Did a single letter and a pair of purple shoes trigger the Great Schism?

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Michael I Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, did more than just argue theology. His 11th-century power struggle with Rome reshaped Christianity, but his ambition didn't stop at the altar. He openly challenged emperors, donned imperial footwear, and ultimately became a central figure in the permanent fracture of the Church.

Born around 1000, Michael I Cerularius rose to become Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1043. His tenure was defined by intense friction with Pope Leo IX. The conflict was rooted in deep-seated cultural and theological divides, including the Roman use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist and the Filioque clause. However, the tension was also intensely political. Leo IX asserted papal primacy by citing the Donation of Constantine—a document he believed genuine—to claim authority over both earthly and heavenly realms. Michael, wary of Rome's historical associations with heresy, countered by addressing the Pope as a brother rather than a father, asserting his own status as Ecumenical Patriarch.

The situation reached a breaking point in 1054. Despite the death of Pope Leo IX in April, his legates, led by Cardinal Humbert, remained in Constantinople. On 16 July, they placed a charter of excommunication on the altar of the Hagia Sophia. Michael responded days later by convening a synod that anathematized the legates. While this event is traditionally cited as the start of the Great Schism, the excommunications were not formally rescinded until 1965 by Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, who acknowledged the original act was invalid.

Michael’s influence extended well beyond the Church. He clashed with Empress Theodora Porphyrogenita, openly criticizing her rule, and later orchestrated the abdication of Emperor Michael VI Bringas in 1057 to install Isaac I Komnenos. His ambition eventually turned against his own creation; after quarreling with Isaac I over church property, Michael donned the purple shoes reserved for emperors, signaling a challenge to the throne. Before he could be tried for treason and heresy, he died in 1059, leaving behind a legacy that permanently altered the trajectory of both the Byzantine Empire and Western Christianity.

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