Medieval Church · 1054

1054: the split between East and West

In July 1054 papal envoys lay a document of excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sophia. Students explore the differences that had grown between the Latin West and the Greek East, and ask whether 1054 was a sudden break or a slow parting.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1054
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In July 1054 papal envoys lay a document of excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sophia. Students explore the differences that had grown between the Latin West and the Greek East, and ask whether 1054 was a sudden break or a slow parting.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe what happened in Constantinople in July 1054.
  • Explain at least three differences between the Latin and the Greek churches.
  • Evaluate whether the schism was a single event or a long process.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1054

Two halves of Christendom

Open the map in 1054. Find the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Imagine a line between the lands of Latin and Greek Christians. Where does it run?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1054

The scene of the break

Zoom in on Constantinople and turn on Historical Events (Religious Events). Find the Great Schism. Which great church stood in this city?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1054

A borderland

Pan to southern Italy. Greek and Latin churches stood side by side here, and Norman knights were taking over the land. Why might quarrels start in such a borderland?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The popes claimed authority over the whole Church; the patriarchs of Constantinople did not accept that. Why is "who decides" such a hard question?
  2. One quarrel was about whether to use leavened or unleavened bread at communion. Why can small differences in ritual matter so much?
  3. Pope Leo IX had already died when his envoys excommunicated the patriarch. Does that change how we see the event?
  4. Most Christians in 1054 probably noticed no split at all. When might ordinary people have started to feel it?
  5. In 1965 the pope and the patriarch lifted the excommunications of 1054. Why might leaders undo a decision 900 years later?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Rule History as Justinian I, who ruled when the bishops of Rome and Constantinople still belonged to one Church. Afterwards, discuss: how much should a ruler interfere in church matters?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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