Where The Current Conflict Began

Remember that the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine goes back nearly a thousand years. It began with the Great Schism of 1054. This was the split between the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople, over the authority of the Pope. It resulted in the Eastern Orthodox Church splitting away from the Catholic Church. 

The split between east and west in Europe has never really been healed. All of the European conflicts between east and west are rooted in this split. This began with the religious differences but has continued in modern secular form. It includes Napoleon's invasion of Russia, the Eastern Front in both world wars, it was secularized into Democracy and Free Enterprise against Communism during the Cold War, and finally the present conflict in Ukraine. 

This monumental split began in the Hagia Sophia, the House of Holy Wisdom, in what is now called Istanbul. This was the largest church in the world for about a thousand years. The magnificence of the Hagia Sophia is what caused Vladimir, the Grand Prince of Kiev, to choose the Byzantine Rites over the Latin Rites when he converted to Christianity.

If you would like to read all about the Hagia Sophia, and the split that began there, here is a link to the book-length posting "The House Of Holy Wisdom Where The Modern World Began". If you have read this before, it has been completely updated with images.

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-house-of-wisdom-where-modern-world.html?m=0

With the tension between the U.S. and Canada, let's review "Why The U.S. And Canada Are Different". Although politics are also part of it and tension is much more likely when opposite parties are in power.

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2016/01/why-us-and-canada-are-different.html?m=0