<P> There were doctrinal issues like the filioque clause and the authority of the Pope involved in the split, but these were exacerbated by cultural and linguistic differences between Latins and Greeks . Prior to that, the Eastern and Western halves of the Church had frequently been in conflict, particularly during the periods of iconoclasm and the Photian schism. (1) The Orthodox East perceived the Papacy as taking on monarch type characteristics that were not in line with the church's historical tradition . </P> <P> The "official" schism in 1054 was the excommunication of Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople, followed by his excommunication of papal legates . Both groups are descended from the Early Church, both acknowledge the apostolic succession of each other's bishops and the validity of each other's sacraments . Though both acknowledge the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy understands this as a primacy of honour with limited or no ecclesiastical authority in other dioceses . The Orthodox East perceived the Papacy as taking on monarch type characteristics that were not in line with the church's tradition . </P> <P> At the root of what became the Great Schism is the question of ecclesiology . The Eastern Churches maintained the idea that every local city - church with its bishop, presbyters, deacons and people celebrating the Eucharist constituted the whole Church . In this view called Eucharistic ecclesiology (or more recently holographic ecclesiology), every bishop is Saint Peter's successor in his church ("the Church") and the churches form what Eusebius called a common union of churches . This implied that all bishops were ontologically equal, although functionally particular bishops could be granted special privileges by other bishops and serve as metropolitans, archbishops or patriarchs . Early on, the ecclesiology of the Roman Church was universal in nature, with the idea that the Church was a worldwide organism with a divinely (not functionally) appointed center: the Church / Bishop of Rome . </P> <P> The dominant language of the West was Latin, whilst that of the East was Greek . Soon after the fall of the Western Empire, the number of individuals who spoke both Latin and Greek began to dwindle, and communication between East and West grew much more difficult . With linguistic unity gone, cultural unity began to crumble as well . The two halves of the Church were naturally divided along similar lines; they developed different rites and had different approaches to religious doctrines . </P>

The struggle between secular and ecclesiastical power reached its highest point during