Presuppositions, part one

I have a point that I would like to make but it is going to require several steps.  When anyone believes a particular piece of information, whether it is objective or subjective, that belief has presuppositions that underlie and support it.  The actual validity of that belief is actually irrelevant because of the unquestioned presuppositions.  My argument is a simple one.  Learn to recognize and then question/analyze those presuppositions.
My goal then in this posting is to build a foundation that shows the validity of, in fact, necessity of, the historic Orthodox faith.  I plan to do so by beginning with a short history lesson.  I hope that an objective approach and handling of history can be achieved.
After Jesus accomplished his work on the cross and rose from the dead, he encouraged and directed his apostles in spreading the Christian faith.  This was to be done by the preaching of the gospel and the establishing of churches, unified and in harmony with the gospel as given by Jesus Christ.  This the apostles did, very successfully.
I know history well enough to understand that as churches developed and grew, disharmony and heresy grew as well.  This was addressed by the written gospels, the epistles and the actual visitation of the apostles and their successors to the ever growing body of churches.  Eventually, the need arose for ecumenical councils.  These councils were not called to announce Christian doctrine but to respond to heretical teaching by clarifying what the church had always believed and taught.
One major problem that began relatively soon and then grew into epic proportions was the isolation of the churches in the west ie., Rome, and their erroneous belief in the singular superiority of the Roman bishop, the pope.
This belief came to a head in 1054 with the Great Schism.  This one event set a precedent and started a manner of thinking that plagues us to this day.  When Rome broke communion with the four other patriarchates, a level of grace was lost and error began creeping in.  A certain German monk eventually responded to the corruption and seeking a very necessary correction sought reformation.  It didn't happen and Martin Luther was kicked out of the Roman Catholic church.  This began the Protestant Reformation.  The problem was, Luther merely continued the faulty thinking that Rome began in 1054.  Separation from the unity of the church only leads to death. (to be continued...)