The Orthodox left the Catholic Church. The Patriarchs of Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom, asked "Why was Peter the Bishop of Antioch and Rome and James of Jerusalem?" He answered that Peter was Bishop of the world, not just Jerusalem.

The Primacy and Supremacy was understood in the early centuries.

There were battles back and forth between East and West, some from the division in the Empire, a lack of communication, and lots of political misunderstandings. This came to a head in the 9th century with the advent of the Filio clause when the Bishop of Rome demanded everyone add it to the Creed. That word was not in the Creed until around 800 when the Bishop of Rome insisted it be inserted. The filioque was always taught, see Leo the Great in 449 AD, significantly before the Creed. The theology of the filioque was important but some in the East had a problem. With the politics and the filioque clause, it led to the split when Patriarch Photius rejected the filioque and began to call into question the authority of the Bishop Of Rome. Saint Sophronius, a later Patriarch, reunted the East and West in 869 and 870. In 1054, though, there was a final split. The historical fact is that the Church for the first 2000 years taught that all the bishops must be in union with the Bishop of Rome.

The real issue is supremacy, not primacy.

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