The Eastern schism did, indeed, deny the authority of the Pope....that changes nothing....when they return to the fold, and they will, we will all again be under his direct authority. As far as the remainder of Christianity is concerned....they decided to change whatever rules that they didn't like and they did so. Never mind the seven Sacraments, never mind transubstantiation, never mind Penance nor Holy Orders, Infant Baptism, who needs it??...The Eucharist, merely a symbolic meal with no real meaning....and the Popes from Peter on down, oh well we are now all our own Popes and make our own rules...
Good luck with that....sounds like free for all time at the local kindergarden..
I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you about the healing-of-the-schism thing with EO. If after a thousand years it hasn't "healed", it won't. Besides, it was the Roman Catholics who split from the Orthodox - the Popes even excommunicating the Orthodox over it and vice versa - because they refused to heed the novel doctrines Rome tried to pass off as the truth. In fact, anyone can look back on the history of the early Christian churches and see that they didn't have any such thing as one "Pope" over all of Christendom, no auricular confession, no infant baptism, no Purgatory, no transubstantiation and so forth. The Roman Catholics decided they COULD make their own rules no matter what the historic faith held, the Apostles taught or what God ensured was written in His sacred word. Talk about a free-for-all. Your guys wrote the book on free-for-alls!
Authority...
GOD love ya...
When Francis tells YOU to jump; do NOT waste time asking, "How high."!