Lesson 7

The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church

Until the year 1054, the Catholic Church and what we now call the Eastern Orthodox Church were one.

Catechism Connections

Lesson Topics

Catholic Apologetics Church History Marian Teachings

Essential Lessons

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Lesson Vocabulary

Great Schism: (n.): The separation of Eastern Christians from the Catholic Church in 1054. The Eastern churches became known as the Orthodox Church.
Orthodox: (adj.): Correct teaching about the Christian Faith. Not to be confused with a member of the Eastern Orthodox church.
Constantinople: (n.): The ancient city Byzantium, named after the Roman Emperor Constantine in AD 330, and one of the five patriarchies of early Church. The capital of the Eastern Empire ( or Byzantine Empire) until 1453 when it was conquered by the Muslim armies of the Ottoman Empire, which declined after World War I. The city is now called Istanbul, the capital of modern-day Turkey.
Rome: (n.): An ancient city in modern-day Italy and seat of the papacy. The capital of the Roman Empire from 27 BC to AD 476, and seat of the Holy Roman Empire through 1806. Primary among the five partiarchies of the early Church, its bishop is the pope, successor to St. Peter.
Constantine: (n.): Roman emperor who legalized Christianity throughout the Empire in AD 313 and convened the first ecumenical council at Nicaea (325).
Caesaropapism: (n.): Political theory that the head of state should be head of that state’s church.
Donation of Pepin: (n.): The name for the gift of land from King Pepin to Pope Stephen II in 756. This donation gave the pope control over regions in present-day Italy that became the Papal States, helped free the pope from the influence of the Byzantime emperors, and strenghened the Church’s alliance with the Frankish kings.
Papal States: (n.): Territories in present-day Italy that were under the control of the Church from 756–1870.
Charlemagne: (n.): King of the Franks who was crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800 by Pope Leo III. Also known as Charles the Great, the Carolingian Renaissance, a flourishing of intellectual life and culture in medieval Europe, flourished under his rule.
Patriarchies: (n.): Territories ruled by a patriarch, or a bishop of special dignity. In the East, patriarchies are organizations of those following the Eastern Catholic Rotes. In the early Church there were five primary patriarchies: Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople.
Synod: (n.): A meeting of bishops of a particular region, of the whole world, or of bishops and priests and other members of the faithful within a particular diocese to address the doctrinal and pastoral needs of the Church.
Filioque: (n.): Latin for "and from the Son." A term used to refer to the Roman Catholic understanding that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son (as opposed to from the Father alone, as professed by Eastern Christians.) Disagreement over the Filioque was one root of the Great Schism and Western Christianity.
Icon: (n.): A painting of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a Saint, typically on wood. More than a style of art, icons are intended to reflect a spiritual reality through the use of symbols. Icons are especially venerated in Eastern Churches.
Infallibility: (n.): The Charism of being infallible (incapable of error) in matters of faith and morals.
Original sin: (n.): The state of human nature deprived of the original holiness and justice Adam and Even enjoyed before the fall.
Immaculate Conception: The dogma of the Church that teaches that the Virgin Mary was conceived without the stain of Original Sin so that she could bear the Son of God within her. Mary was prepared by God to be a holy vessel for our salvation. (508, 744)
Scholasticism: (n.): An intellectual method originating in medieval Europe that sought to integrate classical philosophy and Christian thought in order to understand and explain revealed truths.
Apophatic Theology: (n.): A type of theology that attempts to approach understanding of God by negation, that is, by explaining God in terms of what we do not or cannot know about Him. Also known as negative theology.
Cataphatic Theology: (n.): A type of theology that attempts to approach understanding of God through affirmative statements of who He is based on what He has revealed to us.
Theosis: (n.): Greek word for the idea that human beings can have a true union with God, and so become partakers of His nature.
Justification: (n.): The transformation of the sinner (all of us) from a state of unrighteousness to a state of holiness with God. It is an act done by God that requires our free participation with His grace. We are justified by the Sacrament of Baptism, which makes us children of God. Our justification, or salvation, is won for us by Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and by His Resurrection.