Eastern Schism (2)

Isaac Padinjarekuttu

Tensions flared between Rome Constantinople again in the ninth century during the Photian schism. There were two claimants to the See of Constantinople, Ignatius and Photius. Initially the papacy was reluctant to enter the dispute, on the grounds that it was an internal affair of the Eastern Church. Gradually the Pope was drawn in and pronounced in favour of Ignatius, the original occupant of the See. The eastern Emperor Basil also supported Ignatius and the decision was ratified by calling an Ecumenical Council, the fourth Council of Constantinople in 869-70, where papal legates were also present. On the death of Ignatius in 877, Photius regained the See of Constantinople. He seemed to have enjoyed good relations with the Pope, John VIII, but his deposition supported by the papacy was not forgotten, even though the Pope was not really responsible for it. Photius, who was also a profound theologian and critic of the western church and its practices is regarded as a saint by the Orthodox Church and his deposition is a painful episode in Orthodox memory.

Almost two centuries elapsed before the definitive breach in 1054 during the patriarchate of Michael Cerularius. He was critical of the western church on a wide range of issues: use of unleavened instead of leavened bread in the Eucharist was reproved; the introduction into the creed of the Filioque clause was condemned; papal claims to authority were judged to be unfounded in Scripture or early Tradition; Lent was considered to be a week short in West. Even beards became a contentious issue. The western practice of clean-shaven clergy was criticized as effeminate and suitable for men constantly on the move, such as soldiers; clergy rather should be contemplatives and therefore bearded, following the example of Christ and the apostles as well as that of Plato and Aristotle and the philosophers of antiquity. Some Catholic churches in Constantinople were closed on the patriarch’s orders. Pope Leo IX sent Cardinal Humbert to Constantinople as his legate to seek a solution but also entrusted to him a bull excommunicating Cerularius which was to be promulgated if no solution to the crisis was forthcoming. Humbert proved as contentious as Cerularius. A man anxious for reform, he had only limited acquaintance with Greek culture and was quite inflexible. The patriarch Cerularius also proved stubborn. Unable to persuade Cerularius to change his mind, Humbert promulgated the bull of excommunication in the church of Hagia Sophia, the cathedral church of Constantinople, and hastily returned to Rome. The text of excommunication revealed his deep ignorance. Some of the accusations were without foundation. He found fault with those in the East for leaving out the Filioque, for marriage of priests, and so on. He did not know that Maranatha means ‘Come, Lord’ and is not a condemnation (1 Cor 16:22). “May Michael the neophyte, who improperly bears the title of patriarch…and all those who follow him in the above-mentioned errors, may they all fall under the anathema, Maranatha, with the Simonians…and all the heretics, and indeed with the devil and his angels, unless they return to their senses… Amen, Amen, Amen!

Cerularius in turn excommunicated Humbert and the members of his entourage which was not of a very high standard either. In fact, unknown to Humbert, Pope Leo IX had died before the bull excommunicating Cerularius was promulgated. It is widely reckoned that papal legates lose their authority when a Pope dies so it may well be that, according to western canon law, Cerularius was never excommunicated. At the time the crisis was expected to be a passing one, but it soon passed from personal excommunication to schism between the two churches. Sadly the schism was never satisfactorily resolved. Two Councils of Lyons in 1274 and Florence in 1438 only achieved ephemeral reconciliations which were badly prepared and rejected by Christians in the East. The capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 emphasized the isolation of Greek Christians. The joint declaration of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras in 1965 by regretting the exchange of insults in 1054 and the excesses of the past formed one step on the long road to reconciliation but the schism remains till today, the most fundamental divide within the Christian community.

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