In 395, Emperor Theodosius divided the empire into two parts: a Western part with Rome as its capital and an Eastern part with Constantinople as its capital. Over time, the division also affected the economy, language, art and religion. In particular, the Patriarch of Constantinople wanted to express himself on certain spiritual matters to the detriment of the Pope, the latter believing he had absolute power. In an attempt to strengthen relations, the Council of Chalcedon ratified the equal importance of the two churches in 451. Similarly, in the centuries that followed, the separation became increasingly clear until the Eastern Schism in 1054, when the Christian church was divided into Catholic and Orthodox.
