In 1054 AD, relations between the Western and Eastern branches of the Christian Church ruptured in what is known as the East-West Schism or Great Schism. Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, representing Pope Leo IX, placed a bull of excommunication on the altar of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey), targeting Patriarch Michael I Cerularius, who promptly reciprocated the excommunication. The split was driven by centuries of theological disputes, such as the 'filioque' clause regarding the Holy Spirit, as well as arguments over papal supremacy and distinct cultural-linguistic barriers between Latin and Greek traditions.

This institutional break permanently divided the artistic and poetic trajectories of Eastern and Western Christendom. The East doubled down on its rich traditions of mystical, liturgical Greek hymnography (like Symeon the New良好 Theologian), while the West advanced along a separate line toward Scholasticism and vernacular allegories.