to the theory of “super must”). In the Orthodox Church, there is no such detailed idea of the transition to the afterlife, although it is also customary to pray for the departed and commemorate them on the third, ninth and fortieth day after death. These prayers caused a misunderstanding of the Catholic theologians, because if after death the soul goes straight to God, then what is the meaning of these prayers?
In Catholicism, the cult of the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary, plays a special role. In 1864, the dogma was adopted, stating that she, like Christ, conceived immaculately (the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary),"From the Holy Spirit." Relatively recently, in 1950, added more the dogma that the Mother of God "ascended soul and body to heaven." So in this, she seems to be completely equal by the Catholics with her divine son - Jesus.The cults of Our Lady (Madonna in Italian) and Christ are equal in Western Christianity, but in practice the Virgin Mary is revered even more. The Eastern Church also warmly and touchingly honors the Mother of God, but Orthodox theologians believe that if we recognize her as equal to Christ in everything, the latter cannot be the Savior towards her.
The Catholic Church, as well as the Orthodox, honors cult of saints.Every day, the Catholic Church commemorates several saints. Some of them are common to all Christians, and some are purely Catholic. There are disagreements regarding the recognition of certain figures by the saints. For example, the emperor Constantine the Great (4th century), who made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, is not Catholic (unlike Orthodox) among the saints, although it is considered a model of the Christian ruler.
The canonization of saints takes place in Catholicism, as in Orthodoxy, through canonization,which is carried out, as a rule, many years after the death of the saint. In this matter, the role of the Pope plays a big role. In addition to the canonization of the Catholics adopted the so-called beatification (from Lat. Leatus - blissful and facio - I do) - preliminary canonization. Her solely exercising dad.
Orthodoxy and Catholicism strictly follows the principle of the "saving power of the church."In these branches of Christianity (unlike Protestantism), it is believed that without the church there is no salvation, since this saving power is transmitted through The Sacraments - Conductors of Grace (Except for the Church, the Sacraments cannot be performed anywhere else). The Eastern and Western churches recognize 7 Sacraments, but there are differences in their administration:
1. The Sacrament of Baptism - frees a person from original sin and from the influence of fallen spirits (demons, demons). The Baptism is accomplished by Catholics by pouring water on the head of the person baptized three times and not by triple immersion in water, as in Orthodoxy (existing now in some orthodox churches The practice of baptizing adults without immersion is basically wrong. Usually it is associated with an elementary absence of the required conditions - a room, a large font). You can baptize both babies and adults. In the first case, the entire responsibility for the Christian upbringing of children upon reaching their conscious age is assumed by the parents. An adult on the eve of baptism must undergo a preparatory period - catechization(learning the basics of faith) and confirm your readiness to become a Christian. In some cases, baptism can be accomplished without a priest, by the forces of the church laity.
2. The Sacrament of Confirmation (as a result of which a person receives the grace of the Holy Spirit to strengthen spiritual forces) in Catholicism is called confirmation, which literally means “approval”, “strengthening”.It is not performed on infants (in Orthodoxy such a practice exists), but only when a person reaches a conscious age and once.
3. The Sacrament of Confession, Repentanceand the absolution occurs, according to the faith of Catholics and Orthodox, before God and on behalf of God. The priest acts in this case only as a witness and “transmitting authority” of God's will. In Catholicism, as in Orthodoxy, the secret of confession must be strictly observed.
4. Communion of the Eucharistall Christians consider installed by Jesus himself at the Last Supper. For a Catholic and an Orthodox believer, this Sacrament is the immutable and the main foundation of all church life. Communion with the laity was usually carried out in the Western Church only by bread (and not bread and wine, as in Orthodoxy). Communion of the same wine had the right only priests (laity - by special permission of the Pope). Now this restriction is weakened, and the question is left to the discretion of the local church hierarchs. For communion catholics use unleavened bread (wafer), and Orthodox - sour (prosphora). As well as confirmation, the first participle is performed on children who have reached the age of reason (usually about 7-10 years; for the Orthodox, right after the infant was baptized). It becomes a great family holiday and a memorable day. Catholics often take communion, almost daily, so the fast required by the ancient rules on the eve of this sacrament is kept to a minimum. The sacrament of the Sacrament is performed by Catholics at Mass, among Orthodox at liturgy, the main church services.
5. The Sacrament of Marriage sanctifies the union of man and woman by the grace of God and gives strength to overcome difficulties on the path of life. Hincluded in the Catholic Church, church marriage is theoretically indivisible, therefore, divorces in Catholic countries are very difficult, and the re-wedding ceremony is impossible at all. The Catholic Church recognizes the wedding ceremony performed in the churches of other Christian denominations; marriage with non-believers and non-believers (stipulating certain conditions) The family and the interests of children are protected by the Catholic Church. In Catholic countries, abortions are strictly prohibited by the church. In Orthodoxy, church marriage is dissolved for serious reasons:the sin of adultery (treason) of one of the spouses, mental illness, hiding belonging to an alternative orthodoxy faith.
6. The Sacrament of Unction (Unction) - the grace of deliverance from physical and mental illness and the forgiveness of forgotten and unconfessed sins. In Catholicism, this sacrament is performed once as a death rite.
7. The mystery of the priesthood. Just as in Orthodoxy, in Catholicism there are three degrees of priesthood: the lowest degree — diyakons (helpers), the middle degree — the priesthood itself (presbyters) and the bishops — the highest degree. A dedication to any of these degrees occurs. through the rite of ordination. Catholics have a rule of “refusal from the spiritual title” The priests in the Catholic Church take a vow of celibacy (celibacy of the clergy),than approaching the position of the monks. All the clergy, regardless of the degree of priesthood, are divided into white (ordinary) and black (monasticism), while only representatives of the black clergy are ordained to the bishop.
The editors of the Bible are somewhat different in Catholics and Orthodox. Catholics recognize 11 more books as canonical. The fact is that these books Old Testament ("Tovita", "Judith", "Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach," "Maccabees" and some others) were not preserved in the original (in Hebrew), and are known only in Greek, therefore Catholics call them "canonical of the second order" , and the Orthodox simply "useful reading" ^. For years, Catholics, unlike Orthodox, were restricted in their right to read and interpret the Bible: only priests could do this. In our time, this rule no longer exists. But they both print these books when they publish the Bible.
The division of the Universal Church into Eastern and Western occurred under the influence of a multitude of very different reasons, which for centuries, imposing on each other, undermined the unity of the Church, until, finally, the last connecting thread broke off. Despite the diversity of these reasons, we can conditionally distinguish among them two main groups: religious and ethno-cultural.
There are two religious reasons for this: the desire of the Roman high priests to have absolute power over and dogmatic deviations from the purity of catholic dogma, among which the most important is the change of the Nicene-Tsaregrad Creed by inserting filioque. It directly violates the 7th rule of the III Ecumenical Council, which determines: "Let no one be allowed to utter ... or slagat another faith, except for the father determined from the saints in Nikaia, with the Holy Spirit gathered."
The next group of phenomena, which decisively contributed to the weakening of church unity, even while it was still present, belongs to the area of national and cultural conditions for the development of Christianity in the West and in the East.
Not a single Church has escaped the influence of these conditions in its history, but in this case we are dealing with a clash of two of the most powerful traditions of the ancient world — Hellenic and Roman. The difference in the ethno-cultural aspirations of these traditions laid deep-seated differences in the assimilation of the truth of Christ in the West and in the East. This deep-seated "antithesis of carrying ethnic groups" slowly but steadily increased the degree of alienation, until it finally became a reality in the XI century. And the reason for this was no longer just in the claims of the popes, it was just that the direction of the development of church life became different.
The peoples of the Hellenic world, in the words of B. Melioransky, "were understood primarily as divinely revealed metaphysics and ethics, as above the indicated path to moral perfection and salvation of the personality and to the knowledge of the essence of God." This explains the fullness of the inquisitive theological life of the East, which equally poured itself in the depths of the knowledge of God and in heretical deviations from it, shaking and weakening the oriental church organism.
On the contrary, the fact that V.V. Bolotov called "the impact of the Romanesque on the Christian" expressed itself in a patient and methodical building of the church building, because the Romans "as the most state-wide people in the world, as creators of exemplary law, they understood Christianity as a divinely revealed program of social order. ... Where the East saw the philosophical and moral idea, there the West created an institute ... "
The accumulation of deviations from the common doctrine and the life of the undivided Church testified to the independent development of its western half, which was fixed in the split, which became, according to A. Khomyakov, "an arbitrary, unjustly excommunication of the whole East." The Eastern Church did not dare to bring something new to the collegiate truths that cost her such labors and trials. It was the West that began to arbitrarily change them, and this departure from the conciliarly approved teaching and church life was resolved by the split in 1054. The subsequent development of the Church only confirms this conclusion, because the common faith of the undivided Church is preserved by the Eastern Church in unchangeableness even to this day, while the past centuries of the West’s independent church development with multiple innovations that further alienate it from the common heritage.
The growing independence, even self-sufficiency of the West was accompanied by the depletion of the conciliar principle in the life of the Universal Church, which could no longer resist decay. In previous centuries, a Council was convened to resolve differences of opinion, and the power of its decisions admonished and united the warring. After the end of the era of the Ecumenical Councils, there was no restraining principle, and the arbitrary innovations of the West no longer led to the convocation of a new Ecumenical Council, which could have protected the world churchly.
We can get a more complete picture of the degree of alienation of the West and the East if we turn to the events immediately preceding the Great Split.
In the middle of the 9th century, Byzantium was shaken by the struggle against iconoclasm that had just been experienced, and after its defeat two parties were formed: “zealots” or supporters of a merciless fight against heretics and the “iconomists” who were indulgent towards them.
The confrontation between these parties resulted in a fierce opposition of the patriarchs of Photius and Ignatius, in which Rome took an active part. The consequence of this was a break in relations between East and West, which stopped only after the St. Sophia Cathedral in 879-880. In addition to the papal legates, representatives of the Eastern Patriarchs and many bishops, whose number reached 383, arrived at the Council. Thus, it was one of the most representative Councils with the exception of Chalcedon.
At this Council, with the participation of the legates, a resolution was adopted against attempts to introduce a filioque into the symbol of faith. The claims of the popes to supreme power in the Church were again condemned, and one of the rules of this Council confirmed the complete equality of the bishops of Rome and Constantinople. At the Council, the Nicene-Tsaregrad creed was announced and a decision was adopted on its complete immutability, and it was also decided "not to allow any innovations in the management of the Ecumenical Church." The Hagia Sophia Cathedral was often ranked among the Ecumenical, and up until the XII century, the Western Church considered it to be such. For us, it is important primarily as an expression of the conciliar opinion of the Eastern Church regarding the imperious and dogmatic errors of the West.
The decades preceding the Great Schism are a picture of the "evil world", which was often broken and eventually resolved by a "good quarrel." V.V. Bolotov cites impressive statistics on the historical relationship between the Eastern and Western Churches. Of the five and a half centuries that have passed since the edict of Milan 312, only for 300 years did relations between the churches have been normal, and for more than 200 years, for one reason or another, they were broken off.
In the church history there is a point of view according to which Rome deliberately aggravated relations with the East before the Great Schism, seeking their rupture. Such aspirations had their foundations, because the disobedience of the East clearly hampered Rome, undermined its monopoly, therefore, B. Meloransky wrote: “The East refuses to obey and there are no means to force it to obey; it remains to declare that the obedient churches and the essence of the whole true Church. "
The reason for the final break in July 1054 was another conflict over the church possessions of Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael Kerullaria. Rome last tried to achieve unconditional obedience to the East, and when it became clear that this was impossible, the papal legates, "having missed, in their own words, Michael’s resistance," came to the church of Saint Sophia and solemnly laid a bull on the throne, which read the “Authority of the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, the Apostolic Chair, the ambassadors of which we are, of all the holy Orthodox Fathers of the Seven Councils and catholic church“We sign against Michael and his followers — the anathema that our Most Reverend Pope spoke against them if they do not come to their senses.” The absurdity of the incident was complemented by the fact that the pope, on whose behalf they uttered the anathema, was already dead, he died in April of this year.
After the departure of the legates, Patriarch Michael Kerullariy convened a Council, at which the legates and their “unholy scriptures” were anathema after consideration. It should be noted that not the whole Western Church was committed to anathema, as Cardinal Humbert did to the Eastern Church, but only the legates themselves. At the same time, of course, the convictions of the Councils of 867 and 879 remain valid. regarding Latin innovations, filioque and papal primacy.
All the Eastern Patriarchs were informed of the decisions taken by the district letter and expressed their support, after which church communion with Rome ceased throughout the East. No one denied the honorary primacy of the pope established by the fathers, but no one agreed with his sovereignty. The agreement of all Eastern primates in relation to Rome confirms the example of the patriarch of Antioch, where the name of the pope was crossed out of the diptychs long before the Great Schism. He is known for his correspondence with the Roman throne about the possibility of restoring unity, during which he received a letter from Rome outlining the papal point of view. It impressed him so much that he immediately sent it to Patriarch Michael, accompanied by very expressive words: “These Latins, after all, are our brothers, despite all their rudeness, ignorance and affection for their own opinion, which sometimes reduces them to a straight road” .
The foundations for the division of the Christian Church into Western and Eastern were laid long ago. The very attitude of people in the West and in the East was different. The eastern half of the empire was the heir of the ancient Greek culture. Her wealth was actively used by the Eastern Fathers of the Church during lively debates about the truths of faith. The attitude of Eastern Christians was contemplative. It is in the East that the institution of monasticism is born. Here we find many examples of high personal holiness, as well as the creation of the whole science of Asceticism about how this holiness is achieved.
The western part of the empire inherited the Roman tradition - the path of an active worldview, the authority of law and authority. The West eschewed research on the tenets of faith and was not interested in abstract theological questions. But he drew attention to the external side of Christianity - ceremonies, discipline, government, the attitude of the Church to state power and society. The Romans were the people who created the most exemplary state law. Therefore, in their understanding, Christianity was a God-revealing program of social order. Where the East saw a religious idea, the West began to create an institution. The championship of the Roman department of the West understood not spiritually, as the East, but legally.
The beginning of the controversy was the rise in the East of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Rome could not reconcile. It is here that one of the deepest cracks passes, predetermining a great separation.
The time and course of historical events did not eliminate it, but deepened it even more. One of the first serious conflicts on the way to the great schism occurred in the 9th century.
An atmosphere of ill-will and misunderstanding has long been established in relations between the East and the West. Many Roman bishops openly showed their desire for power, both ecclesiastical and secular. One of the brightest representatives of such a trend was Pope Nicholas. He considered it his task to raise the papal throne over the entire universe: as God rules the world, so the pope, his governor, must stand at the head of earthly kingdoms and churches. As a sign of his royal dignity, Nikolai was the first of the popes to be crowned with a three-tiered crown (tiara). Fragmented Europe was powerless before the clever and strong-willed “athlete of God,” as the chronicler called it.
The dictatorial aspirations of the Roman bishop in the East were opposed by the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius. Photius came from a rich and noble family and received a brilliant education. He made a dizzying diplomatic career at court. No less brilliant was his education. The students of Photius were the intellectual elite of the capital.
Photius was elected to the patriarchs of the laity. In six days he passed all the church degrees from the reader to the bishop. Photius was the first of the Eastern hierarchs to draw attention to the deviation of Roman church practice from the norms of the Universal Church.
Exacerbated the existing contradictions of the Bulgarian issue. The Bishop of Rome took over Bulgaria, which led Photius to great indignation. He considered that the pope encroached on the native eastern lands.
In 867, Photius sent a message to Eastern bishops, where he complained about the “Latins” trampling the true Christian faith. In this message, he pointed out the differences between the Roman ritual practice and the practice eastern churches. Among them were cited such as celibacy, that is, mandatory celibacy of the priesthood, fasting on Saturday, permission to use milk and eggs, Lent. But the main thing is that Patriarch Photius was the first to clearly point out innovations in the teachings of the Western Church: the primacy ("primacy") of the pope and the doctrine of the emanation of the Holy Spirit not only from the Father, but also from the Son ("filioque"). These changes of faith constituted the main threat to the unity of the Christian Church.
Understanding the seriousness of the differences, Photius convened the Council, at which Pope Nicholas was convicted.
Subsequently, due to political intrigues, Patriarch Photius was removed from his post. The dispute between Rome and Constantinople subsided somewhat. However, after a century and a half, the conflict will once again intensify and end in the saddest way.
The conflict between the first hierarchs of the two capitals, Rome and Constantinople, became a specific pretext for the church split.
The Roman high priest was Leo IX. While still a German bishop, he refused the Roman pulpit for a long time and only at the persistent requests of the clergy and the Emperor Henry III himself agreed to accept the papal tiara. In one of the rainy autumn days of 1048, in a rough linen shirt - penitent’s clothing, with bare feet and a head dusted with ashes, he entered Rome to occupy the Roman throne. Such unusual behavior flattered the pride of the townspeople. With triumphant cries of the crowd, he was immediately proclaimed dad.
Leo IX was convinced of the high importance of the Roman pulpit for the entire Christian world. He did his best to restore the previously hesitated papal influence both in the West and in the East. From this time begins the active growth of the ecclesiastical and sociopolitical significance of the papacy as an institution of power. Pope Leo sought respect for himself and his department, not only through radical reforms, but also actively advocating for all those oppressed and offended. This is what made the pope to seek a political union with Byzantium.
At that time, the Normans, who had already captured Sicily and now threatened Italy, were the political enemy of Rome. Emperor Heinrich could not give the pope the necessary military support, and the pope did not want to give up the role of defender of Italy and Rome. Leo IX decided to ask for help from the Byzantine emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Since 1043, the Patriarch of Constantinople was Michael Kerullary. He came from a noble aristocratic family and held a high position under the emperor. But after a failed palace coup, when a group of conspirators attempted to enthrone him, Michael was deprived of property and forcibly tonsured a monk. The new emperor, Konstantin Monomakh, persecuted him by his closest adviser, and then, with the consent of the clergy and the people, Michael occupied the patriarchal chair. Surrendering to the service of the Church, the new patriarch retained the features of an imperious and state-minded person who did not tolerate the diminution of his authority and authority of the Constantinople chair.
In the ensuing correspondence between the pope and the patriarch, Leo IX insisted on the primacy of the Roman pulpit. In his letter, he pointed out to Michael that the Church of Constantinople and even the entire East should obey and honor the Roman Church as a mother. By this position, the pope also justified the ritual differences of the Roman Church with the Churches of the East. Michael was ready to reconcile with any differences, but in one question his position remained irreconcilable: he did not want to recognize the Roman pulpit above Constantinople. The Roman bishop did not want to agree to such equality.
In the spring of 1054, an embassy from Rome headed by Cardinal Humbert, an arrogant and arrogant man, arrived in Constantinople. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the possibility of a military alliance with Byzantium, as well as reconcile with the patriarch, without compromising the primacy of the Roman pulpit. However, from the very beginning, the embassy took a tone that did not correspond to reconciliation. Pope ambassadors treated the patriarch without due respect, haughty and cold. Seeing this attitude towards himself, the patriarch repaid them in the same way. At the convened Council, Michael singled out the last place to the papal legates. Cardinal Humbert considered this a humiliation and refused to conduct any negotiations with the patriarch.
News from Rome about the death of Pope Leo did not stop the papal legates. They continued to act with the same boldness, wanting to teach the disobedient patriarch a lesson. On July 15, 1054, during the divine service in St. Sophia Cathedral, they addressed the people with a sermon, complaining about the perseverance of the patriarch. Having finished his speech, Cardinal Humbert placed an act of excommunication of the patriarch and his followers on the main altar of the cathedral. Coming out of the temple, the papal ambassadors removed the dust from their feet and exclaimed: "Let God see and judge."
The temple was crowded with people, but everyone was so amazed by what they saw that there was a deathly silence. The act passed to the patriarch. After reading the document, Michael ordered to announce it. There were shouts of indignation. The people supported their patriarch. In Constantinople, a mutiny arose, which nearly cost the lives of both the papal ambassadors and the emperor himself.
On July 20, 1054, Patriarch Michael convened a Council, at which the counter anathema was uttered. The acts of the Council were sent to all the Eastern Patriarchs. So the great schism began. Attempts to agree on reunification have been made for a century and a half. The final separation between east and west occurred after the crusaders captured and ravaged Constantinople in 1204.
