And many believers have been saved out of Roman Catholicism. Eastern Orthodox Catholics and Roman Catholics are the result of what is known as the East-West Schism (or Great Schism) of 1054, when medieval Christianity split into two branches. Accordingly, Orthodox and Roman Catholic Easters may be celebrated up to five weeks apart. This term means a break or a split of an organization because of contrasting beliefs and which would cause the rise of two separate and different parties. The difference between orthodox and catholic is in a number of aspects such as the belief of Mary and the acceptance of the pope. Spiritually and theologically, far more unites the Western and Eastern Churches than divides. From the outside, it might look like we are basically the same Church with the same practices and the same theology. Many of us have Roman Catholic friends, neighbors, and even family members. A lot of people are curious about the differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.  Roman Catholic Church vs Eastern Orthodox Church. Have you ever heard of this before? Christianity seems to be divided into the Eastern and Western churches that are Orthodox vs Catholic . Do you know what the term ‘Schism’ means? Orthodox iconography reflects this truth, even as Roman Catholic statues reflect its idea of grace. This is what happened in the Roman Catholic Church before, around the 4th century. The Orthodox honor and kiss icons, a devotion which passes from the icon to the person or persons represented in them. From the […] Again, icons are a necessary part of Orthodox piety. Much less familiar to most westerners is the other main branch of non-Protestant Christianity—Eastern Orthodoxy. Many differences exist between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. The Byzantine split with Roman Catholicism came about when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, King of the Franks, as Holy Roman Emperor in 800. The main difference between Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern-rite Catholicism is ecclesiological–it has to do with what each perceives the nature and structure of the Church to be.