the great schism

By MikayladeMol
  • 550 BCE

    THIRD SCHISM HEALED

    by the Council of Nicaea II, which condemns the Iconoclasts and restores the use of images in Church worship.
  • 500 BCE

    THIRD SCHISM

    Pope Gregory III excommunicates the Iconoclasts, infuriating Emperor Leo III, who --evidently influenced by Islamic sensibilities --promoted the heresy.
  • 445 BCE

    SECOND SCHISM HEALED

    when the Council of Constantinople III condemns Monothelitism, reuniting the Church. This council also condemned Pope Honorius for heresy 42 years after the Pope’s death based on one letter he wrote to the Monothelites, where he seems to have tolerated their views. The Popes position in the letter is unclear, however and Honorius condemnation was most likely a Byzantine attempt to marginalize the authority of the Papacy.
  • 400 BCE

    SECOND SCHISM

    In a desperate attempt to re-unify his Christian Empire and bring the dissident Christians of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria back into the fold, Emperor Constans II tries to impose the doctrine of Monothelitism (“Christ had only One Will”) on the Empire as a compromise with Monophysism. The heresy is rejected by the West, but temporarily embraced by the Maronite church in Syria and Lebanon.
  • 305 BCE

    FIRST SCHISM HEALED

    when Pope John I travels to Constantinople and obtains a profession of orthodox faith from Emperor Justin I --a significant achievement considering the strength of the Monophysites in the East. Pope John is praised by the Byzantines as the “successor of Peter,” and is called upon to re-crown Justin as emperor --a precedent that will later lay the foundation for the crowning of Charlemagne (i.e., the Pope as “king maker.”)
  • 300 BCE

    FIRST SCHISM

    Acacius, Bishop of Constantinople, persuades Eastern Emperor Zeno to issue the Henoticon (“Act of Union”) to appease the Monophysites --a doctrinal compromise and a contradiction of Chalcedon, which all the Eastern bishops sign. Pope Felix III (II) excommunicates both Acacius as well as the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch --in essence, excommunicating the entire East!