East Vs. West - The First Reformation

Rome's mysterious sister lay in Constantinople.
For a very long time the two were one, the Roman Catholic Church and the Byzantine Church, separated by political and geographic differences. Yet, over time, relations between the two bodies began to grow sour. Various minor disputes over church doctrine, administrative structure, even practices wedged themselves into a further divide. However, the biggest dividing factor was the fall of Rome in the West. With this decisive action perpetrated by "barbarians," "Rome" continued, yet in two different factions. The Goths took over, seeing themselves as continuing the Roman tradition, while at the same time, in the east, Byzantium continued the Roman Empire - in their thinking at least.

This is a link that gives a great overview of the Eastern Empire and the feelings held by it. From here we see the "last nail in the coffin" so to speak, as Justinian (the Eastern Emperor) had wanted to reclaim the West, as he saw himself as ruler over the entirety of Rome. However, soon the Vatican claimed the West. His subsequent military failures only proved to strengthen the Vatican's claim as these attempts drained the East of much needed resources and all but destroyed Italy; because of limited resources, and the barbarian nuisance, the East could not hold onto the West. After the death of Justinian, all hope of reconquering the West were lost and would remain so.