Patriarch of constantinople is the head then the

Patriarch of Constantinople is the head, then the other Patriarchs, then metropolitans and
archbishops, then bishops, then priests
• Priests should be married, but the higher orders should be celibate
o Priests = secular; higher = monasteries

• This means that the monasteries have even more power, so iconoclasm develops
as a way to limit that power
o Council of Nicaea in 786 said that iconoclasm was a heresy
 This council was also the last true ecumenical council
• Pope vs. Patriarch
• Council of Constantinople (381) said the Patriarch of Constantinople is second to the Papacy
• Council of Chalcedon said the Patriarch of Constantinople is the equal of the Papacy
•
7
th
century: Muslims take North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean
o Patriarchates begin to disappear
 Left with only two: Rome and Constantinople
• Things get ugly.
o Iconoclasm doesn’t help.
o Pope invokes Petrine Doctrine to try to take power as ultimate authority
o True division starts in the Photian controversy
 Who’s truly in charge?
• Pope doesn’t like that the Emperor appointed a lay scholar (Photius) as Patriarch
of Constantinople
o Power struggle heightened with addition of Balkan churches
 Division line between east and west didn’t take missionary work into account
 West helped convert people in modern-day Romania; east converted people in modern-
day Bulgaria and the Serbians (who were on the other side of the imaginary line)
• “We’ll give you Serbia if you give us Romania.”
 Led to increasingly strained relations
o Breaking point: Charlemagne is crowned as Roman Emperor in 800 by the Pope
 Usually, Emperors are crowned by the Patriarch of Constantinople, so the Pope has
broken tradition and has started a new one
• From then on, Emperors are crowned by the Pope
• Schism
• Leo IX vs. Cerularius
o Azyma Controversy
• Issues:
o Papal superiority
o Filioque (“of the son”)

Spanish were being converted in the 6 th century, but didn’t understand the concept of the
Trinity—they don’t get why the Holy Spirit is separate from Jesus when both come “from
the Father”
• Pope adds the word “filioque” to the statement of faith
o Doesn’t consult the Patriarch of Constantinople, so he refuses to
acknowledge it
o Azyma Controversy (1054)
 Issue: Which kind of bread should be used within the church?
• East: Dryer climate, so it uses risen bread. Over time, the bread takes on more
significance, so there are elaborate ceremonies and it falls to the monasteries to
make the bread instead of everyone bringing their own.
• West: Wetter climate, but you can’ t have moldy bread because the bread is the
body of Christ, so they switch to azyma instead of yeast bread; eventually they
switch to crackers
o Problem: Crackers can’t be cut up for Eastern traditions.