King Henry VIII introduces the Act of Supremacy in 1532. The third split occurs. The Reformation in 1517. The second split occurs.
This produces The Great Schism in 1054. The frst split occurs.
The foundation of the Christian Community by Jesus Christ C. 33 CE.
This produces This produces
1. The Great Schism of 1054
In the 4th century CE, the Emperor Constantine decided to move the capital of the Roman Empire eastwards from the old city of Rome to the new city of Constantinople. Unfortunately, this led to the development of two traditions within Christianity:
ò An eastern (Greek-speaking) tradition centred on the new imperial capital at Constantinople.
ò A western (Latin-speaking) tradition centred on the old imperial capital of Rome.
Over the centuries that followed, these two traditions began to grow apart. This was largely due to three things:
ò Political rivalry between Constantinople and Rome. ò Differences in culture and language (e.g. Greek vs. Latin). ò Disagreement over who should lead Christianity – the east said it should be the emperor, while the west said it should be the pope.
Finally, in 1054, the whole issue of the leadership of Christianity erupted into a bitter quarrel between the eastern and western traditions. They separated from one another in an event known as the Great Schism. From this time on, Christianity was divided into two rival traditions:
The Catholic (meaning: universal) in the west and the Orthodox (meaning: of right belief) in the east.
