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What Caused The Great Schism Of 1054

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To understand what caused The Great Schism of 1054, it is important to first have a background knowledge of who was involved. The divide occurred among the land, with a west side and an east side. The western side was inhabited by Romans and spanned from current Portugal over to Hungary, also including the more northern countries from Ireland to Sweden. These borders were frequently changed throughout history, although their principal area was always that of the German states. This area was referred to as the Holy Roman Empire. The Eastern area, on the other hand, were inhabited by Greeks and the area was often referred to as the Byzantium Empire. The empire included current Russia and Bulgaria. These countries together formed the Eastern Slavic Principalities, with their capital based out of Constantinople. Apart from the geological differences, there were also political and lingual differences between the East and West. Communication was difficult between the Greek-speaking East and the Latin-speaking West, as the church and other leaders no longer read, let alone spoke the language of the other half of the Christian world. The language barrier separated the civilizations greatly. Apart from lingual differences, there were also political differences within both the church and the empires. Both sides had differing views on who should hold power in the church. On the eastern side, the Byzantine emperor was also the leader in the church. His name was Michael Cerularius,

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