"... when books related to the schism examine it from a completely ecclesiological perspective, the standard that is usually accepted for the structure of the Church on earth is the one that accepts or the theological tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. This means that generally the Churches of the eastern half of Christianity are considered responsible for the schism. The schism is the "Eastern schism," and those considered as "our schismatic brothers" are the Orthodox Christians. This book starts from a different basis. It stems from a perception of the Church which I have called paternal, in the sense that it has been preserved within the paternal tradition as represented mainly by the Greek Fathers from the second to the fourteenth century and beyond. This is the perception that I take as a model and in its light I examine the other ecclesiologies. The result is a different image from the one that is usually presented."