Sacraments, Indulgences, and the Great Schism

"What was the Great Schism?  What factors brought it on?"



The Great Schism was a split between the Catholics in the west and the Orthodox Christians in the east.  The Orthodox Christians and the Catholics had different views on who had authority.  One thought that the pope in Rome should have religious authority, whereas one thought that the church in Constantinople should have the authority.

Those in the west and those in the east also had different ways of worship, spoke different languages, etc..  These differences only made the rift forming between them even larger.

Another big problem occurred in 1054 when some of the deceased pope's legates excommunicated a man named Michael Cerularius.  In the end, the churches in the east and in the west ultimately split, with only a small few wishing to rejoin.




"What are the sacraments?"



The sacraments are seven religious rituals of the Catholic church.  Baptism ("Christian rite of admission and adoption") (This practice generally includes water.), Confirmation ("sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit"), Holy Communion ("a gift of God made effectual by the preaching of the Word and the response of faith"), Penance (the confession of sins to a priest in order to receive forgiveness), Matrimony (I think you know this one.), Holy Orders ("the sacrament or rite of ordination as a member of the Christian clergy"), and Anointing of the Sick ("the sacramental anointing of the ill or infirm with blessed oil") are what these seven sacraments are called.  Each one of these plays an influential role in the lives of Catholics, and all have their place in history.



"What is an indulgence?"



Despite popular belief, an indulgence is not the buying of having your sins forgiven.  An indulgence is used when someone is attempting to remove their temporal punishment.  You see, in Catholicism there is both eternal and temporal punishment.  Eternal punishment is canceled out by the sacrament of Penance.  In other words, you are no longer in danger of being sent to Hell upon death.  You are however left with the temporal punishment which can be shortened or altogether removed by the use of indulgences.  Indulgences can also be used to shorten or eliminate a person's time in purgatory (a place between Heaven which you are sent to after death if you have any temporal punishment left to make up for).

 Indulgences are received when you do a worthy deed.  They do not require a monetary sum, nor are you "buying" the forgiveness of your sins.  Your sins are already forgiven through Penance, so why would you pay to have them forgiven when they already are?

Anyways, I hope this helps you to understand indulgences a little more.


Thanks for reading this essay, and don't forget to let me know what you think!