Schism (religion)

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The word schism (IPA: /'sɪzəm/ or /'skɪzəm/), from the Greek σχίσμα, skhísma (from σχίζω, skhízō, "to tear, to split"), means a division or a split, usually in an organization or a movement. A schismatic is a person who creates or incites schism in an organization or who is a member of a splinter group. The word is most frequently and usefully used about a religious division that occur with a religious body with a defined organisation and hierarchy. Thus it is difficult to talk about Hindu schisms, or Jewish ones since Antiquity. Schismatic as an adjective means pertaining to a schism or schisms, or to those ideas, policies, etc. that are thought to lead towards or promote schism. More generally, especially outside of religion the word schism may refer to the separation/split between two or more people, be it brothers, friends, lovers, etc. or any division of a formerly united from the state movement in politics or any other field into two or more disagreeing groups.

Contents 1 Use within Christianity 2 Use within Islam 3 Use within Buddhism 4 Use within Judaism 5 Examples 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] Use within Christianity

The words schism and schismatic have found perhaps their heaviest usage in the history of Christianity, to denote splits within a church or religious body. In this context, schismatic as a noun denotes a person who creates or incites schism in a church or is a member of a splinter church, and schismatic as an adjective refers to ideas and things that are thought to lead towards or promote schism, often describing a church that has departed from whichever communion the user of the word considers to be the true Christian church. These words have been used to denote both the phenomenon of Christian group splintering in general, and certain significant historical splits in particular.

Within Christianity the word schism refers to the event or state of two groups of Christians ceasing to be in communion with each other, so that, whereas they formerly could worship together, they decide they must worship separately because of disagreements between them. Most Christian communions adhere to the Nicene Creed which contains the phrase the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The great majority of Christian groups therefore believe they should be united in a single church or group of churches and that all Christians should be in communion with each other. Most of the older churches consider that they represent the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church: for instance, the Roman Catholic Church claims that title and considers the Eastern Orthodox Communion to be in schism, while the Eastern Orthodox Communion also claims that title and holds that the Catholic Communion is schismatic and heretical; meanwhile, some Protestant churches believe that they also represent this and consider the Orthodox and especially Catholic churches to be in error, whilst others have in effect abandoned any expectation of a wholly united church. See also Great Apostasy.

It is important to note the difference between heresy and schism. In theory heresy is a matter of a difference over doctrine; believers in doctrine considered heretical by others may remain within their church attempting to pursuade the other members, or they may be expelled or choose to leave. Heresy and schism therefore often come together, especially as many churches have elevated their own authority to be itself a doctrine. Both groups have to mutually acknowledge they are in schism. In practice both parties in a schism generally regard the other as heretical, whilst doctrines called heretical that fail to establish a long-lived church-body supporting their views are described merely as heresies.

Examples of the latter are the Gnostic, Pelagian, Apollinarism, Donatist, Modialism, Arian heresies. Whereas the breaks between the monophysite, Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches are regarded as schisms. The First Council of Nicaea distinguishes between the two, establishing Arian and non-trinitarian teachings as heretical and non-recognized. It also addressed the schism between Peter of Alexandria and Meletius of Lycopolis.

A current dispute with an acknowleged risk of leading to a schism in the future is that within the Anglican Church over homosexuality.

[edit] Use within Islam

Early schisms in Islam were the division between Sunni, Shia, and Kharijite Islam in CE 632 regarding the rightful successor to the prophet Muhammad, and in 661 and 680 regarding the rightful claimant to the Caliphate. After the end of the period of the Sunni and Shia Caliphates, and a more diffused organisation within Islam, the concept of schism becomes less relevant, though there have been many divisions, especially the many Ismaili groups within Shia Islam. Since most Ismaili groups have a defined head, such as the Aga Khan for the Nizari group that is now the largest, the concept remains meaningful in their history. The liberal movements within Islam, aspire to reform rather than an attempt at schism.

[edit] Use within Buddhism

In Buddhism, the first schism was set up by Devadatta, during Buddha's life. This schism didn't last long, and Devadatta later repented his misdeeds. Later (after Buddha's passing away), the early Buddhist schools came into being due to various schisms, but there is still some unclarity concerning the specific schisms that occurred, and the order in which they occurred. In the old texts, 18 or 20 early schools are mentioned. Later, there were the Mahayana and Vajrayana movements, which can be regarded as being schismatic in origin. Each school has various subgroups, which often are schismatic in origin. For example, in Thai Theravadin Buddhism there are two groups (Mahanikaya and Dhammayut), of which the Dhammayut has its origin partly in the Mahanikaya, and is the new and schismatic group. Both Mahanikaya and Dhammayut have many subgroups, which usually do not have schismatic origins, but came into being in a natural way, through the popularity of a (leader) monk. Tibetan Buddhism has seen schisms in the past, of which most were healed, although the Drukpa school centred in Bhutan perhaps remains in a state of schism (since 1616) from the other Tibetan schools. In recent years political manipulation from China has attempted to create further schisms among Tibetan Buddhists. But since the religious authority of the Dalai Lama is uncertainly defined, schism in Tibetan Buddhism is hard to detect.

[edit] Use within Judaism

Main article: Schisms among the Jews

See also: Jewish views of religious pluralism, Relationships between Jewish religious movements, and Jewish principles of faith

Throughout the Jewish history, Judaism survived many schisms. Today, major Jewish denominations are Orthodox Judaism and non-Orthodox: Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist.

[edit] Examples

• Samaritanism, c. 586BCE
• The "Incident at Antioch" ^[1], schism between Pauline Christianity and Jewish Christianity, c.50
• The Council of Jamnia, c.90, decreed Nazarenes schismatic.
• The schism of Marcionism, c.150^{[citation needed]}
• The schism of Gnosticism, which some attribute to Valentinius^{[citation needed]}, c. 150, others much earlier^{[citation needed]}
• The schism of Montanism
• The schism of Monarchianism, c. 200^{[citation needed]}
• The many Antipopes, beginning with Hippolytus (writer) in 217 though Hippolytus later reconciled.
• The Donatist schism, beginning in 311
• The schism with Arianism and Quartodecimanism at the First Council of Nicaea, 325
• The Nestorian Schism, an early schism between Nicene Christianity and Assyrian Christianity, c. 431
• The Oriental Orthodox schism and rejection of the Council of Chalcedon, c. 451
• The Acacian schism, 484-519
• The schism of the Armenian Orthodox, 491
• The schism of the Shia and Sunni, c. 632
• Two Fourth Councils of Constantinople, one Catholic (869-870) and one Orthodox (879-880)
• The Cadaver Synod of 897
• The Great Schism of 1054
• Lollardy in the 1350s
• Three Popes at the same time: Roman Pope Gregory XII, Avignon Pope Benedict XIII, Pisan Pope John XXIII, resolved at Council of Constance, see also Western Schism, 1378-1417
• The Swiss Reformation beginning in 1516
• The Protestant Reformation beginning in 1517
• Anabaptist, c. 1525
• The English Reformation beginning in 1529
• Michael Servetus burned at the stake in 1553, considered founder of Unitarianism
• The Scottish Reformation in 1560
• The Dutch Reformation in 1571
• Socinianism in 1605
• The Jansenism schism of 1643
• See Old believers and Raskol for schism within the Russian Orthodox Church in 1666
• Disruption of 1843
• American Restorationism beginning in the 1850s
• Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland rejects First Vatican Council doctrine of Papal Infallibility, see also Old Catholic Church, 1868
• The Sedevacantism schism of 1958
• The schism between the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican Movement in 1977

In the early centuries of Christianity through much of the Middle Ages, schism was considered by many Christians to be as serious or more serious than heresy.^{[citation needed]} In the eighth circle of the Inferno, the poet Dante imagined a particularly gruesome fate for schismatics in Hell, whereby the condemned are eternally carved in half, only to have their wounds heal and the experience repeated. Within the Roman Catholic Church schism is still an act that incurs automatic excommunication as a penalty (while heresy does incur canonical penalties, severity depending on the severity of the heresy being taught, it does not necessarily incur automatic excommunication).

[edit] References

1. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers see section titled: "THE INCIDENT AT ANTIOCH"

[edit] See also

• Schisms among the Jews
• Secession

[edit] External links

• Encyclopedia Britannica: Schism
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Schism