In the 11th century, the gap between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church widened, largely over disagreements regarding the procession of the Holy Spirit and the

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authority of the Pope. These disagreements eventually led to the Great Schism of 1054, which formally split the two churches.

The procession of the Holy Spirit was a theological issue that emerged in the 9th century. The Latin (Roman Catholic) Church believed that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son (also known as the Filioque clause), while the Greek Orthodox Church believed the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father alone. This difference in belief created a significant divide between the two churches and was one of the main reasons for the schism.

Another major point of contention was the authority of the Pope. The Roman Catholic Church upheld the supremacy and authority of the Pope as the successor of Saint Peter and the head of the Church. In contrast, the Greek Orthodox Church viewed the Pope as having a primacy of honor but not universal jurisdiction over all Christians. They considered the bishops as equal in authority and rejected the notion that the Pope should have the final say in matters of doctrine and practice.

These theological and ecclesiastical differences were intensified by political and cultural factors. The rise of the Carolingian Empire in the West and the Byzantine Empire in the East further distanced the two churches. The Carolingian Dynasty in the West sought to assert control over the Church, including the appointment of bishops, which was seen as a violation of the traditional autonomy of the Church in the East.

Ultimately, the culmination of these disagreements and conflicts led to the mutual excommunication of the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1054, formalizing the Great Schism. This schism divided Christianity into two major branches, the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East, which still exist as separate entities to this day.