The Photian schism is a term for a controversy lasting from 863-867 between Eastern (Byzantine, later Orthodox) and Western (Roman Catholic) Christianity. This conflict was precipitated by the opposition of Roman Catholic Pope Nicholas I (r. 858-867) to the appointment by Byzantine Emperor Michael III of a lay scholar as Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople. The schism effectively ended in 867 with both the death of Pope Nicholas I and the first deposition of Photius. Nevertheless, it took two councils at Constantinople (869-870 and 879-880) to fully resolve the situation.