History in the making
13/02/16 04:48
We call it the “Great Schism.” In round numbers, for roughly half of the history of the Christian Church there was one church with many congregations. We have never seen eye to eye on all issues. There have always been disagreements among Christians. Some of those disagreements are evident in reading the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of our New Testament. Some people believed that Christians should follow Jewish dietary laws, others thought that those laws didn’t apply. Some people envisioned a “top down” structure with a rigid hierarchy, others envisioned autonomous local congregations. After a few centuries there were disputes over which language should be used for liturgy and for the scriptures. Some insisted that the original Greek, language of the New Testament should be used for all Christian worship. Others thought that Latin should be used. Still others argued that there should be a multiplicity of languages for faith and that the local language was best for interpreting the Gospel to people.
After the time of Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome from 306 to 337, the church became a center of political power throughout the regions of the world to which Christianity had spread. Leaders of the church began to be seen as political consultants and power brokers. Constantine did more for the Roman Empire than just recognize Christianity as an official religion. He make deep political changes in the attempt to establish Rome as the center of power for the entire known world. He established a new imperial residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople after himself. This dual capitol with residences in Rome and in Constantinople was eventually reflected in the structure of the church, with strong church leaders in both cities. Those leaders didn’t always agree.
Centuries passed and the disagreements built. The Pope at Rome was declared the patriarch of the entire church. The Patriarch in Constantinople was called the “Ecumenical Patriarch.” Tensions built between the two leaders and congregations began to take sides in the disagreement. In 1053, Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius ordered the closure of all Latin churches in Constantinople, in response to the Greek churches in southern Italy having been forced to either close or conform to Latin practices. The next year the papal legal counsel was sent to Constantinople to insist that the patriarch recognize Rome’s claim to be the head and mother of churches. Things didn’t go so well. The result was mutual excommunications by Pope Leo in Rome and Patriarch Cerularius. Effectively there were two churches and two church hierarchies from that point forward.
After a couple of centuries an attempt was made in 1272 to hold a council to reconcile the church. On June 29, Pope Gregory X celebrated a Mass in St. John’s Church, where both sides took part. The council declared that the Roman church possessed “the supreme and full primacy and authority over the universal church.” The union effected was declared “a sham and a political gambit” by eastern church leaders.
There were no further talks until 1439, when the Council of Ferrara-Florence was held. An agreement was signed by all but one of the Eastern bishops who were present at the council. The union, however, was not affirmed by the people. When the eastern bishops returned to their homes, their congregations rejected the union. The schism continued.
That was the sum of church history about the great schism when I was formally studying the subject in seminary. The east and west remain divided. No further official talks had taken place.
Then, in 1997, it looked like a new council might take place. It was announced that Pope John Paul II would meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II. There was some excitement over the possibilities of such a meeting, but the meeting was cancelled and no talks took place.
Then, yesterday, history was made in the Christian Church. It was an event that will be talked about for centuries. Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill met at the airport in Havana. Pope Francis was on his way to Mexico for a five-day visit. Patriarch Kirill was on his way to Brazil and Paraguay. They embraced. "I'm happy to greet you, dear brother," the Russian Church leader said. "Finally," the pontiff said. They spoke for two hours and signed a joint declaration and held a press conference.
Unity has not been achieved. Back home Patriarch Kirill will have to face the anger of conservatives who still consider Catholicism a deviation from true Christianity. When he is in the Vatican, Pope Francis will face criticism about theological and practical compromises. Neither would have had sufficient support for a meeting to take place in either Rome or Moscow.
It is one thing to sign a document calling on the world to defend Christians, who are facing extreme persecution in many countries of the Middle East and North Africa. It is an entirely different matter to establish deep and lasting ties between two sides of the church that have been divided for nearly a thousand years.
Even if the two were to somehow reach an agreement, it would not erase the Protestant Reformation during which the western church split. Deep divisions over theological issues as well as disagreements over the authority and structure of the church remain.
It seems likely that the process set in motion by Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis will require centuries if not more time for the schism to heal. There will be setbacks and divisions and challenges. The meeting nonetheless, is significant. In terms of the history of the church is may be the most important event of our lifetimes.
The story of our faith is one with a long timeline. Most of the important revelations of Christianity have taken generations to become accepted. The story of the church is about far more than the span of a single lifetime. It is humbling to recognize how small an individual Christian is in the scope of the great flow of history.
Still, we were alive to witness a significant event in the story of the church. It is worth noting and worthy of a prayer of gratitude to God. I agree wth the pope’s sentiment: “Finally.”
After the time of Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome from 306 to 337, the church became a center of political power throughout the regions of the world to which Christianity had spread. Leaders of the church began to be seen as political consultants and power brokers. Constantine did more for the Roman Empire than just recognize Christianity as an official religion. He make deep political changes in the attempt to establish Rome as the center of power for the entire known world. He established a new imperial residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople after himself. This dual capitol with residences in Rome and in Constantinople was eventually reflected in the structure of the church, with strong church leaders in both cities. Those leaders didn’t always agree.
Centuries passed and the disagreements built. The Pope at Rome was declared the patriarch of the entire church. The Patriarch in Constantinople was called the “Ecumenical Patriarch.” Tensions built between the two leaders and congregations began to take sides in the disagreement. In 1053, Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius ordered the closure of all Latin churches in Constantinople, in response to the Greek churches in southern Italy having been forced to either close or conform to Latin practices. The next year the papal legal counsel was sent to Constantinople to insist that the patriarch recognize Rome’s claim to be the head and mother of churches. Things didn’t go so well. The result was mutual excommunications by Pope Leo in Rome and Patriarch Cerularius. Effectively there were two churches and two church hierarchies from that point forward.
After a couple of centuries an attempt was made in 1272 to hold a council to reconcile the church. On June 29, Pope Gregory X celebrated a Mass in St. John’s Church, where both sides took part. The council declared that the Roman church possessed “the supreme and full primacy and authority over the universal church.” The union effected was declared “a sham and a political gambit” by eastern church leaders.
There were no further talks until 1439, when the Council of Ferrara-Florence was held. An agreement was signed by all but one of the Eastern bishops who were present at the council. The union, however, was not affirmed by the people. When the eastern bishops returned to their homes, their congregations rejected the union. The schism continued.
That was the sum of church history about the great schism when I was formally studying the subject in seminary. The east and west remain divided. No further official talks had taken place.
Then, in 1997, it looked like a new council might take place. It was announced that Pope John Paul II would meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II. There was some excitement over the possibilities of such a meeting, but the meeting was cancelled and no talks took place.
Then, yesterday, history was made in the Christian Church. It was an event that will be talked about for centuries. Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill met at the airport in Havana. Pope Francis was on his way to Mexico for a five-day visit. Patriarch Kirill was on his way to Brazil and Paraguay. They embraced. "I'm happy to greet you, dear brother," the Russian Church leader said. "Finally," the pontiff said. They spoke for two hours and signed a joint declaration and held a press conference.
Unity has not been achieved. Back home Patriarch Kirill will have to face the anger of conservatives who still consider Catholicism a deviation from true Christianity. When he is in the Vatican, Pope Francis will face criticism about theological and practical compromises. Neither would have had sufficient support for a meeting to take place in either Rome or Moscow.
It is one thing to sign a document calling on the world to defend Christians, who are facing extreme persecution in many countries of the Middle East and North Africa. It is an entirely different matter to establish deep and lasting ties between two sides of the church that have been divided for nearly a thousand years.
Even if the two were to somehow reach an agreement, it would not erase the Protestant Reformation during which the western church split. Deep divisions over theological issues as well as disagreements over the authority and structure of the church remain.
It seems likely that the process set in motion by Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis will require centuries if not more time for the schism to heal. There will be setbacks and divisions and challenges. The meeting nonetheless, is significant. In terms of the history of the church is may be the most important event of our lifetimes.
The story of our faith is one with a long timeline. Most of the important revelations of Christianity have taken generations to become accepted. The story of the church is about far more than the span of a single lifetime. It is humbling to recognize how small an individual Christian is in the scope of the great flow of history.
Still, we were alive to witness a significant event in the story of the church. It is worth noting and worthy of a prayer of gratitude to God. I agree wth the pope’s sentiment: “Finally.”