The situation in the Western Christendom after the Reformation was perceived as something exceptional, although the division affected them most. However, internal conflicts and divisions could hardly be seen as something new, since they had accompanied Christian communities virtually from the beginning. Almost all essential theological questions were raised in the East. Solutions for them were also searched by Eastern Christian thinkers. Meanwhile, in the West the place of deep theological conflicts was almost always taken by practical problems of everyday Christian life. Usually a pragmatic solution, albeit not always a »purer« solution prevailed, and a conflict itself was frequently motivated by personal ambitions of people involved. This pattern is well seen in the cases of the foremost crises which emerged in the West, i. e. in the cases of Novatian shism, Donatism in Northern Africa and Pelagianism. Even Luther's actions in the 16th century were rooted in pra ctical deliberations regarding possibilities to attain forgiveness and were centred around the essential categories that already vexed Roman and African Christians more than a thousand years earlier
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