Upset by the consecration of Cyril VI Tanas as Patriarch of Antioch, Orthodox Patriarch Jeremias III of Constantinople declared Cyril's election to be invalid, excommunicated him, and appointed Sylvester of Antioch.
The division was over Cyril's desire to reunited the Orthodox Church with Rome. Jeremias' action caused a schism which ultimately lead to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church's uniting with Rome, a branch of Catholicism that has over 1,500,000 members today.
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