There were five Christian patriarchates before the Schism: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The Pope was the “first among equals,” but over the years he tried to grab more power for himself, and make Western Church dominate the East. As time went on, the West and the East grew apart and even had different languages and liturgies.

Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and seat of a patriarch, was the most influential seat in the East. The Patriarch of Constantinople and the Byzantine Emperor became embroiled in a power struggle with the Pope of Rome and the Holy Roman Emperor. When Constantinople attempted to become an apostolic see, Rome tried to stop them, arguing that their only reason was political. In 857, a bishop named Ignatius and Saint Photious feuded over who should become patriarch. After the Pope announced that Ignatius was the rightful patriarch, Photious claimed the Pope was a heretic, citing the filioque.

Subsequently, Photious started an anti-Latin party and wanted to distance Constantinople from the West. In 1053, the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius was excommunicated by Rome after he had a disagreement with the West about the Eucharist and the Filioque. As tensions continued to build, other Eastern bishops sided with Cerularius, as well as the Byzantine Emperor. A year later, in 1054, the East split from the Roman Church. 

After the 10th Century Viking invasions, France split off from the Holy Roman Emperor and formed the French Kingdom. In France, the last Carolingian king died in 987 and was replaced by Hugh Capet, the first of the Capetian kings. In order to gain more control, the Capetians put their family members in positions of local power so they could control all of France. In the 12th Century, French kings Phillip I (r. 1068-1108) and Louis the Fat (r. 1108-1137) helped France become less controlled by local dukes and more centralized. King Phillip II Augustus (r. 1180-1223) crushed the Angevin Empire and defeated King John of England, making France the most dominant power in Europe. King Louis IX (r. 1226-1270) was a peacemaker throughout Europe and was canonized as a Saint. 

After the Great Schism, the Catholic Church began different practices than the East. The Catholics believed that some sins needed to be paid for with temporary punishments. This practice was known as indulgences, with some corrupt bishops and priests even forcing people to give them money for “the forgiveness of sins.” Nevertheless, most indulgences did not involve monetary payment, but instead had the person that sinned do some sort of penance for the Church.