About this episode

The episode discusses the events of July 16, 1054, when a papal legate's excommunication divided Christianity into Catholic and Orthodox.

On July 16, 1054, a papal legate walked into the Hagia Sophia and placed an excommunication on the altar that divided Christianity into Catholic and Orthodox for the next thousand years. What most people don't know is that the pope who authorized him had been dead for three months, making the entire act legally questionable from the start. This is the story of how two stubborn men created an accidental fracture that a Crusade later made permanent, and why that fault line is still shaping wars and borders today.

People in this episode

Host: Richard G Backus

Topics covered

• Christianity
• Catholicism
• Orthodoxy
• historical events
• schism
• religion
• war

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Hagia Sophia

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