alternatehistory.com

In 16 July 1054 the Papal Legate Umberto de Mourmoutiers Cardinal-Bishop of Silva Candida entered the Church of Hagia Sophia interrupting Divine Liturgy on a Saturday afternoon and placed a Papal Bull of Excommunication on the altar. The legates left for Rome two days later, leaving behind a city near riots. The patriarch had the immense support of the people against the Emperor, who had supported the legates to his own detriment, and Argyrus, who was seen still as a papal ally. To assuage popular anger, Argyrus' family in Constantinople was arrested, the bull was burnt, and the legates were anathematised... the Great Schism had begun...
It must be noted though that Pope Leo IX had died 3 months earlier on 19 April 1054.
WI Patriarch Michael Keroularios instead of excommunicating the Legate invokes the "illegality" of the Papal Bull since Pope Leo IX was dead before the whole matter surfaces? Maybe the Schism still occurs but not formally... How is that altering History? Any thoughts?
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