Schism
A schism (/ˈsɪzəm/ SIZ-əm, /ˈskɪzəm/, SKIZ-əm or, less commonly, /ˈʃɪzəm/ SHIZ-əm)[1] 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, such as the Great East–West Schism or the Western Schism. It is also used of a split within a non-religious organization or movement or, more broadly, of a separation between two or more people, be it brothers, friends, lovers, etc.
A schismatic is a person who creates or incites schism in an organization or who is a member of a splinter group. 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.
In religion, the charge of schism is distinguished from that of heresy, since the offence of schism concerns not differences of belief or doctrine but promotion of, or the state of division,[2] especially among groups with differing pastoral jurisdictions and authority. However, schisms frequently involve mutual accusations of heresy, and also that of the Great Apostasy. In Roman Catholic teaching, every heresy is a schism, while there may be some schisms free of the added guilt of heresy.[3] Liberal Protestantism, however, has often preferred heresy over schism. Presbyterian scholar James I. McCord (quoted with approval by the Episcopalian Bishop of Virginia, Peter Lee) drew a distinction between them, teaching: "If you must make a choice between heresy and schism, always choose heresy. As a schismatic, you have torn and divided the body of Christ. Choose heresy every time."[4]
Etymology
The word schism comes from the Greek word σχίσμα which means "cleft, division".
Buddhism
In
Christianity
- (Not shown are ante-Nicene, nontrinitarian, and restorationist denominations.)
The words schism and schismatic are used to denote splits within a church, denomination or religious body. In this context, "schismatic", as a noun, denotes a person who creates or incites schism in a church or a person who is a member of a splinter Church; as an adjective, "schismatic" refers to ideas and activities that are thought to lead to or constitute schism, and ultimately to departure from what 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.
One can make a distinction
In
The
The divisions that came to a head at the Councils of
In its extended and final form (possibly derived from the
Protestant groups, lacking the stronger traditional authority-structures of (say) Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy, and often riven by politico-national divides (sometimes resulting from cuius regio, eius religio), show a high degree of fissibility, which ecumenical efforts may only intensify.[10]
Schisms have occurred particularly frequently among
A current dispute with an acknowledged risk of schism for the
In 2018 Eastern Orthodoxy suffered a schism, the 2018 Moscow-Constantinople schism between the primatial See of Eastern Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church over the issue of Constantinople granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Hinduism
The Sringeri Matha, also called the 'Tunga Sringeri Math' diverged after a schism with the Koodli Sringeri Matha during the 16th century after which the Tunga Math gained prominence.[1]
The Kanchi Math was originally established as the Kumbakonam Mutt in 1821 by the Maratha king of Tanjore, Serfoji II Bhonsle, as a branch of the Sringeri Mutt, one of the four cardinal Shankaracharya Maths of the mainstream Smarta denomination. It became a schismatic institution when Tanjore and the Wodeyars of Mysore went to war against each other. It is on record that in 1839 the Kumbakonam Mutt applied for permission to the English Collector of Arcot to perform the “kumbhabhishekham” of the Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram
In 1842, the East India Company headquartered at Fort William, Calcutta appointed the head of the mutt as the sole trustee of the Kamakshi temple. The protests of the traditional priests of the Kamakshi temple are well documented and preserved. Incidentally, Fort William is also the first Freemason lodge of India.[12] Since then, the Math has maintained cordial relations with the British Raj though the main math at Sringeri fell sour with the colonial power[13]
Thus, the Kanchi Mutt can at best claim its origin to be in 1842.[14][15]
Islam
After the death of the Islamic prophet
Dates:
- The schism of the Shia and Sunni, c. 632/680s
- The schism of the Kharijites, late 7th century
- The schism of the Mu'tazilites, 8th century
- The schism of the Mihna, c. 833
- The schism of Zikri, c. 1500
- The schism of Ahmadiyya, 19th century
- The Moorish Science Temple of America, c. 1913
- The Nation of Islam, c. 1930
- The United Submitters International, c. mid-20th century
Jainism
The first schism in Jainism happened around the fourth century BCE, leading to rise of two major sects,
Judaism
Major
Dates:
- Samaritanism, 586 BCE
- Mandaeism, c. 1st century AD[20][21]
- Christianity, c. 1st century AD
- Reform Judaism, 1810
- Conservative Judaism, 1886
See also
- One true church
- List of schisms in Christianity
- Secession
- Old and New Light
Notes
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. (2000) notes in The Free Dictionary that "The word schism, which was originally spelled scisme in English, is traditionally pronounced (sĭ′zəm). However, in the 16th century the word was respelled with an initial sch in order to conform to its Latin and Greek forms. From this spelling arose the pronunciation (skĭ′zəm). Long regarded as incorrect, it became so common in both British and American English that it gained acceptability as a standard variant. Evidence indicates, however, that it is now the preferred pronunciation, at least in American English. In a recent survey 61 percent of the Usage Panel indicated that they use (skĭ′zəm), while 31 percent said they use (sĭ′zəm). A smaller number, 8 percent, preferred a third pronunciation, (shĭ′zəm)."
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 327.
- ^ Forget, Jacques (1912). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ "Heresy better idea than schism?". Washington Times. 2004-01-31. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ Catechism of the Eastern Orthodox Church, p. 42; The Concordia Cyclopedia quoted in Unionism and Syncretism – and PLI; Orthodox Practice – Choosing God-parents; Code of Canon Law, canon 751
- ^ "Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople Broke Eucharistic Communion with Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens » News » OrthodoxEurope.org". orthodoxeurope.org.
- ^ Code of Canon Law, canon 1364
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58617-282-4
- ^ Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Creeds Longmans 1960 pp. 296,7; 305–331
- ^
ISBN 9781493405831. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
The causes of church division are complex, and the effects can be paradoxical. In a study of American Protestant schisms between 1890 and 1990, John Sutton and Mark Chaves conclude that churches do not divide for purely doctrinal reasons but rather 'in response to attempts by denominational elites to achieve organizational consolidation.' [...] Ironically, 'mergers and foundings sharply raise the likelihood of schism.' Efforts to reunite the church can go wrong and sow further and deeper divisions. Ironically again, schism can reduce the chance of schism, though only briefly: 'one year after a founding or merger, rates of schism are five times higher than they are one year after a schism.'
- ^ Schisms "Schisms". gameo.rg.
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value (help) - ISSN 1638-1718.
- ^ "Sringeri temple attack and the genocide of Karnataka's Hindus by the Maratha Empire (1791)". History of Islam. 2020-10-31. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ^ Guruswamy, Mohan (2021-11-30). "Mohan Guruswamy | The Kumbakonam of the Kanchi Shankaracharya". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ^ "ஆதி சங்கரர் நிறுவியதா காஞ்சி சங்கரமடம்? – முரண்படும் தகவல்கள்". BBC News தமிழ் (in Tamil). 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ^ Editor. "Islam News Room – Quran 'Miracle 19' is A Lie?". www.islamnewsroom.com.
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has generic name (help) - ^ Why are Muslims divided into different Sects/Schools of Thought Archived 2008-09-15 at the Wayback Machine by Zakir Naik on IRF.net
- ^ Trimingham (1998), p.1
- ^ Clarke & Beyer 2009, p. 326.
- ^ "And sixty thousand Nasoraeans abandoned the Sign of the Seven and entered the Median Hills, a place where we were free from domination by all other races." Karen L. King, What is Gnosticism?, 2005, Page 140
- ISBN 9781451416640.(pp94-111). Minneapolis: Fortress Press
References
- ISBN 978-0-203-87212-3