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Around 300 A.D., Constantine was the emperor of Rome and he converted to Christianity. For many years previous to Constantine’s rule, Christianity was illegal. When he converted to the religion, Christianity became legal and persecution of Christians stopped. Many people converted to Christianity, following Constantine’s example. He later moved the capital of the entire Roman Empire from Rome, to Constantinople, which was in present- day Turkey. He held many councils to resolve some disputes over the truth and questions of the Christian faith.
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When Constantine died, his two sons became emperors of Rome. One of the sons ruled over the Western half of the empire from Rome and the other ruled over the eastern half of the empire from Constantinople. In the year 1054, A.D., Pope Leo IX excommunicated one of the leaders of the Eastern Church. This leader, known as a patriarch, was angry with the Pope for excommunicating him. This caused such a problem that the two Christian churches, the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox, became separated. The Roman Catholic Church became known as the Western Church, and the Greek Orthodox was known as the Eastern Church.
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