1. THE GREAT SCHISM & FIRST CRUSADE CHAPTER 8: HIGH MIDDLE AGES

2. THE SPLIT BETWEEN EAST & WEST There had been tensions building between the Eastern & Western Churches for centuries, going back to the 5 th Century. The Eastern Church were the Greek-speaking Christian churches (Eastern Orthodox). The Western Church were the Latin-speaking Christian churches (Roman Catholic). There were two main factors as to how and why the Eastern and Western Churches finally split in 1054: politics and theology.

3. THE SPLIT BETWEEN EAST & WEST The Main Political Differences: The Eastern Church accepted the Byzantine Emperor’s dominance over the Church. The Western Church accepted the Pope’s increasing role over government and society; less authority placed on feudal kings.

4. THE SPLIT BETWEEN EAST & WEST The Language & Custom Differences: Eastern Churches: Spoke Greek and allowed their priests to marry. Western Churches: Spoke Latin and did not allow their priests to marry. The Theological Differences: During the 700s, a great controversy raged through the Eastern Church, known as the iconoclast controversy. The iconoclast Controversy happened because a Byzantine emperor decided that devotion to, or reverence for, icons (crucifixes, statues, paintings, etc.) was actually idolatry, and that all religious images should be destroyed in both the Eastern and the Western Churches.

5. THE FINAL BREAK: THE GREAT SCHISM OF 1054 A.D. In 1054 AD, a serious break occurred between the Eastern and Western Churches; it dealt with the authority of the Pope in Rome. Although the Bishop of Rome was considered the successor of Peter, the Eastern Church believed that the Pope had taken far too much power away from the patriarch of Constantinople, who was the leader of the Eastern Church. Both churches tried to reach an understanding/compromise in 1054, but the Pope at the time, Leo IX, died during the negotiations and his representative excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople. The Eastern and Western Churches have been split ever since, and no compromise or agreement has ever been reached.

6. THE FIRST CRUSADE: 1096-1099 A.D. About 42 years after the Western and Eastern Churches had split, the Byzantine Emperor sent a request to Pope Urban II – he needed help in protecting his capital and his empire from the invading Turkish Muslims. Pope Urban responded by declaring a Crusade against the Muslims, with the goal of defeating the Turks and then taking Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Saracen (Arabic) Muslims. It seemed a like a good idea at the time, but the results would prove to be hugely disastrous and financially costly for Christianity and the West.

7. THE FIRST CRUSADE: 1096-1099 A.D. The Goals of the First Crusade: Push the Turkish Muslims out of the Byzantine Empire, thereby saving Constantinople Freeing the Holy Land from the Muslims. Re-capturing Jerusalem and place it under the control of Christian authority. In 1096, Jerusalem was under Muslim authority. Although the Crusades did initially express Christian faith, they were also extremely corrupt, violent, greedy and cruel. Interested in grabbing personal wealth and power, the Christian generals often fought amongst themselves. Christian knights were often cruel and ruthless in the victories, killing not just soldiers, but women and children as well.

8. THE FIRST CRUSADE: 1096-1099 A.D. The Results of the First Crusade: The Christian knights recovered Byzantine territory and eventually made their way to Jerusalem. A long siege of the city followed. In 1099, the knights broke through the walls and began to massacre Jews and Muslims alike, soldier and non- soldier, in a reign of terror that made the Muslims hate the Christians for centuries to come Jerusalem was back under Christian authority. Four Latin (Roman Catholic) kingdoms were set up on the Mediterranean coast, where Latin (Roman Catholic) clergy and monks would settle. The Christian knights who fought, survived and made it back to Europe were granted indulgences by the church.