Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

"Wherefore, as children of light and truth, flee from division and wicked doctrines; but where the shepherd is, there do ye as sheep follow. … For as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the bishop. And as many as shall, in the exercise of repentance, return into the unity of the Church, these, too, shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ” (Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Philadelphians).

As therefore the Lord did nothing without the Father, being united to Him, neither by Himself nor by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and presbyters. Neither endeavor that anything appears reasonable and proper to yourselves apart; but being come together into the same place, let there be one prayer, one supplication, one mind, one hope, in love and joy undefiled. There is one Jesus Christ, than whom nothing is more excellent” (Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Magnesians”).

These two quotes, brethren, come to us from one of the most beloved Apostolic Fathers, a father whose partial remains now reside in our temple: St. Ignatius of Antioch. He is remembered for his “manliness”—courage—in the face of pagan idolatry, accusations of atheism, and the threat of wild beasts. He was an early champion of sacramental theology and apostolic ecclesiology. Here, he does not delve deep theologically, but offers a practical admonition, in concord with the Apostle in his Letter to the Ephesians,

“I beseech you, [brethren], to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called… endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:1, 3).

“Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” in the words of the Apostle. And in the words of St. Ignatius: “Come together into the same place; let there be one prayer, one supplication, one mind, one hope, in love and joy undefiled.”

            “Schism,” brethren, here discouraged by the Apostle and by the disciple of another apostle, may be rooted in a difference of doctrine. That is to say, “schism” may be the result of a kind of “big ticket” disunity: an ontological, Christological, or ecclesiological disagreement between the brethren. This kind of schism is dreadful. This kind of schism often affects hundreds, and thousands, and hundreds of thousands of believers. When Rome and Constantinople split, the Christian world quaked, and the missiological witness of the Church has suffered terribly in its wake. This kind of schism—institutional and denominational—is usually heavily publicized and criticized and scandalized. When we think of “schism,” do we not think of such textbook examples: the Oriental and Chalcedonian schism post-Chalcedon, ca. 451? The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox schism, so termed, the “Great Schism,” of 1054 (or 1204, or 1272, depending on your intellectual persuasion…)? Or a most recent example, the United Methodist and Methodist schism of recent years? Yes, this kind of schism is large, and devastating, and chronicled in history books. But there is another kind of schism, brethren, equally harmful, and more pervasive, though we too rarely address it as such.

            In his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul writes,

“[T]here should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor 12:25-27).

“There should be no division [schimsa, ‘schism’].” There should be no schism in the body.” Brethren, is it possible that there could be schism in the body of Christ without doctrinal disagreement? Is it possible that there could be schism without formal ecclesiological division?

“I… beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love” (Eph 4:1-2).

Brethren, we may all confess the consubstantial Trinity. We may all worship the hypostatic, theanthropic Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, who was crucified, died, buried, resurrected, and ascended for our salvation. We may all partake of the same Eucharistic Mystery. We may all bow to the same bishop. But! When we slander one another; when we act in anger against one another; when we envy one another; when we are impatient with, cruel with, callous with one another… then we also run the risk of a real, spiritual schism. No, the physical Church might not divide because of these sinful and temperamental actions. When we are judgmental and hateful of the brethren a rival parish might not form. But the Body of Christ is damaged, nonetheless.

            “Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” says the Apostle. And how do we behave peaceably? What are the outward signs of our peaceable proclivity towards the brethren? We act, St. Paul says, in “lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.” Summarily, we act “humbly and compassionately.” We act humbly and compassionately.

            I am sure, brethren, that there have been many things I have done or said over the years that have offended you. Surely, there have been things that you have done and said that have irritated me. These “instances of offense” are the product of a proud spirit, that is, on the part of the one being offended. They are instances of not bearing one another’s burdens. They are instances of not “walking in all lowliness and gentleness.” They are instances of a momentary spiritual schism. If they remain just this, thank God! We may “repent and return to brotherly union,” as St. Ignatius says. But if they are left untreated, unaddressed, if we nurse these offenses, and allow them to become—God forbid!—dispositions, then surely, they are as good as schism. “He’s just like that, always argumentative, always a little weird, quirky.” “Why does she behave like that: loud, obnoxious, scatter-brained?” “He doesn’t come to anything, always tardy, doesn’t participate, doesn’t seem to care; thinks he’s better than us, smarter than us… .” When we begin, brethren, to view and to treat people as caricatures, when we fail to recognize the humanity of another, “Christ in the other,” then surely, we are culpable of schism; we are culpable of the sin of the Corinthian church, of thinking “Because [he or she] is a hand [or a foot or an elbow or… an arse, he] is not a part of the body” (cf. 1 Cor 12:15-20). Yes, we are culpable of the sin and schism of spiritual elitism, and judgmentalism.

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph 4:5-6; italics mine).

When we are tempted, brethren, to minimize another; when we are tempted to complain, or to gossip, to “put down” another, so as to elevate ourselves, then we must remember: here is Christ, in this brother, in this sister. Does this mean that we cannot challenge one another, cannot acknowledge sin, cannot hold one another accountable, cannot edify one another through discourse, disagreement, even discipline? No, of course not! But in all things, in all things, we must act in sincerity, in humility and love.

“Neither endeavor that anything appears reasonable and proper to yourselves apart; but being come together into the same place, let there be one prayer, one supplication, one mind, one hope, in love and joy undefiled (St. Ignatius, “Letter to the Magnesians,” italics mine).

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, especially our father, Ignatius the “God-bearer” of Antioch, O Lord, Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!