What were the common exonyms of the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches leading up to and after the Great Schism (1054)?
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A common misconception I encounter among people interested in the history of Christianity is that the term "Catholic" refers solely to the Roman Catholic church and likewise "Orthodox" only to the Eastern Orthodox church (indeed, officially the Orthodox *Catholic* Church).
While these terms can serve as shorthands for those churches today in many contexts excluding formal ones, I don't know much of their history in this current use. One would think people who lived in the centuries leading to the Great Schism of 1054 wouldn't have used such positive terms of each other: to describe the other side of the ongoing disputes as catholic or orthodox would seem to undermine one's own side in the deepening controversy.
What terms did the Roman and Greek sides of the church use of each other, in the centuries leading to the Schism and immediately after it, until the "Catholic" and "Orthodox" terms became commonly associated with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, respectively?
Asked by kviiri
(361 rep)
Nov 1, 2019, 07:56 PM
Last activity: Dec 10, 2019, 12:04 PM
Last activity: Dec 10, 2019, 12:04 PM