Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means "out of communion," or, "once was in communion, but now is not". (Sections in alphabetical order.) ( Excommunications )

Christianity

Anathema

The biblical form of excommunication is to declare one anathema. The difference between an anathema and excommunication is that generally excommunications are pronounced by the Catholic Church, which has created a ceremony that corresponds to them. Anathemas were employed in the New Testament. Galatians 1:8 “But even if we, or an angel from Heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed"! Then also, 1 Corinthians 16:22 "If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed". Furthermore, Anathemas were used as late as 553 A.D. at the Second Council of Constantinople. They would take the name of excommunication by the Roman Catholic Church. Following the Protestant Reformation many reformed churches would return to using anathema.

Calvin's view on excommunication

In John Calvin's Institutes of The Christian Religion, he said (4.12.10):

For when our Saviour promises that what his servants bound on earth should be bound in heaven, (Matthew 18: 18,) he confines the power of binding to the censure of the Church, which does not consign those who are excommunicated to perpetual ruin and damnation, but assures them, when they hear their life and manners condemned, that perpetual damnation will follow if they do not repent. [Excommunication] rebukes and animadverts upon his manners; and although it ... punishes, it is to bring him to salvation, by forewarning him of his future doom. If it succeeds, reconciliation and restoration to communion are ready to be given. ... Hence, though ecclesiastical discipline does not allow us to be on familiar and intimate terms with excommunicated persons, still we ought to strive by all possible means to bring them to a better mind, and recover them to the fellowship and unity of the Church: as the apostle also says, "Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother" (2 Thessalonians 3: 15). If this humanity be not observed in private as well as public, the danger is, that our discipline shall degenerate into destruction.

Some Reformed churches today do not make use of excommunication (or church discipline in its lesser forms), though it is often still required by their constitutions.

Roman Catholic Church

Excommunication is the most serious ecclesiastical penalty for Roman Catholics. While a person excommunicated is not damned by the Church, the person is barred from participating in its communal life. The outward sign of this loss of community involves barring the person from participating in liturgy, i.e., receiving the Eucharist or the other Sacraments. Certain other rights and privileges normally resulting from membership in the church are revoked, such as holding ecclesiastical office. Excommunication is intended to be only temporary, a "medicinal" procedure intended to guide the offender toward repentance. In the Roman Catholic Church excommunication is usually terminated by repentance, confession, and absolution. Excommunications offences must be absolved by a more senior official or a priest that has permission from a senior official.

Automatic excommunication

There are a few offenses for which Latin Rite Roman Catholics are automatically excommunicated (the Latin term is Latæ Sententiæ):

1. Apostasy,
2. Heresy,
3. Schism,
4. Desecration of the Eucharist,
5. Physical force against the Pope,
6. Attempted sacramental absolution of a partner in adultery,
7. Ordination of a bishop without a Papal mandate (e.g. all bishops in the government-run Chinese Patriotic Church),
8. Violation of the sacramental seal of confession by a priest or bishop, and
9. Procurement of a completed abortion.

Also, in the matter of Papal conclaves, all who are present in the conclave, including Cardinals and aides, are bound by oath to keep the details of the conclave secret. Only the Pope can allow details on the election to be released. If anyone present at the conclave reveals secret information without the authorization of the Pope, that person would face automatic excommunication. Simony - or selling of church offices - also would result in automatic excommunication in the case of a Papal election.

Unless an ecclesiastical court finds that the offense in question occured, the obligation to observe an automatic excommunication is on the excommunicated and not the rest of the clergy (Can. 1331 §1). Thus, even though an automatic excommunicant is forbidden to exercise any ecclesiastical offices, the excommunicant still retains the offices and all such acts are still valid acts under the law unless there has been a trial and finding of fact. Once this occurs, all subsequent acts become void and all offices lost (Can. 1331 §2).

The removal of the excommunication incurred by offenses 4 through 7 is reserved to the Holy See through the Apostolic Penitentiary.

Some ecclesiastical offenses incur an automatic interdict, which for a lay person is virtually equivalent to excommunication.

Eastern Orthodox Communion

In the Orthodox Church, excommunication is the exclusion of a member from the Eucharist. It is not expulsion from the Church. This can happen due to minor reasons like not having confessed within that year or be imposed as part of a penitential period. It is generally done with the goal of eventually restoring the member to full communion. The Orthodox Church does have a means of expulsion, by pronouncing anathema, but this is reserved only for acts of serious and unrepentant heresy. Even in that case, the individual is not "damned" by the Church but is instead left to his own devices.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("LDS Church"; see also Mormon) practices excommunication (as well as the lesser sanctions of disfellowshipping and probation) as penalties for those who commit serious sins.

The decision to excommunicate a Melchizedek Priesthood holder is generally the province of the leadership of a Stake, which consists of several local wards. Excommunications occur only after a formal "church court" in which twelve members of the Stake High Council listen to evidence and then vote.

Those who are excommunicated lose the right to take the sacrament and lose their church membership. In many cases notices of excommunications are made public, but the specific reasons for individual excommunications are typically kept confidential.

Persons who have had been excommunicated are welcome and encouraged to attend church meetings, but cannot participate in the meetings, cannot enter LDS temples, or wear temple garments. Excommunicated members may be re-baptized after a waiting period and sincere repentance, as judged by a series of interviews with church leaders.

Excommunication is generally reserved for what are seen as the most serious sins, including committing serious crimes; committing adultery, polygamy, or homosexual conduct; apostasy, teaching false doctrines, or openly criticizing LDS leaders. In the case of apostasy, false teachings, and being openly critical of LDS leadership, excommunication is often a last resort after repeated warnings.

(As a lesser penalty, Latter-day Saints may be disfellowshipped, which does not include a loss of church membership. Once disfellowshipped, persons but may not take sacrament or enter LDS temples, nor may they participate in other church meetings, though disfellowshipped persons may attend most LDS functions and are permitted to wear temple garments. For lesser sins, or in cases where the sinner appears truly repentant, individuals may be put on probation for a time, which means that further sin will result in disfellowshipment or excommunication.)

Some critics have charged that LDS leaders have used the threat of excommunication to silence or punish LDS researchers who disagree with established policy and doctrine, or who study or discuss controversial subjects. A notable case is the so-called September Six.

However, LDS policy dictates that local leaders are responsible for excommunication, without influence from General Church leadership, arguing this policy is evidence against systematic persecution of scholars. In contrast, some claim that LDS leadership keeps watch on certain apostate groups such as Sunstone and the message boards at exmormon.org and report on speakers (and topics) to their local leaders. Apologists further suggest that some alleged excommunications never take place, or are used as a publicity stunt. See the case of Thomas Murphy, who claimed he was threatened with excommunication or other disciplinary action because his opinion of how his DNA research challenges LDS teachings. (see Archaeology and the Book of Mormon). Such an excommunication has neither taken place nor been arranged in Murphy's case.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Main article: Practices of Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses practice excommunication—using the term disfellowshipping—in cases where a member violates Bible requirements as understood by Jehovah's Witnesses.

When a member confesses or is accused of a serious sin, the elders of the congregation form a judicial committee of three to five local elders. This committee will investigate the case and determine guilt, and if the person is deemed guilty, the committee will determine if the person is repentant. Repentance is completely based upon evidence of repentance, which includes the attitude of being sorry and ‘works befitting repentance,’ as referred to in Acts 26:20 and 2 Corinthians 7:11, such as trying to correct the wrong or making apologies to any offended individuals. A person may even be “brought” to repentance right within the judicial meeting itself, expressing acknowledgement of the wrong with a contrite heart and a resolve not to repeat the offense. These are all just manifestations of true sorrow for the sin committed.

If the person is found guilty and is unrepentant, he will be disfellowshipped. This is made formal by an announcement at the next congregation meeting that the person is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

If the person believes that an error in judgment has been made by the committee, he has the right to appeal. The traveling overseer responsible for the area will appoint three additional elders comprising an appeal committee to review the proceedings together with the original committee. This enlarged committee may uphold or reverse the original decision.

After a period of time, a disfellowshipped person may apply to be be reinstated into the congregation. The original judicial committee will meet with him to determine repentance, and if this is established, the person will be reinstated into the congregation, but is prohibited from commenting at meetings or holding any privileges for a period set by the judicial committee. (Or, if the applicant is in a different area, the person will meet with a local judicial committee that will communicate with either the original judicial committee if available or a new one in the original congregation.)

Controversy

Also recently in the Jehovah's Witness organization, there has been some controversy with their disfellowshipping practices as regard to the recent sex abuse scandals. Claims of disfellowshipping being used as a punishment to silence outspoken members of the religious group have become numerous. Although there may have been cases where the directives from the organization were not followed properly, the official position of Jehovah's Witnesses is not to try to silence anyone who has been a recipient or knows of child abuse. They are informed that they have every right, without congregational ramifications, to inform authorities of the child abuse. In many cases, the law itself requires the elders who are aware of the incident to report the case to the local authorities. In states where this is not required, it is left to the offended parties to do so without any congregational sanctions of any kind against them.

Apostasy

Those who have become disfellowshipped or have disassociated themselves for whatever reason and then actively work against what Jehovah's Witnesses believe to be the Christian organization and teachings, are viewed as apostates.

Islam

Main article: Takfir

In Islam, takfir is a declaration deeming an individual or group kafir, meaning non-believers.

Judaism

Cherem is the highest ecclesiastical censure in Judaism. It is the total exclusion of a person from the Jewish community. Except in rare cases in the Ultra-Orthodox community, cherem stopped existing after The Enlightenment, when local Jewish communities lost their political autonomy, and Jews were integrated into the greater gentile nations which they lived in. A fuller discussion of this subject is available in the cherem article.

External links

• Catholic Encycopedia on excommunication
• The two sides of excommunication