The Church of The Past - The Orthodox Church

History of the Orthodox Church

This month we are exploring the background and history of the Ancient Church. Although originally the Eastern and Western Christians shared the same faith, the two sides began to separate after the seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 CE and is generally considered to have ultimately divided over the dispute with Rome in the so-called Great Schism in 1054, CE. Particularly, this occurred over the papal claim to supreme authority and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The split became definitive with the failure of the Council of Florence in the 15th century.

Following the 1054 Great Schism, both the Western Church and Eastern Church continued to consider themselves uniquely orthodox and catholic. Over time, the Western Church gradually identified with the "Catholic" label, and people of Western Europe gradually associated the "Orthodox" label with the Eastern Church (in some languages the "Catholic" label is not necessarily identified with the Western Church).

Come study with us as we explore this subject.