APOSTASY

Table of Contents 

1. Theological and Canonical Definition of Apostasy
2. Distinction between Apostasy, Heresy and Schism
3. Essential Characteristics of Apostasy
4. Causes and Forms of Apostasy
5. Traditional Canonical Sanctions
6. Duties towards the Apostate

Conclusion

Note

 

1. Theological and Canonical Definition of Apostasy

 

The term apostasy comes from the Greek ἀποστασία, meaning ‘abandonment’, ‘defection’ or ‘revolt’.

In theology and canon law, apostasy denotes the total abandonment of the Christian faith received through baptism.

 

The Code of Canon Law of 1917 defines it in canon 1325 § 2:

 

‘Post receptum baptismum si quis, nomen retinens christianum, pertinaciter aliquam ex veritatibus fide divina et catholica credendis denegat aut de ea dubitat, haereticus ; si a fide christiana totaliter recedit, apostata ; si denique subesse renuit Summo Pontifici aut cum membris Ecclesiae ei subiectis communicare recusat, schismaticus est.’

 

‘Any person who, after having received baptism and whilst retaining the name of Christian, obstinately denies any of the truths of divine and Catholic faith which must be believed, or doubts it, is a heretic; if he totally withdraws from the Christian faith, he is an apostate; if finally he refuses to submit to the Supreme Pontiff or refuses to communicate with the members of the Church subject to him, he is a schismatic.’

 

Saint Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa Theologica (IIa-IIae, q. 12, a. 1), explains:

‘Apostasia importat quandam recessionem a Deo…. et ideo est peccatum infidelitatis, quo aliquis recedit a fide.’

‘Apostasy implies a certain withdrawal from God…. and therefore it is a sin of infidelity, by which someone withdraws from the faith.’

 

Saint Thomas speaks first of apostasy in general, then distinguishes apostasy from the faith (‘quæ est gravissima infidelitatis species’) from religious or moral apostasy.

 

Apostasy from the faith is ‘the most grave species of infidelity’ (fides means ‘faith’ in Latin): the rejection or refusal of the faith that had to be accepted.

Thus, the apostate was a baptised faithful, he has become unfaithful by rejecting the entirety of the Christian faith, unlike the heretic who denies a particular point.

 

We then distinguish public apostasy from the internal sin of apostasy (withdrawal of interior consent to the faith without external act), which does not fall under the canonical forum, but is nevertheless a grave sin before God.

 

2. Distinction between Apostasy, Heresy and Schism

 

These three offences against the faith or the unity of the Church are quite distinct, as indicated by canon 1325 §2 of the code:

 

• Heresy consists in the obstinate refusal, after baptism, to believe a truth revealed by God and proposed by the Church as of divine and Catholic faith. Example: denying the divinity of Christ or transubstantiation.

 

• Schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him, without necessarily denying a dogma. For example: constituting a separate ecclesial community, rejecting legitimate papal authority.

 

Schism not necessarily implying formal heresy, often leads to it in the history of the Church. Saint Jerome wrote: ‘Caeterum nullum schisma non sibi aliquam confingit haeresim, ut recte ab ecclesia recessisse videatur.’ ‘Moreover, there is no schism which does not forge some heresy for itself, so that it may appear to have rightly separated from the Church.’ (Commentarius in Epistulam ad Titum, chap. III, vv. 10–11).

 

• Apostasy, more grave, is the total abandonment of the Christian faith, leading to atheism, a non-Christian religion or indifferentism. Example: a baptised person who openly adheres to Islam, to Buddhism or who professes agnosticism.

 

3. Essential Characteristics of Apostasy

 

For apostasy to be formal and entail canonical penalties, it requires:

 

1. A valid baptism, for no one can abandon what he has not received.
2. The use of reason, excluding children or the insane.
3. A voluntary and conscious rejection of the entirety of the Christian faith.
4. An external manifestation, for a purely interior act is not canonically justiciable.

 

4. Causes and Forms of Apostasy

 

The principal causes include:

 

lCulpable ignorance, often due to deficient catechesis.

lEcclesiastical scandals, such as betrayals by pastors or doctrinal compromises.

lWorldly influences, notably modernism, which relativises truths of faith.

lSaint Pius X, in Pascendi Dominici Gregis (§ 53), denounces modernism:

 

‘Modernismus…nemo mirabitur si sic illud definimus, ut omnium haeresium conlectum esse affirmemus.’ (‘No one will be surprised if we define it [modernism] thus, as the collection of all heresies.’) It prepares for apostasy by undermining dogmatic foundations.

 

The forms of apostasy include:

 

lPure apostasy: explicit abandonment of the Christian faith.

lPractical apostasy: participation in non-Christian cults or in incompatible societies, such as Freemasonry.

lImplicit apostasy: life incompatible with the faith, without formal declaration, but with effective rejection.

 

5. Traditional Canonical Sanctions

 

The Code of Canon Law of 1917 provides for latae sententiae penalties:

 

• Excommunication: ‘Omnes a christiana fide apostatae, et omnes haeretici aut schismatici, incurrunt ipso facto excommunicationem.’ (can. 2314 § 1) (All apostates from the Christian faith, and all heretics or schismatics, incur ipso facto excommunication.)

 

• For clerics: privation of offices, deposition (can. 188 § 4 ; can. 2314 § 2). According to canon 188 § 4, public defection from the faith entails tacit renunciation of any ecclesiastical office: ‘By tacit renunciation admitted ipso jure, any office whatsoever becomes vacant ‘ipso facto’ and without any declaration, if the cleric: … 4° has publicly defected from the Catholic faith.’

 

• Saint Paul warns: ‘Si quis non amat Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, sit anathema. Maranatha.’ (1Cor. 16, 22) ‘If anyone does not love our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. Maranatha!’ (see note at the end of the text).

 

6. Duties towards the Apostate

 

The Church seeks the return of the apostate through prayer, charitable preaching and canonical remedies (can. 2232 sq. and 2315). Mercy is allied to justice, according to patristic teaching: discipline is necessary to avoid spiritual ruin.

 

Conclusion

 

Apostasy, total rejection of the Christian faith, surpasses in gravity heresy and schism. It requires a firm and charitable response, in accordance with the principle: ‘Salus animarum in Ecclesia suprema lex esto.’ (‘The salvation of souls must be in the Church the supreme law’).

 

The theologians Wernz and Vidal in their Ius Canonicum (Romae, 1928, tom. I), confirm in effect this principle as the supreme rule in the Church.

 

Souls must be preserved from heresy, apostasy and schism.

 

Deo gratias.

 

Note off topic: ‘Maranatha’:

 

This term is an Aramaic expression, taken from Holy Scripture, specifically from the First Epistle of the Apostle Saint Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 16, verse 22. The word ‘Maranatha’ is a transliteration of the Aramaic ‘maranâ thâ’, which is composed of two parts: ‘maranâ’ (our Lord) and ‘thâ’ (come). It therefore translates literally as ‘Our Lord, come!’. An invocation which expresses the request for the second coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.