The separation of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church (1054 CE)

• A. Scholasticism
• B. Great Schism
• C. Quran
• D. Urban II

Answer: (B)

The separation between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church is called the Great Schism. It occurred in 1054 CE as long-standing tensions over authority, doctrine, and practice finally erupted into a formal split. Western and Eastern churches argued over who should lead the Church—the universal pope versus the leadership of the patriarchs in Constantinople—and over doctrinal and liturgical differences, such as the Filioque clause in the Creed and various ritual practices. When representatives from Rome and Constantinople exchanged excommunications, the division became permanent, giving rise to the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East. That’s why this term best names the event. Scholasticism points to a later medieval method of theology, the Quran is Islam’s sacred text, and Urban II was the pope who launched the First Crusade, not the event of separation.