Which evidence best supports the historical claim that the East-West Schism did not begin in 1054 CE , but that the mutual excommunication was part of an already growing division? (1 point ) The decreasing power of the pope following the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE conflicted with the rise of Byzantine power in the East The Roman Catholic Church affirmed the idea of papal supremacy at the First Vatican Council in 1870 CE The Byzantine Empire rose as a major economic and political power in the western Mediterranean region while Western Europe became more isolated Crusaders from Western Europe looted and sacked the city of Constantinople in 1204 CE
The best evidence that supports the claim that the East-West Schism did not begin in 1054 CE, but that the mutual excommunication was part of an already growing division, is the Crusaders from Western Europe looting and sacking the city of Constantinople in 1204 CE. This event clearly indicates that there was already a significant division and hostility between the Eastern and Western Christian powers before the mutual excommunications of 1054 CE.
