A religious
schism occurs when a single religious body divides and becomes two separate religious bodies. The split can be violent or nonviolent but results in at least one of the two newly-created bodies considering itself distinct from the other. This article covers schisms in
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
.
In the early Christian church, the formation of a distinction between the concepts of "
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
" and "schism" began. In ecclesiastical usage, the term "heresy" refers to a serious confrontation based on disagreements over fundamental issues of faith or morality, while the term "schism" usually means a lesser form of disunity caused by organizational or less important ideological differences. Heresy is rejection of a
doctrine
Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief syste ...
that a Church considered to be essential. Schism is a rejection of
communion with the authorities of a Church, and not every break of communion is necessarily about doctrine, as is clear from examples such as the
Western Schism
The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon b ...
and the breaking of the communion that existed between
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is
the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the '' ...
and
Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens
Christodoulos (17 January 1939 – 28 January 2008) ( el, Χριστόδουλος, born Christos Paraskevaidis, ''Χρήστος Παρασκευαΐδης'') was Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and as such the primate of the Autocephalous ...
in 2004. However, when for any reason people withdraw from communion, two distinct ecclesiastical entities may result, each of which, or at least some members thereof, may then accuse the other(s) of heresy.
Definition of schism in Christianity
In
Christian theology, the concept of the unity of the Church was developed by the
Apostles,
Holy Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
and
apologists. The greatest contribution to the doctrine of church unity was made by the apostles
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
,
Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch (; Greek: Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, ''Ignátios Antiokheías''; died c. 108/140 AD), also known as Ignatius Theophorus (, ''Ignátios ho Theophóros'', lit. "the God-bearing"), was an early Christian writer ...
,
Irenaeus of Lyons
Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the deve ...
,
Cyprian of Carthage,
Basil the Great
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Cae ...
,
Gregory the Theologian
Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...
,
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ...
,
John of Damascus. Christian
ecclesiology
In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church (congregation), Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its ecclesiastical polity, polity, its Church discipline, discipline, its escha ...
insists on the statement that unity and the Church are synonymous, as John Chrysostom wrote: “the name of the Church is not one of separation but of unity and harmony”. According to one of the greatest theologians and Fathers of the Church, Basil the Great, the schism is a break in unity due to disagreement in understanding certain aspects of the established church tradition, reflected in canonical practice. Ignatius of Antioch especially warned Christians against sins that could contribute to the schisms.
Schisms in the early Church
Since the early days of Christianity, many disputes have arisen between members of the Church. Schismatic communities that separated from the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
appeared in the
ante-Nicene period
Christianity in the ante-Nicene period was the time in Christian history up to the First Council of Nicaea. This article covers the period following the Apostolic Age of the first century, c. 100 AD, to Nicaea in 325 AD.
The second and third c ...
. The assessment of schism in the early Church was not uniform. At the same time, theologians of the West paid much more attention to the topic of church divisions than in the East.
*
Marcionist
Marcionism was an early Christian dualistic belief system that originated with the teachings of Marcion of Sinope in Rome around the year 144. Marcion was an early Christian theologian, evangelist, and an important figure in early Christianity. ...
schism c.150
*
Montanist
Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Prophecy, was an early Christian movement of the late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus. Montanism held views about the basic tenets of Christian theology simi ...
Schism c.156
*
Monarchianist schism c.100-200
*
Sabellianist/
Patripassianist schism c.200
*
Novatianist
Novatianism or Novationism was an early Christian sect devoted to the theologian Novatian ( 200–258) that held a strict view that refused readmission to communion of '' lapsi'' (those baptized Christians who had denied their faith or performed t ...
schism 250 onwards. Novatianism survived until the 8th century.
*
Donatist
Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and the ...
schism c.300-500
*
Arian Schism 325
*
Quartodecimanist schism 325
*
Macedonian Schism 342
*
Luciferian Schism 355
*
Appolinarist Schism 381
*
Collyridianist Schism c.376
*
Audianist Schism 380
*
Nestorian
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...
Schism 431
*
Eutychian
Eutychianism, also known as Real Monophysitism, refers to a set of Christian theological doctrines derived from the ideas of Eutyches of Constantinople (c. 380 – c. 456). Eutychianism is a monophysite understanding of how the human and divine ...
Schism 451
*
Monophysite Schism 451
*
Miaphysite Schism 451
*
Acacian Schism 484
*
Schism of the Three Chapters The Schism of the Three Chapters was a schism that affected Chalcedonian Christianity in Northern Italy lasting from 553 to 698 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time. It was part of a larger Three-Chapter ...
553
*
Armenian Apostolic Schism 610
*
Monothelitist Schism 629
* First
Iconoclast
Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...
Schism 787
* Second
Iconoclast
Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...
Schism 814
* The
Great Schism of 1054
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
Schisms in Catholicism before the Reformation
*
Bosnian Schism 1199
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* Waldensian Schism 1215.
* Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
Schism 1378
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
* The Swiss Reformation 1516
* The Anabaptist Reformation 1525
* The English Reformation 1529
* Schism of 1552
The schism of 1552 was an important event in the history of the Church of the East. It divided the church into two factions, of which one entered into communion with Rome becoming part of the Catholic Church at this time and the other remained i ...
* Michael Servetus
Michael Servetus (; es, Miguel Serveto as real name; french: Michel Servet; also known as ''Miguel Servet'', ''Miguel de Villanueva'', ''Revés'', or ''Michel de Villeneuve''; 29 September 1509 or 1511 – 27 October 1553) was a Spanish th ...
burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
in 1553, considered founder of Unitarianism
Unitarianism (from Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the doctrine of the Trinity which states that there i ...
* The Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in its outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Refor ...
1560
* The Dutch Reformation 1571
* The Jansenism
Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
schism 1643
* The Raskol
The Schism of the Russian Church, also known as Raskol (russian: раскол, , meaning "split" or "schism"), was the splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in the mid-17th century. It ...
schism 1653–66
Post Reformation schisms
* Melkite-Orthodox Schism 1724
* Orthodox Reformation 19th century
* Restorationist movement begins 1850s
* Bulgarian schism
The Bulgarian Exarchate ( bg, Българска екзархия, Balgarska ekzarhiya; tr, Bulgar Eksarhlığı) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and th ...
1872
* Old Catholic Church
The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...
schism 1879
* Philippine Independent Church 1902
* Liberal Catholic movement 1913
** Liberal Catholic Church
The name Liberal Catholic Church (LCC) is used by a number of separate Christian churches throughout the world which are open to esoteric beliefs and hold many ideas in common. Although the term ''Liberal Catholic'' might suggest otherwise, it ...
schism 1916
* True Orthodox
True Orthodox church, True Orthodox Christians, True Orthodoxy or Genuine Orthodoxy, often pejoratively "Zealotry", designates groups of traditionalist Eastern Orthodox churches which have severed communion since the 1920s with the mainstream Eas ...
movement 1920s
** Old Calendarism schisms 1923
* Church of the East Schism 1964
* Montaner Schism 1967–69
*Continuing Anglican movement
The Continuing Anglican Movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion.
Thes ...
schisms begin since 1977
* Society of Saint Pius X
The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Sec ...
Considered materially schismatic from 1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
until 2005, canonically irregular
* Apostolic Catholic Church 1992
* Second Moscow–Constantinople schism 1996
* Anglican realignment
The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...
schisms begin since 2002
** The separation of the Anglican Church in North America
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...
from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada 2009
* Community of the Lady of All Peoples Quebec Excluded from the Catholic Church in April 2007
* North American Lutheran Church
The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) is a Lutheran denomination with over 420 congregations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, counting more than 142,000 baptized members. The NALC believes all doctrines should and must be judged by th ...
, founded in 2010 by congregations that left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
* Third Moscow–Constantinople schism 2018
* Global Methodist Church
The Global Methodist Church (shortened to GM Church, or GMC) is a Methodist denomination of Protestant Christianity subscribing to views consistent with the conservative Confessing Movement. The denomination is headquartered in the United State ...
formed by Conservative Methodist who left the United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
2022
* Diocese of the Southern Cross
The Diocese of the Southern Cross is a new Anglican diocese in Australia unaffiliated with the Anglican Church of Australia. It is to be led by a former Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies. The diocese was formed by GAFCON Australia in August 2022 ...
formed by Conservative Anglicans who left the Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the ...
2022
See also
* Ecclesiastical separatism
Ecclesiastical separatism is the withdrawal of people and churches from Christian denominations, usually to form new denominations.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the separating puritans advocated departure from the Church of England. These peop ...
Bibliography
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References
{{Reflist
Schisms in Christianity
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...