Michael Cerularius
Michael Cerularius, (b.
Constantinople c.
1000 - d.
1059), also known as
Michael Keroularios or
Partriarch Michael I, was the
Patriarch of Constantinople from
1043 to
1059. In
1054 he quarrelled with legates sent by
Pope Leo IX over church practises which had been differing from the
Roman Church for centuries, especially the use of unleavened bread in the
Eucharist. The legates
excommunicated him, and he likewise excommunicated them, starting the
Great Schism. This schism led to the end of the alliance between the Emperor and the
Papacy, and caused later Popes to ally with the
Normans against the Empire. In
1965, those excommunications were rescinded by
Pope Paul VI and
Patriarch Athenagoras when they met in the
Second Vatican Council. This was a significant step towards restoring
communion between Rome and Constantinople.
Michael also quarrelled with Emperor Isaac I Comnenus over confiscation of church property. Isaac planned to depose Michael when Michael suddenly died in 1059, though there was no suspicion that he was murdered.