What event led to the split between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?

• A. Great Schism
• B. Council of Nicaea
• C. Crusades
• D. Fall of Rome

Answer: (A)

The Great Schism is the event that formalized the split between Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. It arose from a long history of disagreements over who should lead the church (the pope in Rome versus the patriarch in Constantinople), differences in doctrine and liturgy (such as the Western addition of the filioque to the Nicene Creed), and growing political and cultural distance between Latin Christendom and the Greek-speaking East. In 1054, mutual excommunications between Rome and Constantinople symbolized the division, creating two separate branches of Christianity. The Council of Nicaea was an earlier attempt at unity, the Crusades strained relations but did not cause the permanent split, and the Fall of Rome was a political turning point rather than the direct cause of the church’s division.