Schism & Heresy:

A disregard for authority and promotion of false teachings will, by nature, disrupt unity and create division in a community, something which is inherently at odds with the Triune God.  The Church established by Christ, however, was to be of one mind and in full accord (Phil. 1:27, 2:2). In John 17:20-23, Christ prays for future believers that they “may become perfectly one.” The early Church emphasized the importance of discernment, remaining rooted in sound doctrine, and guarding against doctrines that contradict the core teachings of the Christian faith. The Bible gives several warnings against false teachings and division;

1. Galatians 1:8-9: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” This passage emphasizes the seriousness of preaching a distorted or false gospel.
2. 2 Peter 2:1: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” It warns about the presence of false teachers who introduce destructive heresies.
3. 1 Timothy 4:1: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” This verse highlights the potential for people to deviate from the true faith by embracing deceptive teachings.

Heresy:

The inclusion of gentiles in the early Church caused a schism between Jewish Christians who believed gentile converts should be required to keep the Mosaic Law and those who did not. The matter would ultimately require a declaration by the Apostles based on the decision made at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). Based on Peter’s advice, the Council came to a decision which it considered binding on all Christians, for Christ Himself said; “If he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:17-18). Because the Church, led by the Apostles, made an official ruling on the matter that was binding on all Christians, those who continued in willful opposition to this decree became known as the first great heresy, the Judaizers, from the Koine Greek word Ἰουδαΐζειν (Ioudaizein), found in the Galatians 2:14.

The early Church was quick to recognize divergent groups and unorthodox teachings and thus differentiate them from the Catholic Church. Ignatius of Antioch is the earliest known Church Father to use the world “Catholic” to distinguish the universal church found throughout the world from local sects that cropped up expressing divergent doctrines, acts of worship, or new authorities. The use of the word heresy was given wide currency by Irenaeus in his 2nd-century work Contra Haereses (Against Heresies) where he described the traditional beliefs and doctrines handed on by the apostles as orthodox (from ὀρθός, orthos, “straight” or “correct” + δόξα, doxa, “belief”).

The early church faced various heresies, which prompted theological debates and councils within the early church as leaders sought to define and defend orthodox Christian doctrine. The Church Fathers, prominent theologians and leaders of the early Christian Church, played a crucial role in addressing and refuting heresies. Irenaeus of Lyons (2nd century): Irenaeus combated Gnosticism and wrote extensively against its teachings, emphasizing the importance of apostolic tradition and the unity of the Church. Athanasius of Alexandria (4th century) vigorously defended the orthodox doctrine of the divinity of Christ and the Holy Trinity against Arianism. Augustine of Hippo (4th-5th century) addressed various heresies, including Pelagianism, which denied the doctrine of original sin and the necessity of divine grace for salvation.

In order to identify heresies and differentiate them from each other, they were named either after their founder or by their distinctive doctrines. Early heresies such as Judaizers, Gnosticism, Monophysitism, Monothelitism, and Iconoclasm are all examples of heresies named after their doctrines, while Marcionism, Sabellianism, Novationism, Donatism, Pelagianism, Arianism, and Nestorianism are all examples of heresies named after their founders. Modern Protestant denominations follow this same pattern, with Lutheranism being named after Martin Luther while Seventh Day Adventists worship on the seventh day (Saturday).

Schism:

Schisms are distinguished from heresies in that a schism does not generally involve great differences in beliefs or doctrines, but is rather a split or division in authority. Over time bodies broke off from the Catholic Church because they did not agree with its beliefs, or did not worship as it did, or would not recognize its authority. They became new and different churches. They ceased to be the Catholic Church. The first schism to take place was the Assyrian Church after the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. Later schisms include the Oriental Orthodox Church after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. and the “Great Schism” of 1054 A.D. between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Excommunication:

Among the Jews, exclusion from the synagogue was a real excommunication (Esd., x, 8). This was the exclusion feared by the parents of the man born blind (John, ix, 21 sq.; cf. xii, 42; xvi, 2). Christ commanded His Church to institute the practice: “And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican” (Matt., xviii, 17) and: “Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven” (Matt., xviii, 18; of. xvi, 19), which not only refers to the remission of sins, but also judicial and penal sanctions. Excommunication would be put into practice by Paul when, in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, he would excommunicate the incestuous Corinthian, who then, after repenting, is readmitted
(2 Corinthians 2:5-11), and also the incorrigible blasphemers whom he delivered over to Satan (I Tim., i, 20).

The primary, but not exclusive, purpose of excommunication is medicinal, or in breaking contumacy [stubbornness], or contempt of Church authority, and reintegrating the offender within the community. In contrast, expiatory penalties such as deprivation of office primarily envision restoring justice and repairing the ecclesial damage done by the offender. Excommunication does not mean that one is “kicked out of the Church”, but rather is a censure by which one is excluded from the communion of the faithful.

The excommunicated person, being excluded from the society of the Church, still bears the indelible mark of Baptism and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Church. In other words, excommunicates remain bound by ecclesiastical obligations such as attending Mass, even though they are barred from receiving the Eucharist and from taking an active part in the liturgy. This does not deprive a person of the common spiritual prayers of the Church, but they are excluded from engaging in certain activities (listed in Canon 1331 §1) and are prohibited from any ministerial participation in celebrating the sacrifice of the Eucharist or any other ceremonies of worship; celebrating or receiving the sacraments; or exercising any ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions.

Excommunication is practiced by all of the ancient churches including the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox churches and the Eastern Orthodox churches. It is also practiced in varying degrees by other denominations, especially early Protestant traditions, such as Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed, and Anabaptist traditions. In the Catholic Church, there are currently two types of excommunication: latae sententiae excommunication, which takes place automatically upon the commission of a particular crime, and ferendae sententiae excommunication, which is imposed after the bishop has warned a person but he keeps offending anyway. Excommunication can be lifted by a declaration of repentance, profession of the Creed (if the offense involved heresy), or renewal of obedience (if the offense was an act of schism) by the excommunicated person.

A Note on Schism & valid Holy Orders:

The Catholic Church recognizes the validity of Holy Orders within the Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East, and Oriental Orthodox Churches due to their historical apostolic succession, which traces back through generations of bishops to the apostles. Since these churches have preserved this apostolic succession, the Catholic Church acknowledges the validity of their ordinations and sacraments, including the ordination of priests. Despite this recognition, full communion with the Catholic Church is not established due to existing schisms with the Pope.

In contrast, the Catholic Church declared Anglican orders “null and void” in 1896 through the papal bull “Apostolicae Curae” due to concerns about the validity of the Anglican ordination rite introduced during the English Reformation. The Anglican ordination rite deviated significantly from the traditional Catholic rite, raising questions about the essential form and intention required for valid sacraments.

During the English Reformation, King Henry VIII separated from the Pope and established the Church of England. The bishops of the Church of England at this time, although they were in schism with the Pope, still maintained valid orders for ordaining new priests. King Edward VI, however, was heavily influenced by Calvinism and introduced changes to the ordination rite. Pope Leo XIII cited two principal arguments in “Apostolicae Curae” against the validity of the Edwardian Ordinal (the first new rite of ordination approved after the split with Rome).

Firstly, the intentional omission of language referring to the sacrificial priesthood as understood by the Catholic Church in the Anglican ordination rite was considered problematic. Secondly, defects in intention were revealed by the omissions in the rite, affecting the continuity of apostolic succession. Because of these significant deviations in form and intention from the traditional Catholic rite, the Catholic Church concluded that the Anglican ordinations lacked validity. Subsequent Anglican priests, therefore, were not true priests who could validly absolve sins or confect the Eucharist.

In 1966, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) was established to explore areas of agreement and theological dialogue between the two traditions. However, Anglicans changed their theology of orders once again by ordaining women in the 1970s. Clarifying the Church’s position on the matter, Pope St. John Paul II declared in 1994 that the Church has “no authority whatsoever” to ordain women to the priesthood (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis 4).

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