After the year 395, Rome split into two empires, There was on branch
in the east and another in the west.Gradually,Christianity developed two
branches, too. In the Eastern Empire, it became the Orthodox Church.In the
Western Empire, it became the Roman Catholic Church.
Priests called bishops had special authority in both the eastern and
western churches. In The west,the bishop of Rome became the top Religious
leader.He is known as the pope.
In 1512, a man named Martin Luther protested against the
power of the pope and the traditions of the Roman Catholic
Church.Luther believed that the church had strayed from the
teachings of Jesus.He said people needed only faith and the
Bible to live Christian lives.His ideas spread.
Groups that left the Roman Catholic Church to form their
own churches were called Protestants. in Engiand, King Henry
VIII led the protest.He established the protestant Church of England and
made himself the head of it.