Pentarchy

Pentarchy is a model of Church organization formulated in the laws of Emperor Justinian

I (527–565) of the Roman Empire. In this model, the Christian church is governed by the
heads (patriarchs) of the five major episcopal sees of the Roman Empire: Rome,
Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.[3]
Why it is called Pentarchy
This conceptual framework emerged because of the political and ecclesiastical
prominence of these five Sees in the early church, but also because of the administrative
structure of the Roman Empire.

Western Church and Eastern Churches

In this model, Pope is the Bishop of Rome, as successor of Peter, was regarded as head of
the universal church’s government and doctrine. The Roman church is called as Western
Church, while other 4 major episcopal sees come under Eastern Churches

Tensions Between East and West

The Eastern and Western Roman Empires had been gradually separating along religious
fault lines for centuries, beginning with Emperor Leo III’s pioneering of the Byzantine
Iconoclasm in 730 CE, in which he declared the worship of religious images to be
heretical. The Western Church remained firmly in support of the use of religious images.
Leo tried to use military force to compel Pope Gregory III, but he failed, and the pope
condemned Leo’s actions. In response, Leo confiscated papal estates and placed them
under the governance of Constantinople. Therefore, the Iconoclasm widened the growing
divergence and tension between east and west, though the church was still unified at this
time.
Crisis
The differences in practice and worship between the Church of Rome in the west and the
Church of Constantinople in the east only increased over time.
In 1053, the first step was taken in the process that led to formal schism; the Ecumenical
Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael I Cerularius, ordered the closure of all Latin
churches in Constantinople, in response to the Greek churches in southern Italy having
been forced to either close or conform to Latin practices.
Finally, in 1054 CE, relations between the Eastern and Western traditions within the
Christian Church reached a terminal crisis. The papal legate sent by Leo IX traveled to
Constantinople for purposes that included refusing to Cerularius the title of “Ecumenical
Patriarch,” and insisting that he recognize the Pope’s claim to be the head of all the
churches. The main purpose of the papal legation was to seek help from the Byzantine
emperor in view of the Norman conquest of southern Italy, and to deal with recent attacks
by Leo of Ohrid against the use of unleavened bread and other Western customs, attacks
that had the support of Cerularius. Historian Axel Bayer contends that the legation was
sent in response to two letters, one from the emperor seeking assistance in arranging a
common military campaign by the Eastern and Western Empires against the Normans,
and the other from Cerularius. On the refusal of Cerularius to accept the demand, the
leader of the legation, Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, excommunicated him, and in
return Cerularius excommunicated Humbert and the other legates. This was only the first
act in a centuries-long process that eventually became a complete schism.
The Misunderstandings between East and west
The theological genius of the East was different from that of the West. The
Eastern theology had its roots in Greek philosophy, whereas a great deal of
Western theology was based on Roman law. This gave rise to misunderstandings and at
last led to two widely separate ways of regarding and defining important doctrines.
The Disputes lead to Great Schism
Pope Leo IX allowed the insertion of the Filioque into the Nicene Creed in the West in
1014. Compounding the dogmatic issue was that the Creed was changed without
agreement of the whole Christian Church.
The Creed had been agreed upon at an Ecumenical Council and revised at another,
bearing universal authority within the Church.
For the Pope of Rome to change the Creed unilaterally without reference to an
Ecumenical Council was considered by the Eastern bishops to be offensive to other
bishops, as it undermined the collegiality and right of the episcopacy.
The other disputes were on the issue whether leavened or unleavened bread should be
used in the Eucharist and the issue on Clerical Celibacy.
the disputes were also in claims of jurisdiction, in particular over papal authority. Pope
Leo IX claimed authority over the four Eastern patriarchs/
Eastern Orthodox today state that the 28th Canon of the Council of Chalcedon explicitly
proclaimed the equality of the Bishops of Rome and Constantinople, and that it
established the highest court of ecclesiastical appeal in Constantinople.
Western and Eastern Churches
The gradual separation of the several centuries culminated in a formal declaration of
institutional separation between east, into the Orthodox Church (now Eastern Orthodox
Church), and west, into the Catholic Church (now Roman Catholic Church). This was
known as the East-West Schism in 1054 CE.
Future Developments
The schism has never healed, though relations between the churches improved following
the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), which recognized the validity of
the sacraments in the Eastern churches. In 1979 the Joint International Commission for
Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church was
established by the Holy See and 14 autocephalous churches to further foster ecumenism.
Dialogue and improved relations continued into the early 21st century.
Justification
The Schism of 1054 is still an ongoing issue in Christianity today. The increasing
isolation of Eastern Christianity theologically and politically with the rise of Islam lead to
the Eastern Church being largely side-lined and ignored by the Western Church. The
Bishop of Rome (i.e. the Pope) would have universal primacy in a reunited Christendom,
without power of jurisdiction.
Conclusion
The issue of Papal infallibility and primacy is still an issue that divides Roman
Catholicism from the Eastern Orthodox and Protestant/Evangelical churches. Unity in the
church is an important question for all Christians. journeying towards conciliarity means
acquiring a sense of re-conciliation. It’s called forgiveness. It’s called being in the same
space with one another, because we must honestly admit that we have become estranged
from the culture of conciliarity and communion