Final answer:
The conflict between the pope and the patriarch in 1054, known as the Great Schism, resulted in the formal division between the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East, solidifying the split over various theological, cultural, and political differences.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1054, a significant event in church history took place when the representative of the Pope excommunicated the Patriarch of Constantinople, leading to a reciprocal excommunication from the Patriarch. This event marked the formal split between the Western Church, which evolved into the Roman Catholic Church, and the Eastern Church, known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. The separation, widely referred to as the Great Schism of 1054, was the culmination of longstanding theological, political, and cultural differences that had developed over centuries.
The underlying factors leading to the Schism included linguistic and cultural divergences, with the West using Latin and the East using Greek, and differing views on clerical celibacy and church authority. These differences were exacerbated by the church reform movements of the time, which unintentionally sharpened the divide. After the Schism, popes sought to reunite the churches under their authority, but the Eastern Orthodox bishops only recognized the pope as 'first among equals,' resisting the notion of absolute papal supremacy.