4. Ill-feeling towards Rome in the East.
But there is also another side to the question. It is certain that the whole body of Eastern orthodox Christians would not have so easily fallen away from communion with the West and with the Pontiff whom they had so often acknowledged as their chief, if everything had been going quite smoothly till the 9th century. The violent language against Rome, the hatred of everything Latin, that we see among these Byzantines as soon as the schism breaks out, were caused by deeper motives than the disputed succession of Ignatius and Photius. The Filioque in the Creed, our use of unleavened bread and habit of fasting on Saturday, could not be the only causes of so much bitterness. It is true that long before Photius was born an ill-feeling against Latins and against the Latin Patriarch had been growing up at Constantinople. This ill-feeling shows itself most plainly during the last three centuries before the schism, during the Byzantine period, since Justinian. But even earlier there was often friction. In the first place we do not often find among these Eastern bishops the same enthusiasm for Rome as among Latins: they acknowledged its primacy, but more coldly. Words like St. Jerome's impassioned appeal to Pope Damasus[1] are the expression of the feelings of a Latin surrounded by Greeks and Syrians. To Christians of the Eastern Churches the Pope was always more of a stranger. He was not their Patriarch. Whereas he governed, guided, advised his own Latin bishops continually, sent his Pallium to archbishops, was appealed to in every sort of difficulty,[2] Eastern Christians in similar cases looked to their own patriarchs. True, they could appeal from them to the first see, the Synod of Sardica had said so (p. 69), and we have seen a number of cases; but such appeals were rather the exception, brought about by some flagrant injustice. The normal life of those Churches went on without much reference to Rome.
Then they had not been founded by the Pope. To our fathers the Roman Church was mother and mistress in many