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Peace be with you,
As a convert to Oriental Orthodoxy and a historian I'll answer this question from the perspective of both in brief.
Here's a little item to begin with which I've just snipped from items I've saved previously:
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If you declare your faith as a Roman Catholic, your Church originally shared the apostolic heritage of episcopal succession and continuity of the Orthodox tradition. Lamentably in 451, Pope Leo I attempted to assert the authority of his office as the Bishop of Rome as a universal authority over the whole Church. That was a departure from the tradition of his predecessors. Some assert that he did this as a good faith effort to solve a contemporary dilemma about the mystery of Jesus Christ?s nature (see below). But at the same time others took of fence at the new formula that he proposed to explain that mystery. Many bishops, representing their individual diocese accepted Leo?s formula. Thus their churches continued a tenuous coalition with his Latin church, but that coalition fell apart in 1054.
Those who maintained communion with the Latin (Roman) Church between 451 and 1054 distinguish themselves as "Byzantine Orthodox" or "Eastern Orthodox". (This includes a set of various ethnic traditions originating in Eastern Europe, parts of the Near East and Asia. Until 1453, their lands comprised the Byzantine Roman Empire plus various Slavic countries and Russia that received their faith from it).
Those of the Oriental Orthodox Christian communion trace their continuous relationship, as the body of Christ, to its founder Christ Jesus of Nazareth. He commissioned His Apostles to go forth to teach and baptize all nations. The formulas, which it accepts as normative, were sealed by 431 A. D. (The Council of Ephesus). They consider doctrinal statements made since then to be unnecessary innovations. On the basis of that principle they rejected Pope Leo?s formula and the meeting called the "Council of Chalcedon". They recognize the same faith in each of their administratively independent national traditions. Their local cells are identified by the traditional ethnic designations Armenian, Coptic (Egyptian), Ethiopian, Malankara (Indian), and Syrian (Jacobite) Christian Churches.
The Orthodox Church is the Church of the Apostles and our Fathers (that thou ma yest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son [Exodus 10:2]) who succeeded them. It is the true "one, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church". This is our greatest legacy that we can pass on to the young people of the new millennium.
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In regards to the schism between the Eastern Orthodox and the Latin/Roman Catholics, several issues led to it including both doctrinal and political ones including:
The 'foliage' clause.
The issue of papal primacy and the equality of all bishops.
The rise of Islam.
The roles of princes and whether or not they could also be bishops.
There are numerous other issues too but here are just a few to get you started.
Pray for me and for the unity of all please.
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