How did the Great Schism affect the spread of Christianity in the East?

Answer 1

They went with the Patriarchs of Constantinople, as opposed to the Pope in Rome.

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Catholic AnswerYou are asking about the Schism of the East, NOT the Great Schism. The Great Schism usually refers to the Western Schism in the fourteenth century:

The Great Schism, otherwise known as the Western Schism is not to be confused with the Schism of the East. The Schism of the East was when the Eastern Church broke into two factions, half staying with Rome, and half formed what is now called the Orthodox Church. Many contemporary, particularly protestant scholars seem to confuse the two. What is called the Great Schism in the Catholic Church was the Western Schism, which, even more confusing, was not really a schism in the sense that the Schism of the East was, but a time when the Church had more than one claimant to the Papal Throne, finally resulted in three, one pope and two antipopes.

from

Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

The Great Schism, otherwise known as the Western Schism, 1378-1417, when there was controversy over the true succession to the papacy. It began with the writings of Marsilius of Padua c. 1275- 1342), who claimed that a pope is subject to a council of bishops, priests, and laymen. Urban VI was elected Pope on April 8, 1378, following the seventy-year Avignon residence of the papacy. He was a stern reformer and also harsh. The French cardinals in retaliation declared that Urban had not been validly elected and proceeded to elect Robert of Geneva as the antipope Clement VII (1378-94). Clement withdrew to Avignon and the Great Schism was in full swing. France, Scotland, and Spain gave their allegiance to Clement; England, Italy, Flanders, Hungary, Poland, and most of Germany followed Urban, who died in 1389. There followed a succession of lawful popes at Rome and antipopes at Avignon. The universities of Paris, Oxford, and Prague disputed how the impasse should be resolved. Finally pope and antipope were invited to a council at Pisa (1409); both decline and were declared deposed by the council, which proceeded to elect yet another antipope, Alexander V (1409-10). In desperation, Emperor Sigismund of Germany appealed to the antipope John XXIII of Pisa, to call a general council at Constance, a German city on the Rhine. John agreed, and the council, later legitimized, was convened in 1414. It lasted four years and finally resolved the schism. The Pisan antipope John XXIII abdicated. Gregory XII, the true Roman Pontiff, having formally convoked the Council of Constance, sent his representatives, and then, for the good of the Church, freely resigned his office. The claim of Benedict XIII of Avignon was no longer worthy of serious consideration. The chair of Peter, vacant at last was filled by the election, November 11, 1417, of Pope Martin V. The Great Schism was ended.

The Schism of the East split each of the eastern Rites of the Church in half , with half remaining with Rome, and half becoming what is now known as the Orthodox Church.

from A Catholic Dictionary, edited by Donald Attwater, Second edition, revised 1957

The Schism of the East the estrangement and severance from the Holy See of what is now called the Orthodox Eastern Church was a gradual process extending over centuries. After a number of minor schisms the first serious, though short, break was that of Photius; from then on tension between East and West increased, and the schism of Cerularius occurred in 1054. From then on the breach gradually widened and has been definitive since 1472. There was a formal union from the 2nd Council of Lyons in 1274 until 1282, and a more promising one after the Council of Florence from 1439 to 1472. After the capture of Constantinople it was in the Turkish interest to reopen and widen the breach with the powerful Roman church; the patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem were dragged into this policy, Russia and the Slav churches stood out the longest of any: none of these churches, except Constantinople itself in 1472, formally and definitely broke away from the unity of the Church. But in the course of centuries the schism has set and crystallized into a definite separation from the Holy See of many million people with a true priesthood and valid sacraments. The origins, causes and development of the schism are matters of much complication, still not fully unraveled.