Excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the congregation, and of receiving the sacraments.
It is practiced by all of the ancient churches (such as the
The word excommunication means putting a specific individual or group out of communion. In some denominations, excommunication includes spiritual
Bahá'í Faith
Excommunication among
Currently, the
Christianity
The purpose of excommunication is to exclude from the church those members who have behaviors or teachings contrary to the beliefs of a Christian community (heresy).[10] It aims to protect members of the church from abuses and allow the offender to recognize their error and repent.
Catholic Church
Within the Catholic Church, there are differences between the discipline of the majority Latin Church regarding excommunication and that of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
Latin Church
Excommunication can be either
The Catholic Church teaches in the Council of Trent that "excommunicated persons are not members of the Church, because they have been cut off by her sentence from the number of her children and belong not to her communion until they repent".[12]
In the papal bull
Under current Catholic canon law, 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 (reading, bringing the offerings, etc.). "Excommunicates lose rights, such as the right to the sacraments, but they are still bound to the obligations of the law; their rights are restored when they are reconciled through the remission of the penalty."[16]
These are the only effects for those who have incurred a latae sententiae excommunication. For instance, a priest may not refuse Communion publicly to those who are under an automatic excommunication, as long as it has not been officially declared to have been incurred by them, even if the priest knows that they have incurred it—although if the person's offence was a "manifest grave sin", then the priest is obliged to refuse their communion by canon 915.[17] On the other hand, if the priest knows that excommunication has been imposed on someone or that an automatic excommunication has been declared (and is no longer merely an undeclared automatic excommunication), he is forbidden to administer Holy Communion to that person.[18]
In the Catholic Church, excommunication is normally resolved by a declaration of repentance, profession of the Creed (if the offense involved heresy) and an Act of Faith, or renewal of obedience (if that was a relevant part of the offending act, i.e., an act of schism) by the excommunicated person and the lifting of the censure (absolution) by a priest or bishop empowered to do this. "The absolution can be in the internal (private) forum only, or also in the external (public) forum, depending on whether scandal would be given if a person were privately absolved and yet publicly considered unrepentant."[19]
Eastern Catholic Churches
In the
Those under major excommunication are in addition forbidden to receive not only the Eucharist but also the other sacraments, to administer sacraments or sacramentals, to exercise any ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions whatsoever, and any such exercise by them is null and void. They are to be removed from participation in the Divine Liturgy and any public celebrations of divine worship. They are forbidden to make use of any privileges granted to them and cannot be given any dignity, office, ministry, or function in the church, they cannot receive any pension or emoluments associated with these dignities etc., and they are deprived of the right to vote or to be elected.[21]
Eastern Orthodox Church
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, excommunication is the exclusion of a member from the Eucharist. It is not expulsion from the churches. This can happen for such reasons as not having confessed within that year; excommunication can also be imposed as part of a penitential period. It is generally done with the goal of restoring the member to full communion. Before an excommunication of significant duration is imposed, the bishop is usually consulted. The Eastern Orthodox do have a means of expulsion, by pronouncing anathema, but this is reserved only for acts of serious and unrepentant heresy. As an example of this, the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, in its eleventh capitula, declared: "If anyone does not anathematize Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, Apollinaris, Nestorius, Eutyches and Origen, as well as their impious writings, as also all other heretics already condemned and anathematized by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and by the aforesaid four Holy Synods and [if anyone does not equally anathematize] all those who have held and hold or who in their impiety persist in holding to the end the same opinion as those heretics just mentioned: let him be anathema."[22]
Lutheran churches
Although Lutheranism technically has an excommunication process, some denominations and congregations do not use it. In the
Many Lutheran denominations operate under the premise that the entire congregation (as opposed to the pastor alone) must take appropriate steps for excommunication, and there are not always precise rules, to the point where individual congregations often set out rules for excommunicating laymen (as opposed to clergy). For example, churches may sometimes require that a
In the Church of Sweden and the Church of Denmark, excommunicated individuals are turned out from their parish in front of their congregation.[27] They are not forbidden, however, to attend church and participate in other acts of devotion, although they are to sit in a place appointed by the priest (which was at a distance from others).[27]
The Lutheran process, though rarely used, has created unusual situations in recent years due to its somewhat
Anglican Communion
Church of England
The Church of England does not have any specific canons regarding how or why a member can be excommunicated, although it has a canon according to which ecclesiastical burial may be refused to someone "declared excommunicate for some grievous and notorious crime and no man to testify to his repentance".[29][failed verification]
The punishment of imprisonment for being excommunicated from the Church of England was removed from English law in 1963.[30]
Historian Christopher Hill found that, in pre-revolutionary England, excommunication was common but fell into disrepute because it was applied unevenly and could be avoided on payment of fines.[31]
Episcopal Church of the United States of America
The
Reformed churches
In the
At least one modern Reformed theologian argues that excommunication is not the final step in the disciplinary process. Jay E. Adams argues that in excommunication, the offender is still seen as a brother, but in the final step they become "as the heathen and tax collector" (Matthew 18:17). Adams writes, "Nowhere in the Bible is excommunication (removal from the fellowship of the Lord's Table, according to Adams) equated with what happens in step 5; rather, step 5 is called 'removing from the midst, handing over to Satan,' and the like."[35]
Former Princeton president and theologian, Jonathan Edwards, addresses the notion of excommunication as "removal from the fellowship of the Lord's Table" in his treatise entitled "The Nature and End of Excommunication". Edwards argues:
"Particularly, we are forbidden such a degree of associating ourselves with (excommunicants), as there is in making them our guests at our tables, or in being their guests at their tables; as is manifest in the text, where we are commanded to have no company with them, no not to eat [...] That this respects not eating with them at the Lord's supper, but a common eating, is evident by the words, that the eating here forbidden, is one of the lowest degrees of keeping company, which are forbidden. Keep no company with such a one, saith the apostle, no not to eat – as much as to say, no not in so low a degree as to eat with him. But eating with him at the Lord's supper, is the very highest degree of visible Christian communion. Who can suppose that the apostle meant this: Take heed and have no company with a man, no not so much as in the highest degree of communion that you can have? Besides, the apostle mentions this eating as a way of keeping company which, however, they might hold with the heathen. He tells them, not to keep company with fornicators. Then he informs them, he means not with fornicators of this world, that is, the heathens; but, saith he, 'if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, etc. with such a one keep no company, no not to eat.' This makes it most apparent, that the apostle doth not mean eating at the Lord's table; for so, they might not keep company with the heathens, any more than with an excommunicated person".[36]
Methodism
In the Methodist Episcopal Church, individuals were able to be excommunicated following "trial before a jury of his peers, and after having had the privilege of an appeal to a higher court".[37] Nevertheless, an excommunication could be lifted after sufficient penance.[37]
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Churches, excommunicated sixty-four members from the Newcastle Methodist society alone for the following reasons:[38]
Two for cursing and swearing.
Two for habitual Sabbath-breaking.
Seventeen for drunkenness.
Two for retailing spiritous liquors.
Three for quarrelling and brawling.
One for beating his wife.
Three for habitual, wilful lying.
Four for railing and evil-speaking.
One for idleness and laziness. And,
Nine-and-twenty for lightness and carelessness.[38]
The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection, in its 2014 Discipline, includes "homosexuality, lesbianism, bi-sexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and any attempt to alter one's gender by surgery", as well as remarriage after divorce among its excommunicable offences.[39]
The Evangelical Wesleyan Church, in its 2015 Discipline, states that "Any member of our church who is accused of neglect of the means of grace or other duties required by the Word of God, the indulgence of sinful tempers, words or actions, the sowing of dissension, or any other violation of the order and discipline of the church, may, after proper labor and admonition, be censured, placed on probation, or expelled by the official board of the circuit of which he is a member. If he request a trial, however, within thirty dates of the final action of the official board, it shall be granted."[40]
Anabaptist tradition
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Amish
Amish communities practice variations of excommunication known as "shunning". This practice may include isolation from community events or the cessation of all communication.[41]
Mennonites
Hutterites
Hutterite communities use a form of excommunication called "the ban" on baptized members that fall into sin repeatedly.[42]
Baptists
For
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) practices excommunication as a penalty for those who commit serious sins, i.e., actions that significantly impair the name or moral influence of the church or pose a threat to other people. In 2020, the church ceased using the term "excommunication" and instead refers to "withdrawal of membership". According to the church leadership General Handbook,[44] the purposes of withdrawing membership or imposing membership restrictions are, (1) to help protect others; (2) to help a person access the redeeming power of Jesus Christ through repentance; and (3) to protect the integrity of the Church. The origins of LDS disciplinary procedures and excommunications are traced to a revelation Joseph Smith dictated on 9 February 1831, later canonized as Doctrine and Covenants, section 42 and codified in the General Handbook.[45]
The LDS Church also practices the lesser sanctions of private counsel and caution and informal and formal membership restrictions. (Informal membership restrictions was formerly known as "probation"; formal membership restrictions was formerly known as "disfellowshipment".)[46][47]
Formal membership restrictions are used for serious sins that do not rise to the level of membership withdrawal.
In the more grievous or recalcitrant cases, withdrawal of membership becomes a disciplinary option.[44] Such an action is generally reserved for what are seen as the most serious sins, including committing serious crimes such as murder, child abuse, and incest; committing adultery; involvement in or teaching of polygamy; involvement in homosexual conduct; apostasy; participation in an abortion; teaching false doctrine; or openly criticizing church leaders.[49] The General Handbook states that formally joining another church constitutes apostasy and is worthy of membership withdrawal; however, merely attending another church does not constitute apostasy.[50]
A withdrawal of membership can occur only after a formal church membership council.[51] Formerly called a "disciplinary council" or a "church court", the councils were renamed to avoid focusing on guilt and instead to emphasize the availability of repentance.[44]
The decision to withdraw the membership of a
For females and for male members not initiated into the Melchizedek priesthood, a ward membership council is held.[44] In such cases, a bishop determines whether withdrawal of membership or a lesser sanction is warranted. He does this in consultation with his two counselors, with the bishop making the final determination after prayer.[53] The decision of a ward membership council can be appealed to the stake president.[52]
The following list of variables serves as a general set of guidelines for when membership withdrawal or lesser action may be warranted, beginning with those more likely to result in severe sanction:[44]
- Violation of covenants: Covenants are made in conjunction with specific ordinancesin the LDS Church. Violated covenants that might result in excommunication are usually those surrounding marriage covenants, temple covenants, and priesthood covenants.
- Position of trust or authority: The person's position in the church hierarchy factors into the decision. It is considered more serious when a sin is committed by an area seventy; a stake, mission, or temple president; a bishop; a patriarch; or a full-time missionary.
- Repetition: Repetition of a sin is more serious than a single instance.
- Magnitude: How often, how many individuals were impacted, and who is aware of the sin factor into the decision.
- Age, maturity, and experience: Those who are young in age, or immature in their understanding, are typically afforded leniency.
- Interests of the innocent: How the discipline will impact innocent family members may be considered.
- Time between transgression and confession: If the sin was committed in the distant past, and there has not been repetition, leniency may be considered.
- Voluntary confession: If a person voluntarily confesses the sin, leniency is suggested.
- Evidence of repentance: Sorrow for sin, and demonstrated commitment to repentance, as well as faith in Jesus Christ all play a role in determining the severity of discipline.
Notices of withdrawal of membership may be made public, especially in cases of apostasy, where members could be misled.[44] However, the specific reasons for individual withdrawal of membership are typically kept confidential and are seldom made public by church leadership.[54]
Those who have their membership withdrawn lose the right to partake of the
Some critics have charged that LDS Church leaders have used the threat of membership withdrawal to silence or punish church members and researchers who disagree with established policy and doctrine, who study or discuss
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses practice a form of excommunication, using the term "disfellowshipping", in cases where a member is believed to have unrepentantly committed one or more of several documented "serious sins".[59]
When a member confesses to, or is accused of, a serious sin, a judicial committee of at least three elders is formed. This committee investigates the case and determines the magnitude of the sin committed. If the person is deemed guilty of a disfellowshipping offense, the committee then decides, on the basis of the person's attitude and "works befitting repentance".[60]
Disfellowshipping is a severing of friendly relationships between all Jehovah's Witnesses and the disfellowshipped person. Interaction with extended family is typically restricted to a minimum, such as presence at the reading of wills and providing essential care for the elderly. Within a household, typical family contact may continue, but without spiritual fellowship such as family Bible study and religious discussions. Parents of disfellowshipped minors living in the family home may continue to attempt to convince the child about the group's teachings. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that this form of discipline encourages the disfellowshipped individual to conform to biblical standards and prevents the person from influencing other members of the congregation.[61]
Along with breaches of the Witnesses' moral code, openly disagreeing with the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses is considered grounds for shunning.[61] These persons are labeled as "apostates" and are described in Watch Tower Society literature as "mentally diseased".[62][63] Descriptions of "apostates" appearing in the Witnesses literature have been the subject of investigation in the UK to determine if they violate religious hatred laws.[64] Sociologist Andrew Holden claims many Witnesses who would otherwise defect because of disillusionment with the organization and its teachings, remain affiliated out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.[65] Shunning employs what is known as relational aggression in psychological literature. When used by church members and member-spouse parents against excommunicant parents it contains elements of what psychologists call parental alienation. Extreme shunning may cause trauma to the shunned (and to their dependents) similar to what is studied in the psychology of torture.[65][need quotation to verify]
Disassociation is a form of shunning where a member expresses verbally or in writing that they do not wish to be associated with Jehovah's Witnesses, rather than for having committed any specific 'sin'.[66] Elders may also decide that an individual has disassociated, without any formal statement by the individual, by actions such as accepting a blood transfusion,[67] or for joining another religious[68] or military organization.[69] Individuals who are deemed by the elders to have disassociated are given no right of appeal.[70][71]
Each year, congregation elders are instructed to consider meeting with disfellowshipped individuals to determine changed circumstances and encourage them to pursue reinstatement.[72] Reinstatement is not automatic after a certain time period, nor is there a minimum duration; disfellowshipped persons may talk to elders at any time but must apply in writing to be considered for reinstatement into the congregation.[73][74] Elders consider each case individually, and are instructed to ensure "that sufficient time has passed for the disfellowshipped person to prove that his profession of repentance is genuine".[75] A judicial committee meets with the individual to determine their repentance, and if this is established, the person is reinstated into the congregation and may participate with the congregation in their formal ministry (such as house-to-house preaching).[76]
A Witness who has been formally reproved or reinstated cannot be appointed to any special privilege of service for at least one year. Serious sins involving child sex abuse permanently disqualify the sinner from appointment to any congregational privilege of service, regardless of whether the sinner was convicted of any secular crime.[77]
Christadelphians
Similarly to many groups having their origins in the 1830s Restoration Movement,[78] Christadelphians call their form of excommunication "disfellowshipping", though they do not practice "shunning". Disfellowshipping can occur for moral reasons, changing beliefs, or (in some ecclesias) for not attending communion (referred to as "the emblems" or "the breaking of bread").[79]
In such cases, the person involved is usually required to discuss the issues.[80] If they do not conform, the church ('meeting' or 'ecclesia') is recommended by the management committee ("Arranging Brethren") to vote on disfellowshipping the person. These procedures were formulated 1863 onwards by early Christadelphians,[citation needed] and then in 1883 codified by Robert Roberts in A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias (colloquially "The Ecclesial Guide").[81] However Christadelphians justify and apply their practice not only from this document but also from passages such as the exclusion in 1Co.5 and recovery in 2Co.2.[82]
Christadelphians typically avoid the term "excommunication" which many associate with the Catholic Church; and may feel the word carries implications they do not agree with, such as undue condemnation and punishment, as well as failing to recognise the remedial intention of the measure.[83]
- Behavioural cases. Many cases regarding moral issues tend to involve relational matters such as marriage outside the faith, divorce and remarriage (which is considered adultery in some circumstances by some ecclesias), or homosexuality.[84] Reinstatement for moral issues is determined by the ecclesia's assessment of whether the individual has "turned away" from (ceased) the course of action considered immoral by the church. This can be complex when dealing with cases of divorce and subsequent remarriage, with different positions adopted by different ecclesias, but generally within the main "Central" grouping, such cases can be accommodated.[85]
- Doctrinal cases. Changes of belief on what Christadelphians call "first principle" doctrines are difficult to accommodate unless the individual agrees to not teach or spread them, since the body has a documented Statement of Faith which informally serves as a basis of ecclesial membership and interecclesial fellowship. Those who are disfellowshipped for reasons of differing belief rarely return, because they are expected to conform to an understanding with which they do not agree. Holding differing beliefs on fundamental matters is considered as error and apostasy, which can limit a person's salvation. However, in practice disfellowship for doctrinal reasons is now unusual.[86]
In the case of adultery and divorce, the passage of time usually means a member can be restored if he or she wants to be. In the case of ongoing behaviour, cohabitation, homosexual activity, then the terms of the suspension have not been met.
The mechanics of "refellowship" follow the reverse of the original process; the individual makes an application to the "ecclesia", and the "Arranging Brethren" give a recommendation to the members who vote.[87] If the "Arranging Brethren" judge that a vote may divide the ecclesia, or personally upset some members, they may seek to find a third party ecclesia which is willing to "refellowship" the member instead. According to the Ecclesial Guide a third party ecclesia may also take the initiative to "refellowship" another meeting's member. However this cannot be done unilaterally, as this would constitute heteronomy over the autonomy of the original ecclesia's members.[88]
Society of Friends (Quakers)
Among many of the Society of Friends groups (Quakers) one is read out of meeting for behaviour inconsistent with the sense of the meeting.[89] In Britain a meeting may record a minute of disunity.[90] However it is the responsibility of each meeting, quarterly meeting, and yearly meeting, to act with respect to their own members. For example, during the Vietnam War many Friends were concerned about Friend Richard Nixon's position on war which seemed at odds with their beliefs; however, it was the responsibility of Nixon's own meeting, the East Whittier Meeting of Whittier, California, to act if indeed that meeting felt the leading.[91] They did not.[92]
In the 17th century, before the founding of abolitionist societies, Friends who too forcefully tried to convince their coreligionists of the evils of slavery were read out of meeting. Benjamin Lay was read out of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting for this.[91] During the American Revolution over 400 Friends were read out of meeting for their military participation or support.[92]
Iglesia ni Cristo
Iglesia ni Cristo practices expulsion of members it deems to have gravely sinned or gone against the teachings and doctrines of the church. The Sanggunian, the church's council, has jurisdiction to expel members from the church. People expelled by the church are referred to as dismissed (Tagalog: tiwalag). Offenses that may be grounds for expulsion include marrying a non-member, having a romantic relationship with a non-member, becoming pregnant out of wedlock (unless the couple marries before the child is born) and most especially disagreeing with the church administration.[93] An expelled member can be re-admitted by pledging obedience to the church administration and its rules, values and teachings.[94]
Unitarian Universalism
By the late 1990s, several churches were using the West Shore UU Church's policy as a model. If someone is threatening, disruptive, or distracting from the appeal of the church to its membership, a church using this model has three recommended levels of response to the offending individual. While the first level involves dialogue between a committee or clergy member and the offender, the second and third levels involve expulsion, either from the church itself or a church activity.[95][96][97]
Buddhism
There is no direct equivalent to excommunication in
Most Japanese Buddhist sects hold ecclesiastical authority over their followers and have their own rules for expelling members of the sangha, lay or bishopric. The lay
Hinduism
In medieval and early-modern times (and sometimes even now) in South Asia, excommunication from one's
After excommunication, it would depend upon the caste-council whether they would accept any form of repentance (ritual or otherwise) or not. Such current examples of excommunication in Hinduism are often more political or social rather than religious, for example the excommunication of lower castes for refusing to work as scavengers in Tamil Nadu.[102]
Another example of caste-related violence and discrimination occurred in the case of the Gupti
An earlier example of excommunication in Hinduism is that of
Sikhism
- Dishonouring the hair;
- Eating the meat of an animal slaughtered the Kuthaway;
- Cohabiting with a person other than one's spouse;
- Using an intoxicant (such as smoking, drinking alcohol, using recreational drugs or tobacco)[107]
These four kurahit causes of apostasy were first listed by Guru Gobind Singh in his 52 hukams (commandments).
Islam
Since there has been no universally and univocally recognized religious authority among the many Islamic denominations that have emerged throughout history, papal excommunication has no exact equivalent in Islam, at least insofar as the attitudes of any conflicting religious authorities with regard to an individual or another sect are judged to be coordinate, not subordinate to one another. Nonetheless, condemning heterodoxy and punishing heretics through shunning and ostracism is comparable with the practice in non-Catholic Christian faiths.
Islamic theologians commonly employ two terms when describing measurements to be taken against schismatics and heresy:
Judaism
Rabbinical conferences of movements do expel members from time to time,[112][113][114] but sometimes choose the lesser penalty of censuring the offending rabbi.[115] Between 2010 and 2015, the Reform Jewish Central Conference of American Rabbis expelled six rabbis, the Orthodox Jewish Rabbinical Council of America expelled three, and the Conservative Jewish Rabbinical Assembly expelled one, suspended three, and caused one to resign without eligibility for reinstatement.[116] While the CCAR and RCA were relatively shy about their reasons for expelling rabbis, the RA was more open about its reasons for kicking rabbis out. Reasons for expulsion from the three conferences include sexual misconduct, failure to comply with ethics investigations, setting up conversion groups without the conference's approval, stealing money from congregations, other financial misconduct, and getting arrested.[116]
Judaism, like Unitarian Universalism, tends towards congregationalism, and so decisions to exclude from a community of worship often depend on the congregation. Congregational bylaws sometimes enable the board of a synagogue to ask individuals to leave[117] or not to enter.[118][119]
See also
- Banishment in the Bible
- Disconnection
- Excommunication of actors by the Catholic Church
- Interdict
- List of people excommunicated by the Catholic Church
Notes
- ISBN 978-0271062372.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-86251-6.
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- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-30107-8.
- ISBN 978-1-60413-104-8.
- ^ Winters, Jonah (2010). "Glossary of Bahá'í terms". Baha'i Library Online.
- )
- hdl:1911/61990.
- ISBN 978-1-64530-574-3.
- ^ Ronald F. Youngblood, Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary: New and Enhanced Edition, Thomas Nelson Inc., 2014, p. 378
- ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1314". Vatican.va. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Excommunication".
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: A. Boudinhon (1913). "Excommunication". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. "Canonists usually treat of excommunication in their commentaries on the Corpus Juris Canonici, at the title De sententia excommunicationis (lib. V, tit. xxxix). Moralists deal with it apropos of the treatise on censures (De Censuris). One of the best works is that of D'Annibale Summula Theologiæ moralis (5th ed., Rome, 1908). For details consult the numerous commentaries on the Constitution Apostolicæ Sedis. Special works by ancient writers: Avila, De censuris (Lyons, 1608); Suarez, De censuris (Coimbra, 1603). Altieri, De censuris ecclesiasticis (Rome, 1618). – Cf. Kober, Der Kirchenbann (Tübingen, 1857)."
- ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1331 §1". Vatican.va. Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church". usccb.org.
- ISBN 978-0809140664.
- ^ "Edward McNamara, "Denying Communion to Someone"". Zenit.org. 27 March 2012. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ "1983 Code of Canon Law, canon 915". Intratext.com. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ John Hardon. "Modern Catholic Dictionary "Absolution from censure"". Catholicreference.net. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ "Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum orientalium, die XVIII Octobris anno MCMXC – Ioannes Paulus PP. II". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum orientalium, die XVIII Octobris anno MCMXC – Ioannes Paulus PP". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "NPNF2-14. The Seven Ecumenical Councils - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". Ccel.org. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ Smalcald Articles III, 9
- ^ Kolb, Robert; Wengert, Timothy (2000). Book of Concord. Augsburg Fortress. p. 323.
- ISBN 0-570-01535-9.
- ^ "Risen Savior Lutheran Church, Orlando, FL – Constitution". Lutheransonline.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ a b Burder, William (1841). Religious Ceremonies and Customs. pp. 308–309.
- ^ "Operation Rescue Calls for Excommunication of BTK Killer". www.dakotavoice.com. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ "Canons of the Church of England".
- ^ "Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963, section 82(4)".
- ^ Christopher Hill Society and Puritanism in Pre-Revolutionary England. Secker & Warburg 1964
- ^ "Excommunication". The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ Westminster Confession of Faith, xxx.4.
- ^ "John Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion – Christian Classics Ethereal Library". www.ccel.org. IV.12.10. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Jay E. Adams, Handbook of Church Discipline (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 74.
- ^ "The Nature and End of Excommunication". www.jonathan-edwards.org. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ a b Simpson, Matthew (1883). Cyclopaedia of Methodism: Embracing Sketches of Its Rise, Progress, and Present Condition, with Biographical Notices and Numerous Illustrations. L.H. Everts. p. 351.
- ^ a b Watts, Joel L. (26 June 2014). "What Would John Wesley Expel You For?". United Methodist Insight. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference). Salem: Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection. 2014. pp. 21, 45, 125.
- ^ The Discipline of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church. Evangelical Wesleyan Church. 2015. p. 152.
- ^ "Amish tradition of shunning is key to Ohio hair-cutting trial". NBC News. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ^ "Our Beliefs". Hutterites. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, US, 2009, p. 183
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "32. Repentance and Church Membership Councils". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b Lester E. Bush. Excommunication and Church Courts: A Note from the General Handbook of Instructions, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol 14 no 2, Summer 1981
- ^ "LDS Church releases new handbook for leaders and members". FOX13 Salt Lake City. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ "32.3". General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2020.
- ^ "32.11.3". General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2020.
- ^ "32.11.4". General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2020.
- ^ "32.6.3.2". General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2020.
- ^ The procedure followed by a church membership council is described in church handbooks and the Doctrine and Covenants 102:9–18
- ^ a b "32.13". General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2020.
- ^ "32.9.3". General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2020.
- ^ "Church Discipline". Newsroom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ Burton, Theodore M. (May 1983). "To Forgive is Divine". Ensign: 70.
- ^ "BYU Professor Under Fire for Violent Book Archived 5 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine", Sunstone, August 1995.
- ^ Evenson wrote: "I had a strong defense for my position [in writing fiction], but as I met with administrators, including [BYU] President Rex Lee and Provost (now General Authority) Bruce Hafen, it became clear that they weren't interested in hearing why I was writing; they were interested in getting me to stop writing." Evenson, Brian. "When Religion Encourages Abuse: Writing Father of Lies." First published in The Event, 8 October 1998, p. 5., accessed 15 November 2012
- ^ "Report: Academic Freedom and Tenure: Brigham Young University Archived 21 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine", Academe, September–October 1997
- ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". The Watchtower. Watch Tower Society: 26. 15 April 1988.
- ^ Bible: Acts 26:20
- ^ a b "Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped". Our Kingdom Ministry: 3–4. August 2002.
- ^ The Watchtower, 15 January 2006, pp. 21–25
- ^ "Will You Heed Jehovah's Clear Warnings?". The Watchtower. July 2011. p. 16.
Well, apostates are "mentally diseased", and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings.
- ^ Hart, Benjamin (28 September 2011). "Jehovah's Witness Magazine Brands Defectors 'Mentally Diseased'". HuffPost.
- ^ a b Pratt, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1:192.
- ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 31. 15 January 1982.
It would be best if he did this in a brief letter to the elders, but even if he unequivocally states orally that he is renouncing his standing as a Witness, the elders can deal with the matter.
- ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses drop transfusion ban".
transfusions have been relegated to 'non-disfellowshipping events' ... If a member has a transfusion, they will, by their actions disassociate themselves from the religion.
- ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 31. 15 October 1986.
the person no longer wants to have anything to do with Jehovah's people and is determined to remain in a false religion? They would then simply announce to the congregation that such one has disassociated himself and thus is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
- ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 31. 15 January 1982.
The second situation involves a person who renounces his standing in the congregation by joining a secular organization whose purpose is contrary to counsel such as that found at Isaiah 2:4, ... neither will they learn war anymore.
- ^ "Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped". Our Kingdom Ministry: 3. August 2002.
- ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". The Watchtower: 27. 15 April 1988.
- ^ "A Step on the Way Back". The Watchtower: 31. 15 August 1992.
- ^ "Always Accept Jehovah's Discipline". The Watchtower: 27–28. 15 November 2006.
- ^ "Imitate God's Mercy Today". The Watchtower: 21. 15 April 1991.
- ^ Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock. Watch Tower Society. p. 129.
- ^ "Question Box". Our Kingdom Ministry. Watch Tower Society. December 1974.
- ^ "Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked". The Watchtower: 29. 1 January 1997.
For the protection of our children, a man known to have been a child molester does not qualify for a responsible position in the congregation.
- ^ In fact, the earliest use of the term in their literature refers to the disfellowship of their founder, John Thomas, by Alexander Campbell: The Christadelphian 10:103 (January 1873). 32.
- ^ A distinction can be detected between these three reasons in that which of the three applies is usually made clear in the notice which the ecclesia will post in the Ecclesial News section of The Christadelphian. This is since one purpose is to make other ecclesias aware lest the member try to circumvent the suspension by simply going to another ecclesia. See "Christadelphians, fellowship" in Bryan R. Wilson, Sects and Society, University of California, 1961[ISBN missing]
- ^ The expected practice is to discuss first with 2 or 3 witnesses, as per Matt.18:15–20. See Wilson, op.cit.
- ^ Roberts, Robert (1883). "A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias". Birmingham. Archived from the original on 6 October 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2007.
- ^ "See discussion of 1Co.5 in Ashton, M. The challenge of Corinthians, Birmingham, 2006; previously serialised in The Christadelphian 2002–2003".
- ^ The term "withdraw from" is frequently found as a synonym for "disfellowship" in older Christadelphian ecclesial news entries, but this usage is less common today since it is now more widely realised that the term "withdraw from" in 2Th.3:6, 1Tim.6:5 is not describing the full "turn over to Satan" 1Co5:5,1Tim.1:20. See Booker G. 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Nicholls A.H.Letters to Timothy and Titus, Birmingham
- ^ Generally Christadelphians do not consider remarriage as adultery, but adultery is often at the root of a marriage breakup. See Reflections on Marriage and Divorce, The Christadelphian, Birmingham.
- ^ Carter, J. Marriage and Divorce, CMPA Birmingham 1955
- ^ e.g. News from the Ecclesias, in The Christadelphian, in a typical year (Jan.–Dec. 2006) contained only two suspensions for doctrinal reasons in the UK, both indicating that the member had already left of his/her own choice.
- ^ Christadelphians interpret the "epitimia of the majority" 2Co.2:6 in different ways; some consider it the majority of all members, some the majority of elders. See Whittaker H.A., Second Corinthians, Biblia
- ^ An exception noted in Roberts' Ecclesial Guide is where the original meeting is known for having a position out of step with other ecclesias. In practice however such cases are extremely unusual and the attempt to refellowship another ecclesia's member when the original ecclesia considers that they have not "mended their ways" may cause an interecclesial breach. The original ecclesia may notify the Christadelphian Magazine that the third party ecclesia is interfering in their own discipline of their own member, and news of refellowship will be blocked from News From the Ecclesias, and consequently the community as a whole will not recognise the refellowship. See Booker, G. Biblical Fellowship Biblia, Perry, A. Fellowship Matters Willow Books.
- ^ "Free Quaker Meeting House". Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Independence Hall Association.
- ^ "Quaker Faith and Practice". London: Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
- ^ a b Blood-Paterson, Peter (1998). "Holy Obedience: Corporate Discipline and Individual Leading". New York Yearly Meeting. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87023-176-6.
- ^ Doyo, Ceres (6 August 2015). "Tiwalag". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ Francisco, Katerina (23 July 2015). "Iglesia ni Cristo can re-admit expelled Manalo kin". Rappler. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ a b Donald E. Skinner (15 April 1998). "Policies for Handling Disruptive People". UUA.org.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ "The Buddhist Monastic Code: Chapter 4". www.nku.edu. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ "BBC Religions – Buddhism: Nichiren Buddhism". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ Outcaste, Encyclopædia Britannica
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- ^ "My secret life as a gay ultra-Orthodox Jew". 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "When Reform Leaders Downplay Charges of Rabbis Behaving Badly". The Forward. 2 November 2015.
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- ^ "Expelled rabbi's role in High Holy Day service condemned". buffaloNews.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Berger, Joseph (27 January 2005). "Rabbi is Censured, Not Expelled, by Her Conservative Colleagues". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "Who's Investigating Rabbis Who Cross the Line?". The Forward. 11 June 2015.
- ^ "Getting kicked out of shul – Articles". Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ "Convicted of soliciting a minor, rabbi is banned from DC-area synagogue". The Times of Israel.
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References
- Encyclopedia of American Religions, by ISBN 0-8103-6904-4
- Ludlow, Daniel H. ed, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Macmillan Publishing, 1992.[ISBN missing]
- Esau, Alvin J., "The Courts and the Colonies: The Litigation of Hutterite Church Disputes", Univ of British Columbia Press, 2004.[ISBN missing]
- Gruter, Margaret, and Masters Roger, Ostracism: A Social and Biological Phenomenon, (Amish) Ostracism on Trial: The Limits of Individual Rights, Gruter Institute Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 1984.
- Beck, Martha N., Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith, Crown, 2005.[ISBN missing]
- Stammer, Larry B., "Mormon Author Says He's Facing Excommunication", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA.: 9 December 2004. p. A.34.
- D'anna, Lynnette, "Post-Mennonite Women Congregate to Address Abuse", Herizons, 3/1/93.
- Anonymous, "Atlanta Mennonite congregation penalized over gays", The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA: 2 January 1999. p. F.01.
- Garrett, Ottie, Garrett Irene, True Stories of the X-Amish: Banned, Excommunicated, Shunned, Horse Cave KY: Nue Leben, Inc., 1998.[ISBN missing]
- Garret, Ruth, Farrant Rick, Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, Harper San Francisco, 2003.[ISBN missing]
- Hostetler, John A. (1993), Amish Society, The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.[ISBN missing]
- MacMaster, Richard K. (1985), Land, Piety, Peoplehood: The Establishment of Mennonite Communities in America 1683–1790, Herald Press: Kitchener & Scottdale.[ISBN missing]
- Scott, Stephen (1996), An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups, Good Books: Intercourse, Pennsylvania.[ISBN missing]
- Juhnke, James, Vision, Doctrine, War: Mennonite Identity and Organization in America, 1890–1930, (The Mennonite Experience in America #3), Scottdale, PA, Herald Press, p. 393, 1989.
External links
- Excommunication, the Ban, Church Discipline and Avoidance (from Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online)
- Ostracism on Trial: The Limits of Individual Rights (Amish)
- Catholic Encyclopaedia on excommunication
- The two sides of excommunication Archived 15 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Jehovah's Witnesses press release regarding expulsion of child molesters