Cismáticos / Schismatics (DCH)

No. 2025-13

English Abstract: 

Schismatics were those who spontaneously and deliberately separated themselves from the mystical body of the Church. This entry examines situations of disobedience toward the figures of the Supreme Pontiff and the bishop, the loss of legitimate jurisdiction, which altered their relationship with the ecclesiastical community, and the corresponding penalties. The concept of schism was coined and further developed through controversies concerning matters of faith, disputes over papal succession, and pontificial policies in relation to the monarchies of the Old World. In a context marked by the disintegration of the European Christian world, intensified by the Lutheran Reformation, the New World was conceived as a suitable space for establishing paradise on earth and, therefore, as a “non-place” for schism. The article concludes with a brief historiographical overview of studies that have addressed schismatic behavior in early modern Spanish America.