The Great Schism
By Clemens Cavallin, European Conservative.
The collision of major ideological tectonic plates has created a fault line that runs through most Christian organizations, institutions, and movements. Old cracks are widening, while new cracks appear with worrying speed. The threat level of schism is high. In February 2023, the Anglican community ruptured when the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) rejected the Archbishop of Canterbury as leader of the worldwide Anglican communion. It was a reaction to the decision of the Church of England earlier that same month to begin blessing same-sex couples. GSFA wrote in its statement:
As much as the GSFA Primates also want to keep the unity of the visible Church and the fabric of the Anglican Communion, our calling to be ‘a holy remnant’ does not allow us to be “in communion” with those provinces that have departed from the historic faith and taken the path of false teaching.
This particular fissure runs along the line dividing the West from the global south of Africa and Asia, which for England corresponds to the boundary between former colonizers and colonized. Reasons for the schism are thus not merely superficial cultural differences, but run deep into civilizational bedrock.
Likewise, in the Catholic Church the bond of ecclesial communion is wearing thin. Former whispers of heresy and schism, especially in Germany, have become open warnings by bishops and cardinals. In his final cri de cœur, the late Cardinal Pell used similar language as the African and Asian primates of the former Anglican communion.
The synods have to choose whether they are servants and defenders of the apostolic tradition on faith and morals, or whether their discernment compels them to assert their sovereignty over Catholic teaching.
Fault Lines
The situation is serious, and believers and non-believers alike should pay attention.
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