Schism in Christianity
Type of religious schism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Christianity, a 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.
In the early Christian church, the formation of a distinction between the concepts of "heresy" 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.[1] Heresy is rejection of a doctrine that a Church considered to be essential. Schism is a rejection of communion with the authorities of a Church.
Definition
In Christian theology, the concept of the unity of the Church was developed by the Apostles, Holy Fathers and apologists. The greatest contribution to the doctrine of church unity was made by the apostles Peter and Paul, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyons, Cyprian of Carthage, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, and John of Damascus. Christian ecclesiology 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".[2][3]
Canon 751 of the Latin Church's 1983 Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1983, defines schism as the following: "schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him".[4] This definition is reused in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.[5]
List of Christian schisms
Major denominational families in Christianity:
Schism (1552)
(16th century)
Great Schism (1054)
Nestorian Schism (431)
Chalcedonian Schism (451)
- (Not shown are ante-Nicene, nontrinitarian, and restorationist denominations.)
Pre-12th century Christian schisms
Since the early days of Christianity, many disputes have arisen between members of the Church.
The following instances of denominations are considered as schisms of Early Christianity by the current mainstream Christian denominations:
| Name of schism | Original location of schism | Start date | Schism resolved | Original Church body | Resulting Church bodies or schismatic bodies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcionian schism | Roma, Italia, Roman Empire | 144 | c. 10th century | Great Church | Marcionites | The schism started after the excommunication of Marcion of Sinope, who was influenced by Gnosticism and taught that the teachings of Christ is incompatible with the actions of the God of the Old Testament.[6] |
| Montanian schism | Ardabau, Mysia, Provincia Asia, Roman Empire | c. 157 | c. 9th century | Montanists | The schism started after the excommunication of Montanus, along with Prisca and Maximilla, who taught that the Holy Spirit enables new prophecies after Jesus Christ.[7] | |
| Sabellian schism | Roma, Italia, Roman Empire | 220 | – | Sabellians Patripassians | The schism started after Pope Callixtus I excommunicated Sabellius, who taught that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are different modes or aspects of one God, rather than three distinct persons in God Himself.[8] | |
| Novatian schism | Roma, Italia, Roman Empire | 251 | 8th century | Novatianists | The schism started after Novatian was consecrated bishop by three bishops of Italy and declared himself to be the true Pope in opposition to Pope Cornelius. He held that lapsed Christians, who had not maintained their confession of faith under persecution, may not be received again into communion with the church.[9] | |
| Monarchian schism | Antiochia, Provincia Syria, Roman Empire | 269 | – | Monarchians Adoptionists Modalistic Monarchianists | Monarchianism first developed in the 2nd century, but only after Patriarch of Antioch Paul of Samosata was condemned by Synods of Antioch in 269 it was declared as heretical.[10] | |
| Donatian schism | Carthago, Provincia Africa Proconsularis, Roman Empire | 313 | c. 7th century | Donatists | The schism started when a commission appointed by Pope Miltiades condemned the Donatists, who denied the validity of sacraments administered by priests and bishops who had been traditores under the Diocletianic persecution.[11] | |
| Arian schism | Nicaea, Provincia Asia, Roman Empire | June 325 | 7th century | Arians | [12] | |
| Quartodeciman schism | Roman Empire | 325 | – | Quartodecimans | [13] | |
| Pneumatomachian schism | Roman Empire | 342 | – | Pneumatomachians | [14] | |
| Luciferian schism | Roman Empire | 362 | – | Luciferians | Lucifer of Cagliari might have been excommunicated, as is hinted in the writings of Ambrose of Milan and Augustine of Hippo, as well as Jerome, who refers to his followers as Luciferians.[15] | |
| Meletian schism | Antiochia, Provincia Syria, Dioecesis Orientis, Praefectura praetorio Orientis, Roman Empire | 361 | 415 | Meletians Eustathians | The schism originated when Patriarch Meletius of Antioch was opposed by those faithful to the memory of Patriarch Eustathius of Antioch due to the unclarity of his theological position. | |
| Apollinarian schism | Constantinopolis, Provincia Europae, Dioecesis Thraciae, Praefectura praetorio Orientis, Eastern Roman Empire | 30 July 381 | late 4th century | Apollinarians | Apollinarism or Apollinarianism is a Christological position proposed by Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea in Syria, that argues that Jesus had not a human body and sensitive soul, but a divine mind and body, the Divine Logos taking the place of the latter.[16] It was deemed heretical by the First Council of Constantinople, and after Theodosius I ratified the conciliar canons, it virtually died out within the following decades.[16][17] | |
| Nestorian schism | Veh-Ardashir, Asōristān, Sasanian Empire | September 431 | – | Nestorians Church of the East | Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II convoked the Council of Ephesus, which became two rival councils, each led by patriarchs Cyril I of Alexandria and John I of Antioch, resulting in two sets of canons. The emperor finally ratified the canons of Cyril's party in September 431.[18]
The Church of the East, independent since 424, refused to condemn Nestorius, leading to a broken communion with the Great Church. | |
| Chalcedonian schism | Chalcedon, Provincia Bithynia, Dioecesis Pontica, Praefectura praetorio Orientis, Eastern Roman Empire | 451 | – | Monophysites Miaphysites | [19] | |
| Acacian schism | Eastern Roman Empire | 484 | 519 | Acacians | [20] | |
| Schism of the Three Chapters | Aquileia, Italia, Eastern Roman Empire | 553 | 581 (Milan) 606 (Grado) 698 (Aquileia) | Patriarchate of Aquileia, dioceses in Liguria, Aemilia, Milan, and the Istrian peninsula | Part of the larger Three-Chapter Controversy.[14] | |
| Armenian schism of 555 | Dvin, Armin, Sasanian Empire | 555 | – | Armenian Apostolic Church | Armenian Catholicosate of Dvin withdrew communion with the Chalcedonians but also adopted moderate form of the Aphthartodocetae (Julianism) or Phantasiasm by condemning "books on the corruption" (of the body of Christ), thus also standing outside of the Miaphysite Churches.
In 726, during the Council of Manzikert John of Odzun established communion with the Syriac Orthodox Church, condemned Aphthartodocetae, and canonized Severus for the Armenians.[21] | |
| Coptic-Syriac schism of 586 | Alexandria, Aegyptus, Eastern Roman Empire | 586 | 616 | Miaphysites | Coptic Orthodox Church Syriac Orthodox Church | It started with Pope Damian of Alexandria's dialogue with Patriarch Peter of Antioch, in which Damian accused his colleague of tritheism and was in turn accused of Sabellianism. Although Damian pulled support for his understanding of the Trinity from the Bible and the teachings of early Church Fathers, he was never able to persuade Peter and, as a result, he ordered that Peter's name not be mentioned in the Divine Liturgy while Peter remained alive.
The schism between the Alexandrian and Antiochene churches lasted for almost a decade after Damian's death. |
| Armenian schism of 607 | Dvin, Armin, Sasanian Empire | 607 | – | Great Church | Armenian Apostolic Church | During the Third Council of Dvin, the Armenian Church condemned both the Chalcedonian Definition and Monophysitism. This Council mended the internal schism within the Armenian Church and established the formal split between the Armenian and Georgian Churches, who decided to join with Constantinople in upholding the Chalcedonian Definition.[22] |
| Monothelite schism | Eastern Roman Empire | 638 | 16 September 681 | Monothelites Monoenergists | The schism began with publication of the Ecthesis in 638, and was solidified by publication of Typos of Constans in 648. It was eventually resolved in the Sixth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople (681).[23] | |
| First Byzantine Iconoclasm | Kōnstăntīnoúpolĭs, Théma Thrāíkēs, Eastern Roman Empire | c. 726 | 13 October 787 | Iconoclasts | The schism was resolved by the Second Council of Nicaea.[24] | |
| Second Byzantine Iconoclasm | Kōnstăntīnoúpolĭs, Théma Thrāíkēs, Eastern Roman Empire | 815 | 4 March 843 | Iconoclasts | The schism was triggered in 815 by Emperor Leo V's convocation of the Council of Constantinople. It was later overturned one final time by another Council of Constantinople, in 843.[24] | |
| East–West Schism | Hagia Sophia, Kōnstăntīnoúpolĭs, Théma Thrāíkēs, Eastern Roman Empire | 16 July 1054 | – | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
The first action that led to a formal schism occurred in 1053 when Patriarch Michael I Cerularius of Constantinople ordered the closure of all Latin churches in Constantinople.[25][26][27] In 1054, the legates of Pope Leo IX travelled to Constantinople to deny Cerularius the title of "ecumenical patriarch" and insist that he recognize the pope's claim to be the head of all of the churches,[28] and to seek help from the Byzantine emperor, Constantine IX Monomachos, in view of the Norman conquest of southern Italy, and to respond to Leo of Ohrid's attacks on the use of unleavened bread and other Western customs,[29] attacks that had the support of Cerularius.[30] When the leader of the legation, Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, learned that Cerularius had refused to accept the demand, he excommunicated him on 16 July, and in response Cerularius excommunicated all the legates in a synod on 20 July.[28] The validity of the Western legates' act is doubtful because Pope Leo IX had died and Ecumenical Patriarch Michael I Cerularius' excommunication only applied to the legates personally.
At the time of the excommunications, many contemporary historians, including Byzantine chroniclers, did not consider the event significant.[31][32][33][34] Relations continued as usual. There were pre-modern endeavors to end the schism, such as during the Second Council of Lyon (29 June 1274) and Council of Florence (6 June 1439), but both formally ended in repudiations in Council of Constantinople (1285) and Synod of Constantinople (1484), respectively. On 7 December 1965, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I nullified the anathemas of 1054. The efforts of successive Ecumenical Patriarchs towards reconciliation with the Catholic Church, insofar, have often been the target of sharp internal criticism.[35][24] |
12th–15th century Christian schisms
| Name of schism | Original location of schism | Start date | Schism resolved | Original Church body | Resulting Church bodies or Schismatic bodies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double papal election of 1130 | Church of San Marco, Roma, Papal States | 14 February 1130 | 29 May 1138 | Catholic Church | Innocent II line Anacletus II line | Anacletus II died in 25 January 1138 and was succeeded by Victor IV until his submission to Innocent II on 29 May 1138. |
| Cathar movement | – | 1147 | – | Cathars | – | |
| Double papal election of 1159 | Old St. Peter's Basilica, Roma, Papal States | 7 September 1159 | 29 August 1178 | Alexander III line Victor IV line | Victor IV died in 20 April 1164 and was succeeded by Paschal III, and then Callixtus III until the latter's submission to Alexander III on 29 August 1178. | |
| Papal schism of 1179 | – | 29 September 1179 | January 1180 | Alexander III line Innocent III line | Innocent III was captured by forces loyal to Alexander III and spent his remaining days in the abbey of La Trinità della Cava. | |
| Waldensian movement | – | 1215 | – | Waldensians | – | |
| Bosnian movement | – | 1252 | – | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church | Bosnian Church | – |
| Arsenite Schism | Kōnstăntīnoúpolĭs, Théma Thrāíkēs, Eastern Roman Empire | 28 December 1266 | 1315 | Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople | Arsenius I's supporters Joseph I's supporters | After Michael VIII Palaiologos captured Constantinople, he blinded his young co-emperor John IV Doukas Laskaris, for which Patriarch Arsenius excommunicated him, even refusing to lift it after his deposition from the patriarchate. On 28 December 1266, Joseph I was elected patriarch and promptly absolved the emperor, and their supporters went into dispute over it.
This situation lasted until 1315, when a reconciliation was pronounced by the patriarch Nephon I of Constantinople. |
| Syriac Orthodox schism of 1292 | Gawikat, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia | November 1292 | 1445 | Syriac Orthodox Church | Michael II line (Gawikat) Ignatius Constantine line (Malīṭīná) | Following the death of the patriarch Philoxenus I Nemrud in July 1292, Ignatius Constantine was consecrated on November 1292 in Melitene. On the same month, Michael II was also consecrated in Gawikat. In 1293, the two claimants to the Syriac patriarchate of Antioch were joined by Ignatius bar Wahib in Mardin.
In c. 1360 the patriarchate in Melitene lapsed, and then in 1444–1445, Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo of the Mardin line was also recognized as the legitimate patriarch by hierarchs of the Gawikat line. |
| Syriac Orthodox schism of 1364 | Monastery of Saint Jacob, Salaḥ, Ṭūr ʿAḇdīn, Emirate of Hasankeyf | 1364 | 1840 | Syriac Orthodox Church | Ignatius Ismail line (Mardīn) Ignatius Saba I line (Salaḥ) | This schism established the lineage of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Tur Abdin until 1839–1840.[36] |
| Western Schism | Fondi, Contea di Fondi, Kingdom of Naples | 20 September 1378 | 11 November 1417 | Catholic Church | Urban VI line Clement VII line | Pope Gregory XI, the last Avignon pope, decided to return to Rome on 17 January 1377,[37] then he died in the Vatican palace on 27 March 1378.[38]. The Romans put into operation a plan to use intimidation and violence (impressio et metus) to ensure the election of a Roman pope after 70 years in Avignon.[39] On 8 April 1378, the cardinals elected Bartolomeo Prignano, as Pope Urban VI.[40] The majority of the cardinal-electors quickly regretted their decision and removed themselves to Anagni.[41] Meeting at Fondi, thirteen cardinals elected Count Robert of Geneva as Pope Clement VII on 20 September 1378.[42] The dissident cardinals argued that the election of Urban VI was invalid because it had been out of fear of the rioting Roman crowds.[43][44]
Later the two papal lines were joined by a third, when on 5 June 1409, the Council of Pisa attempted to depose both the Roman and Avignon pontifical claimants,[45] but proceeded to inflame the problem even further by electing Petros Philargos as Alexander V.[46] |
| Bohemian Reformation | Praha, Čechy, České království, Holy Roman Empire | 18 October 1412 | – | Hussites | Before Jan Hus left Prague, he decided to take a step which gave a new dimension to his endeavors. He no longer put his trust in an indecisive King, a hostile Pope or an ineffective Council. On 18 October 1412, he appealed to Jesus Christ as the supreme judge. By appealing directly to the highest Christian authority, Christ himself, he bypassed the laws and structures of the medieval Church.[47] For the Bohemian Reformation, this step was as significant as the 95 theses nailed to the door of the Wittenberg church by Martin Luther in 1517. [48] | |
| Papal schism of 1439 | Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Holy Roman Empire | 5 November 1439 | 7 April 1449 | Eugene IV line Felix V line | – | |
| Moscow–Constantinople schism of 1467 | Moskva, Grand Principality of Moscow | c. 1467 | 1560 | Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople | Metropolis of Moscow and all Rus' | It started de facto in 15 December 1448 when Jonah of Moscow was elected as the metropolitan of Kyiv and all Rus', then headquartered in Moscow, without the consent of the patriarch of Constantinople. His title was then changed unilaterally to metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus'. It became de jure schism when Dionysius I of Constantinople demanded that all the hierarchs of Muscovy submit to Gregory the Bulgarian, who was recognized by both Rome and Constantinople as the metropolitan of Kyiv, but was rejected by Ivan III of Russia who declared a complete rupture of relations with Constantinople. Relations were gradually restored and in 1560, the Patriarch of Constantinople considered the metropolitan of Moscow to be his exarch. |
16th century Christian schisms
| Name of schism | Original location of schism | Start date | Schism resolved | Original Church body | Resulting Church bodies or Schismatic bodies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protestant Reformation | Worms, Freie und Reichsstädte Worms, Oberrheinischer Reichskreis, Holy Roman Empire | 25 May 1521 | – | Catholic Church | Lutherans | Although the Reformation is usually considered to have begun in 1517, this edict is the first overt schism associated with it. |
| Reformation in Zürich | Zürich, Republik Zürich, Corpus helveticum, Holy Roman Empire | 1523 | – | Zwinglians | Initially sparked during the Affair of the Sausages by Huldrych Zwingli in 1522, his ideas gained the support of the magistrates of the city of Zürich and Katharina von Zimmern, the princess-abbes of Fraumünster. One of the earliest episodes of the Reformation in Switzerland.[49] | |
| Radical Reformation | Zürich, Republik Zürich, Corpus helveticum, Holy Roman Empire | 1525 | – | Zwinglians | Anabaptists | Anabaptism in Switzerland began as an offshoot of the church reforms instigated by Ulrich Zwingli.[50] |
| Reformation in Sweden | Västerås, Västmanlandskap, Svealand, Kingdom of Sweden | 22 June 1527 | – | Catholic Church | Church of Sweden | It resulted in both Sweden and Finland becoming Protestant countries, as the latter formed an integral part of Sweden at the time. |
| Reformation in Geneva | Genève, République de Genève, Holy Roman Empire | 21 May 1536 | – | Calvinists | Part of the Reformation in Switzerland. | |
| English Reformation | Palace of Westminster, Westminster, Middlesex, Kingdom of England | 3 November 1534 | – | Church of England | Originally started as an attempt by King Henry VIII of England to circumvent his inability to obtain a papal-sanctioned annulment from his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. In 1531, Henry created the title Supreme Head of the Church of England for himself, which was put into law by the 1534 Act of Supremacy. The parliament of Ireland followed suit in 1537, but most of the Irish population remained Catholic. The schism was formally ended when Mary I reunited the English Church with the Roman Catholic Church, but it was reignited by the excommunication of Elizabeth I.[51] | |
| Reformation in Denmark–Norway | København, Sokkelund Herred, København Amt, Sjælland, Denmark–Norway | 2 September 1537 | – | Church of Denmark Church of Norway | On 2 September 1537, Christian III of Denmark signed a new Church order for the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway and all his other possessions. | |
| Assyrian schism of 1552 | Musul, Sancak-i Musul, Eyālet-i Baġdād, Ottoman Empire | 1552 | – | Church of the East | Shemon VII Ishoyahb line Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa line | |
| Scottish Reformation | Parliament House, Edinburgh, Edinburghshire, Kingdom of Scotland | August 1560 | – | Catholic Church | Church of Scotland | [52] |
| Brownist schism | London, City of London, Kingdom of England | March 1566 | – | Church of England | London underground church | The forerunners of the Pilgrims and modern Congregationalism. |
17th century Christian schisms
| Name of schism | Original location of schism | Start date | Schism resolved | Original Church body | Resulting Church bodies or schismatic bodies | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baptist movement | Amsterdam, Graafschap Holland, Dutch Republic | 1609 | – | Church of England | Baptists | The movement later came to be called General Baptists, as they held Arminian soteriology, in contrast to the Reformed Baptists who held Calvinistic soteriology. | |
| Reformed Baptist movement | Kingdom of England | c. 1630 | – | Reformed Baptists | |||
| Ruthenian Schism | Zakarpattia, Kingdom of Hungary | 1646 | – | Eastern Orthodox Church | Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church | Union of Uzhhorod was signed by 63 Ruthenian presbyters led by Vasyl Tarasovych and Petro Parfenii, forming Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo out from jurisdiction of Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople into communion with Papacy as Uniate. | |
| Syriac Orthodox schism of 1662 | Ḥaleb, Sancak-i Ḥaleb, Eyālet-i Ḥaleb, Ottoman Empire | 1662 | – | Syriac Patriarchate of Antioch | Ignatius Andrew Akijan line Ignatius Abdulmasih I line | ||
| Russian schism of 1666 | Moskva, Tsardom of Russia | April 1666 | – | Russian Orthodox Church | Old Believers | Between 1653 and 1656, Patriarch Nikon of Moscow introduced numerous reforms to liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Church. Tsar Alexis attempted to reconcile the controversy by convening the 1666–1667 Great Moscow Synod, where the old rite was anathemized and declared heretical, and the reformed rite was proclaimed universally binding, and in which ironically also saw the deposition of Patriarch Nikon. By the 1690s, the turbulence gradually waned, as Peter the Great relaxed the persecution of nonconformists, and the apocalyptic zeal diminished as the world evidently did not end. In the following decades, the surviving dissenter communities who retained the old forms mostly evolved into the Old Believers, a loose movement defined by rejection of Nikon's reforms, but also to more radical sectarians like the Khlysts (flagellants). | |
| Great Ejection | England | 19 May 1662 | – | Church of England | Puritans | Ejection followed the 1662 Act of Uniformity in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England following the Restoration of Charles II. It was a consequence (not necessarily an intended one) of the Savoy Conference of 1661. | |
| Melkite schism of 1673 | Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Sancak-i Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Eyālet-i Rūm-ėli, Ottoman Empire | 1673 | 1682 | Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch | Cyril V Zaim line Neophytos of Chios line | ||
| Melkite schism of 1685 | Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Sancak-i Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Eyālet-i Rūm-ėli, Ottoman Empire | 5 July 1685 | October 1694 | Cyril V Zaim line Athanasius III Dabbas line |
18th century Christian schisms
| Name of schism | Original location of schism | Start date | Schism resolved | Original Church body | Resulting Church bodies or schismatic bodies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melkite schism of 1724 | Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Sancak-i Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Eyālet-i Rūm-ėli, Ottoman Empire | 8 October 1724 | – | Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch | Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch | On 24 September 1724, Cyril VI Tanas was elected patriarch of Antioch and sought communion with Rome. Patriarch Jeremias III of Constantinople declared the election invalid and appointed Sylvester of Antioch, whom he consecrated on 8 October, forming parallel successions. The papacy moved with great caution, and only recognized Cyril VI in 1730. |
| Ultrajectine schism of 1724 | Amsterdam, Graafschap Holland, Dutch Republic | 15 October 1724 | – | Catholic Church | Jansenist Church of Holland | Dominique Marie Varlet consecrated Cornelius van Steenoven as archbishop of Utrecht on 15 October 1724 without papal mandate. Pope Benedict XIII formally declared the consecration "illicit and execrable" and censured Varlet on 21 February 1725. After the restoration of Roman Catholic hierarchy in 1853, the Ultrajectine church renamed itself Old Catholic. |
| Anglican-Methodist schism in the United States | Lovely Lane Chapel, Baltimore, Baltimore County, State of Maryland, United States of America | December 1784 | – | Church of England | Methodist Episcopal Church | John Wesley ordained ministers for America on 1 September 1784, but the formal establishment of the Methodist Episcopal Church was dated from the Christmas Conference in December 1784. In 1788, Thomas Coke attempted a secret unification with the Episcopal Church, which was ultimately blocked by Francis Asbury. |
| Anglican-Episcopal schism | Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America | 27 September 1785 | 1789 | Episcopal Church | After Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776, several states passed laws making prayers for the king and British Parliament acts of treason. The Episcopal Church was then organized in 1785, and communion with the Church of England was formally restored in 1789. | |
| Swedenborgian movement | England and Wales, Kingdom of Great Britain | 7 May 1787 | – | The New Church | In 1787, 15 years after Emanuel Swedenborg's death, his followers formally founded the New Church.
Part of Restorationism. | |
| Anglican-Methodist schism in Great Britain | England and Wales, Kingdom of Great Britain | 1795 | – | Wesleyan Methodist Church | Formal schism between the English Anglicans and Methodists was entrenched by the decision of the Methodist Conference of 1795 to permit the administration of the Lord's Supper in any chapel where both a majority of the trustees and a majority of the stewards and leaders allowed it. |
19th century Christian schisms
| Name of schism | Original location of schism | Start date | Schism resolved | Original Church body | Resulting Church bodies or schismatic bodies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone movement | Cane Ridge Meeting House, Cane Ridge, Bourbon County, Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States of America | 10 September 1803 | – | Presbyterian Church in the United States of America | Springfield Presbytery | On 10 September 1803, Barton W. Stone and others formed the Springfield presbytery, breaking away from the Kentucky Synod of the Presbyterian Church. Later, the presbytery was dissolved on 28 June 1804 and they adopted the name "Christian" to identify their group. Most of this movement united with the Campbell movement on 1 January 1832 with a handshake between Stone and "Raccoon" John Smith, to become the Restoration Movement.
Part of Restorationism. |
| Campbell movement | Washington, Washington County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America | 7 September 1809 | – | Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church | Christian Association of Washington | On 17 August 1809, Thomas Campbell and 21 of his associates formed the Christian Association of Washington, which becomes the Brush Run Church on 4 May 1811. Later they adopted the name "Disciples". They eventually merged with the above-mentioned Stone movement.
Part of Restorationism. |
| Afscheiding of 1834 | Ulrum, Provincie Groningen, Kingdom of the Netherlands | 14 October 1834 | – | Dutch Reformed Church | Reformed Churches under the Cross Separated Christian Congregations | |
| Irving movement | Annan, Annandale, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 14 July 1835 | – | Church of Scotland | Irvingians | Edward Irving was deposed on the charges of heresy in March 1833. He died on 7 December 1834, and then in 14 July 1835, his followers formally established the Catholic Apostolic Church.
Part of Restorationism. |
| Thomas movement | United States of America | 1837 | – | Restoration Movement | John Thomas and his associates | John Thomas was disfellowshipped on 1837, but his movement didn't have any official name until 1864, when it became "Christadelphians", to enable them to be conscientious objectors.
Part of Restorationism. |
| Disruption of 1843 | Scotland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 23 May 1843 | – | Church of Scotland | Free Church of Scotland | The main conflict was over whether the Church of Scotland or the British Government had the power to control clerical positions and benefits. On 18 May 1843, 121 ministers and 73 elders led by David Welsh met at the Church of St Andrew in George Street, Edinburgh.[53] After Welsh read a Protest, the group left St. Andrews and walked down the hill to the Tanfield Hall at Canonmills. There they held the first meeting of the Free Church of Scotland, the Disruption Assembly. Thomas Chalmers was appointed the first Moderator. On 23 May 1843, a second meeting was held for the signing of the Act of Separation by the ministers. Eventually, 474 of about 1,200 ministers left the Church of Scotland for the Free Church.[54] |
| Anglican schism of 1844 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 1844 | – | Church of England | Free Church of England | |
| Armenian Evangelical schism | Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Sancak-i Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Eyālet-i Rūm-ėli, Ottoman Empire | 1 July 1846 | – | Armenian Apostolic Church | Armenian Evangelical Church | Part of Eastern Protestant reformations/schisms. |
| Booth movement | East End of London, Middlesex, England and Wales, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 1861 | – | Methodist New Connexion | William Booth and his associates | William Booth became an independent evangelist in 1861, and with his wife Catherine founded the East London Christian Mission on 2 July 1865 in the East End of London.[55] The name "The Salvation Army" developed from an incident on 19 and 20 May 1878.[56]
Part of Holiness movement. |
| Irvingian schism of 1863 | Berlin, Provinz Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia | 6 February 1863 | – | Catholic Apostolic Church | Hamburg congregation | Francis Woodhouse wrote the formal expulsion of the Hamburg congregation, which eventually became the New Apostolic Church.
Part of Restorationism. |
| Mar Thoma schism | Āmid/Diyār-i Bekr, Sancak-i Diyār-i Bekr, Kurdistan Eyalet, Ottoman Empire | 3 April 1865 | – | Malankara Church | Mar Thoma Syrian Church | Part of Eastern Protestant reformations/schisms. |
| Bulgarian schism | Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Sancak-i Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, Eyālet-i Rūm-ėli, Ottoman Empire | 30 September 1872 | 1945 | Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople | Bulgarian Exarchate | On 23 May 1872, Anthim I declared the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Exarchate. The patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch later declared the exarchate schismatic and declared its adherents excommunicated. The schism was later lifted in 1945. |
| Salvation Army schism of 1884 | United States of America | 24 October 1884 | – | Salvation Army | Salvation Army of America | The international Salvation Army sued the Salvation Army of America, and in 1913 it became American Rescue Workers. |
| Doleantie of 1886 | Bijbelgordel | 7 February 1886 | 1 May 2004 | Dutch Reformed Church | Reformed Churches in the Netherlands | [57] |
| Salvation Army schism of 1892 | Dominion of Canada | 30 September 1892 | – | United Christian Workers | United Christian Workers became the Christian Workers' Church of Canada in 1922, and then Associated Gospel Churches in 1925.[58] It was federally incorporated March 18, 1925.[59] | |
| Salvation Army schism of 1896 | Cooper Union, Manhattan, New York County, State of New York, United States of America | 8 March 1896 | – | Volunteers of America | Ballington and his wife Maud Booth founded the Volunteers of America in 8 March 1896 after disagreements with other Salvation Army leaders, including Ballington Booth's brother Bramwell Booth. |
20th century Christian schisms
| Name of schism | Original location of schism | Start date | Schism resolved | Original Church body | Resulting Church bodies or schismatic bodies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aglipayan schism | Centro de Bellas Artes, Quiapo, City of Manila, Philippine Insular Government, United States of America | 3 August 1902 | – | Catholic Church | Philippine Independent Church | Following the end of the Philippine–American War, Isabelo de los Reyes, together with the members of Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina, formally founded and publicly proclaimed the commencement of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (abbreviated as IFI and translated to "Philippine Independent Church" in English) on 3 August 1902.[60] |
| Malankara schism of 1912 | Kerala, India | 1912 | – | Malankara Syrian Church | Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church | A long-standing schism between the autocephalous Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the autonomous Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church under the Syriac Orthodox Church. Though it originated in 1912, it remains a major 21st-century conflict with a terminal legal conclusion made by the Supreme Court of India in 2017. |
| Liberal Catholic movement | England and Wales, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 13 February 1916 | – | Church of England | Liberal Catholic Church | J. I. Wedgwood and Charles Webster Leadbeater, two Theosophists, founded the church. Wedgwood had been consecrated as a bishop in 1916 in England by Frederick Samuel Willoughby; Willoughby had been consecrated as bishop by Arnold Harris Mathew of the Old Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain, but had later been disowned by Mathew. Wedgwood then travelled to Australia and ordained and consecrated Leadbeater.[61][62][63] |
| Watch Tower Society presidency dispute | Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America | 8 August 1917 | – | Watch Tower Society | Joseph Franklin Rutherford's faction former Watch Tower Society directors | |
| Russian schism of 1927 | Palace of the Patriarchate, Sremski Karlovci, Južnobački okrug, Srem Oblast, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes | 5 September 1927 | 17 May 2007 | Russian Orthodox Church | Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia | |
| Greek Old Calendarist schism of 1935 | Republic of Greece | 26 May 1935 N.S. | – | Church of Greece | Old Calendarists in Greece | The Church of Greece adopted the Revised Julian calendar, also called 'New Calendar' in 1924. At first, resistance to it was muted, with a small number of laymen, priests and monks, whose number grew over the years.[64][65] The situation changed in 1935 when three Church of Greece bishops joined the movement and consecrated four new bishops.[65][64] Metropolitan Chrysostomos (Kavourides) of Florina emerged to become its leader. Three out of those seven bishops ended up rejoining the Church of Greece, and the four remaining ones created the Old Calendarist Holy Synod on 13 May 1935.[66]
Part of True Orthodox movement. |
| PCUSA schism of 1936 | Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America | 11 June 1936 | – | Presbyterian Church in the United States of America | Presbyterian Church of America | In 1939, after PCUSA filed a lawsuit against the fledgling denomination for its name choice, the denomination adopted its current name, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC).[67]Part of Fundamentalist–modernist controversy. |
| Greek Old Calendarist schism of 1937 | Kingdom of Greece | 18 September 1937 N.S. | – | Old Calendarists in Greece | Chrysostomos (Kavourides) line Matthaios (Karpoudakis) line | The Greek Old Calendarists experienced schism in 1937, due to a disagreement on the validity of the sacraments performed by members of churches which have adopted the reformed calendar.[64] After Chrysostomos, head of the Holy Synod, refused to declare the sacraments of the New Calendarists as graceless, bishop Matthew led the group which seceded from the Holy Synod.[66]
Part of True Orthodox movement. |
| Romanian Old Calendarist schism of 1955 | Socialist Republic of Romania | 5 April 1955 | – | Romanian Orthodox Church | Old Calendarists in Romania | The Romanian Orthodox Church adopted the revised calendar in 1924, which fomented the Old Calendarist movement there.[64][66] The abbot of Prokof, Glycerius Tănase, became the head of the movement. The Greek Old Calendarist hierarchs did not manage to consecrate him a bishop due to the interventions from the Greek state., and so the Old Calendarist movement in Romania was only composed of priests and laypeople, including several hundreds monks from Mount Athos until 1955, when Metropolitan Galaction Cordun joined the movement.[64][66] Since December 2022, the Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania is not in communion with any other groups.[68]
Part of True Orthodox movement. |
| Assyrian schism of 1964 | St. Zaia Cathedral, Baġdād, Muḥāfaẓat Baġdād, Republic of Iraq | 1964 | – | Church of the East | Ancient Church of the East | |
| Schism of Montaner | Orthodox Church of Montaner, Montaner, Comune di Sarmede, Provincia di Treviso, Regione del Veneto, Italian Republic | 26 December 1967 | – | Roman Catholic Diocese of Vittorio Veneto | almost all parishioners in Montaner | Today, the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox communities still exist within the village, though divisions remain. |
| LCMS schism of 1976 | Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America | 3 December 1976 | – | Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod | Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches | During the 1960s, many clergy and members of the LCMS grew concerned about the direction of education at their flagship seminary, Concordia Seminary, in St. Louis, Missouri. Professors at Concordia Seminary had, in the 1950s and 1960s, begun to utilize the historical-critical method to analyze the Bible rather than the traditional historical-grammatical method that considered scripture to be the inerrant Word of God. After attempts at compromise failed, on January 20, 1974, the seminary Board of Control chose to suspend the seminary president[69] John Tietjen, leading to a walkout of most faculty and students, and the formation of Seminex. 200 liberal and moderate congregations split from the LCMS to form the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC), leaving the LCMS a more conservative body than it had been in 1969. The AELC itself would later merge with other liberal and moderate Lutheran churches to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Part of Fundamentalist–modernist controversy. |
| Continuing Anglican movement | City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, United States of America | 16 September 1977 | – | Episcopal Church Anglican Church of Canada | Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen | In 1976, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America voted to approve the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate, and also provisionally adopted a new and doctrinally controversial Book of Common Prayer, later called the 1979 version.[70] Between 14–16 September 1977, several thousand dissenting clergy and laypersons responded to those actions by meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, under the auspices of the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen,[71] where they adopted a theological statement, the Affirmation of St. Louis.[72] The Affirmation expressed a determination "to continue in the Catholic Faith, Apostolic Order, Orthodox Worship, and Evangelical Witness of the traditional Anglican Church, doing all things necessary for the continuance of the same". Out of this meeting came a new church with the provisional name "Anglican Church in North America (Episcopal)". The first bishops of the new church, later named the Anglican Catholic Church, were consecrated on January 28, 1978, in Denver, Colorado.[73][74] |
| Palmarian schism | La Alcaparrosa, El Palmar de Troya, Provincia de Sevilla, Comunidad autónoma de Andalucía, Kingdom of Spain | 6 August 1978 | – | Catholic Church | Palmarian Christian Church | The origins of the Palmarian Christian Church, commonly known as the Palmarian (Catholic) Church, as a distinct body can be traced back to the alleged Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Palmar, which took place in Andalusia, Spain, from 1968 onward. |
| SBC schism of 1987 | Providence Baptist Church, Charlotte, State of North Carolina, United States of America | 12 February 1987 | – | Southern Baptist Convention | Southern Baptist Alliance | The Southern Baptist Alliance subsequently changed its name to the Alliance of Baptists in 1992. |
| Giguère movement | Cathedral Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec, Quebec City, Province of Quebec, Canada | 4 May 1987 | – | Catholic Church | Community of the Lady of All Nations | It was founded in 1971 by Marie-Paule Giguère in Quebec as a prayer group, and then was formally approved as a Roman Catholic "pious association" in 1975, but was rescinded by the Archbishop of Quebec after Giguère announced herself the reincarnation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[75] On 4 May 1987, the Archbishop of Quebec, Cardinal Louis-Albert Vachon, withdrew the approval of his predecessor, and on declared the movement schismatic and disqualified it as a Catholic association due to its false teachings. On 11 July 2007, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a declaration of excommunication against the group for heretical teachings and beliefs after a six-year investigation. The declaration was announced by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on 12 September 2007. |
| Lefebvrian schism of 1988 | Écône, Commune de Riddes, District de Martigny, Canton du Valais, Swiss Confederation | 30 June 1988 | 24 January 2009 | Catholic Church | Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X | The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, commonly known as the Society of Saint Pius X, is a Traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.[76] Tensions between the Society and the Holy See climaxed with the 1988 Écône consecrations when Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without the papal Mandate and against a personal warning by Pope John Paul II,[77] resulting in the papal declaration that all the consecrators and the consecratees had incurred Latæ Sententiæ excommunication.[78]
On 24 January 2009, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of the four consecratees, but the Society has not returned into full communion with the Holy See. |
| UAOC schism of 1989 | Ukraine | 22 October 1989 | 15 December 2018 | Russian Orthodox Church | Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church | |
| Teruel movement | Republic of the Philippines | 13 July 1991 | – | Catholic Church | Holy Trinity Catholic movement | It started in the early 1970s as the Holy Trinity Catholic movement, a Catholic lay organization in Hermosa, Bataan founded by Maria Virginia Leonzon.[79] On 13 July 1991 her son, John Florentine Teruel, was consecrated patriarch by Old Catholic and Orthodox bishops, and the organization formally separated itself from the Catholic Church. It was then registered as the Apostolic Catholic Church on 7 June 1992. By that time, the movement had already spread throughout the Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada and the United States of America.[79] |
| Bulgarian Old Calendarist schism of 1993 | Republic of Bulgaria | 17 January 1993 | – | Bulgarian Orthodox Church | Old Calendarists in Bulgaria | The Bulgarian Orthodox Church adopted the revised Julian calendar in 1968. The Protection Convent near Sofia became a center of the resistance to this adoption. In 1993, Fotiy Siromakhov of Triadista was consecrated bishop by the Cyprianite Old Calendarist Church to be hierarch of the Bulgarian Old Calendarists.[66] On 16 December 2024, the Supreme Court of Cassation ruled in favor of the Old Calendar Bulgarian Orthodox Church entering the register of religious denominations.[80][81] This action was accepted by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as the creation of a schism.[82]
Part of True Orthodox movement. |
| ROCOR schism of 1994 | Francis F. Palmer House, Manhattan, New York County, State of New York, United States of America | 5 September 1927 | – | Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia | Russian Orthodox Free Church | The Russian Orthodox Free Church later became Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church in October 1998.
Part of True Orthodox movement. |
| Moscow–Constantinople schism of 1996 | Danilov Monastery, Danílovskiy rayon, Yuzhny administrativny okrug, Gorod federal'nogo znacheniya Moskva, Russian Federation | 23 February 1996 | 16 May 1996 | Eastern Orthodox Church | Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Russian Orthodox Church | It began on 23 February 1996 when the Russian Orthodox Church severed full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople,[83] and ended on 16 May 1996 when the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate reached an agreement.[83][84] |
