The Roman Catholic Church, the largest denomination of Christians worldwide, has a glorious history as the church of Jesus Christ and the sole Christian Church in the West during the high and late Middle Ages (1054-1550 AD). Explore the history of the Roman Catholic Church before the Reformation in this brief guide, the second in a series of articles about the Roman Catholic Church's history.
Early Christianity Splits and Forms Roman Catholic Church
In the crumbling Roman Empire, the Christian Church struggled to maintain unity between East and West. When the Eastern half of the Roman Empire fell (circa 400 AD), the pope became the spiritual and political leader for Western Europe. The patriarch of Constantinople served as head of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Byzantium.
Diversity in thought and practice, physical distance between East and West, invasions from outsiders, and desires for autonomy tore the Church apart in a separation known as the East-West Schism or Great Schism in 1054. The Roman Catholic Church became known as the Church of the West, and the Orthodox Church the Church of the East.
