Module Four - christian denominations

division one:

THE GREAT SCHISM:

was a division within Christianity that occurred in 1054 and led to a separation between the Roman Catholic (west) and Greek Orthodox (east) branches of Christianity.

CAUSES:

the causes for this schism include political, cultural, economical, and social factors as well as some theological differences — the main three are outlined below:

1) The filioque clause

this is to do with the creeds and therefore the theological beliefs of Christianity

  • within the Creeds there was disputes as to whether or not the Holy Spirit comes from the father AND from the son (as stipulated in the filioque clause by the Roman Catholics) or just from the father (as the Greek Orthodox believed).

2) Practices

this has to do with both the actual geological difference/divide that existed AND the premise of the bread in the Eucharist

  • geological difference:

    • east and west which then caused Mass and the Liturgy to be spoken in different languages — the west spoke in Latin, the east spoke in Greek

  • bread premise:

    • if it should be leavened (have a rising agent = the Greek Orthodox tradition) or unleavened as Jesus did (no rising agent = Roman Catholic tradition)

3) Leadership

this has to do with the Church’s hierarchy between the heads of the different churches.

  • The Pope and as such Roman Catholics saw himself as the “supreme pontiff” essentially the supreme leader due to his seat being passed down directly through St Peter’s descendants

    WHEREAS

  • The other leaders/patriarchs — in particular, the Greek Orthodox leader — saw the Pope as being the “first among equals”

As such a Roman Catholic delegate was sent to Constantinople (the east) and from there the leaders proceeded to excommunicate each other and fully divide the east and west.

AFTER the Great Schism the Catholic Church was divided but BOTH still considered themselves to be Catholic.

So.. what makes a Church Catholic?

1 = the belief in the teachings of Jesus

as handed down BY the Apostles —> as the Church expanded, the beliefs became solidified into two Creeds (Apostles and Nicene)

  • in different areas of the Church, one of these world be proclaimed during the Eucharist

2 = the celebration of the 7 sacraments

as instituted BY Jesus —> it’s important to note that the way they are celebrated can differ BUT they must remain the same sacrament.

  • eg in Australia, the Eucharist is celebrated differently by Catholics in comparison to the Ukrainian Rites BUT each has the bread and wine turning into the body and blood of Christ as he commanded at the Last Supper

3 = the belief of Apostolic succession

the idea that the Bishops will and do have the same mission and spiritual gifts as Jesus gave the 12 Apostles

  • meaning there’s a direct line to Jesus and the 12 enabled by the Holy Spirit

    • these gifts are shared by the Apostles as the Church expanded

BELIEFS LIMITED TO JUST THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH;

However, just because there are similarities between both Catholic Churches, differences remain and some of these are outlined below;

1) The Pope’s leadership:

  • Roman Catholics believe that the Pope is the “Supreme Pontiff” due to him being directly appointed in line from the Primacy of Peter through Apostolic Succession

    • ie the Pope = is the supreme leader and is able to make decisions that influence the WHOLE Catholic community

2) The Pope’s gift of infallibility

  • this gift in itself is limited to teachings on faith and morals

3) The Magisterium

  • Roman Catholics see the Magisterium (made up of the leaders) as the teaching authority of the Church and that it’s guided by the Holy Spirit —> “the Spirit of the Truth” (John 16:13)

division two:

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION - the Western Catholic Church

In 1517, Martin Luther - a German priest - began to question the route to salvation as the Catholic doctrine states that salvation could be attained through good works or actions

  • Catholics could also purchase indulgences = documents issued BY Church officials for the forgiveness of sins/evil deeds of souls in purgatory

  • Luther protested this as he believed that selling indulgences represented a corruption of Christianity

    • this led to him publishing the ‘95 Theses’ against the Catholic Church basically stating 95 reasons that the Church is corrupt —> this then eventually led to him being ex-communicated as he spread two main messages

      1 = saved already <— meaning that we are saved by our faith alone ie the Sacraments aren’t required for Salvation

      2 = Scripture alone provides truth from God <— meaning that only the Bible can provide us with God’s truth.

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT:

In 1545, a council was formed to then formalised teachings, beliefs, and, practices as well as to address the various issues such as the corruption within the Church.

  • acted as the Popes response to the Protestant Reformation

  • solidifed and cemented the divide between Roman Catholics and Protestants.

ECUMENISM:

Christian Churches work together to find unity in line with God’s mission to encounter mutual understanding as they are moved by the Holy Spirit.

  • it’s seen as a movement that addresses the important concern for ALL Christians ie the need to heal the division between different groups of Christians and to work toward a meaningful form of Christianity as the divides themselves go against Christ’s teaching of

    “May they all be one” (John 17:21)

  • The Second Vatican Council then sought another spiritual renewal of the Church and spelled out the nature and role of the Church in the modern world and proceeded to outline them in 16 documents with one being a “decree on ecumenism” that further outlines an approach to the ecumenical nature.

    • essentially recognising the common elements between the Churches.

QUESTIONS:

1) define ecumenism

Ecumenism is the process of all Christian Churches working together to find unity as they are moved by the Holy Spirit to address the need to heal the divisions.

2) describe the need for/the importance of ecumenism for the Christian Church (refer to the quote “may they be one”)

Ecumenism is important for all Christian Churches as it reflects Christs’ prayer for unity among believers as he said “May they be one” (John 17:21) in reference to the entire community of believers being united in their beliefs and therefore demonstrates the church’s ability to effectively proclaim the Gospel and address common challenges/shared goals rather than the multiple divisions that exist within it

3) outline ways and attempts that have allowed progress toward ecumenism eg

  • second Vatican Council (16 documents 1 = the ecumenical decree (decree on ecumenism))

  • meetings eg the Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury

  • joint statements

  • Australian national council of churches

The formation and continuation of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) in 1967 where the Anglican Communion of the Church’s leader (the Archbishop of Canterbury) and the Pope met to establish the identification of common ground between the two churches such as the desire to follow Christ, the use of the bible, the commitment to prayer and baptism (in most cases).