The canonical status of an Orthodox Church is not only reflected in the official title of a local Orthodox Church, but also in its relation to other local Churches in communion. The term “schismatic” is used to describe Christians who have separated themselves from the Church. From the examples we have read in Volume 1, several kinds of situations often produce schisms: politics, autocephaly, and misguided zeal in theological or dogmatic matters. The drive to dominate and assume absolute jurisdiction and spiritual authority often create more problems rather than the system of the “monarchic episcopate” and collegium inherited from apostolic foundations. Schisms relate significantly to canons and communion, since the breaking of church canons affects communion between local Churches. Thus, communion is an essential structure of the Church.
In the political sphere, for example, the Bolshevik revolution influenced the new theology that was pushed cunningly and aggressively by groups within the Church called “renovationists.” They split into their councils set up against the canonical Russian Orthodox Church. The Serbian Church suffered a separation when Christians within its jurisdiction declared their own autocephaly and called themselves the Macedonian Church who continued to receive support from the government after that. Another separated and uncanonical group from the Moscow Patriarchate who wanted to create an autocephalous church and who also still gain support from the secular authorities and nationalistic movements is called Orthodox Church of Ukraine. That unfortunate schism also continues today, and it affects many Orthodox Christians from both the Moscow and Constantinople Patriarchate who are now not allowed to commune with each other here or abroad.
On the grounds of theological zeal and the preservation of dogma, we have covered the Old Believers who separated themselves from the Russian Church because of liturgical reforms made by patriarch Nikon of Moscow in the 17th c., and thereafter they continued to split from each other even today. We read about another theological quarrel over a change from the Gregorian calendar to the “revised” Julian calendar. The group who split from the Orthodox Church in the 1940s because of this calendar reform is referred to as the Old Calendarists. Both drove the quarreling to the point of schism because of misguided zeal and, as it seems, most likely a misunderstanding of the canonical structure of the church.
There has not been throughout history, as it seems, a universally accepted system of achieving autocephaly, though the mother church and its autonomous daughter church should have mutual and healthy relationship before full independence is granted. Political changes are nearly constant and complicated. Autocephaly, as we’ve seen, unfortunately can become entangled in political scheming. Although secular governments are not keen on discerning the canonical status of churches, they can still help tremendously. We pray for leaders in government every liturgy for this reason. As in the case of Russia and Bulgaria, schisms can be overcome by political support and changes that favor the canonical position of each local Church. We know that theological schisms, such as the Monophysites and Arians, within Byzantium led many emperors to take action, which contributed to the Seven Ecumenical Councils in the Age of Ecumenical Councils. We know that ideological and theological controversies or councils can sometimes be a forerunner of schisms. They can be overcome and prevented in dangerous or peaceful times. The renovationist schism in Russia waned before the end of the Soviet era. In recent times, most of the local Orthodox Churches of the world signed statements indicating that the method of convening and some of the content of the “Pan-Orthodox” Cretan Council in 2016 was not following with the canonical traditions of the Orthodox Church faithfully. The Holy Trinity holds the ultimate power in Church affairs, according to the Orthodox Christian understanding. That power is mediated to us through the hierarchical and apostolic structure of the Church on which we are sanctified and on which we trust.