EXCOMMUNICATION. Exclusion by formal sentence from the fellowship of t he Church. The ancient had something analogous in the exclusion from the temples and from participation in the sacrifices of certain per sons, who were over with h awe-inspiring to the furies. The ln w de creed exeonimunica ion in the ease of certain offenses. and the intimate connection of civil and evelesiastical under the Jewish polity rendered it a dreaded punishment. In the time of Christ it was a recognized penalty in practice (see John ix. 22; xii. 42; xvi. 2). A distinction is drawn in the Mishna between two degrees of excommunication; of these, the milder (cherent) involved exclusion from the life of the community for thirty days, with the performance of penances and the wearing of mourning apparel. Twenty four causes are enumerated, most of them of a civil nature, which justified this form of penalty. The heavier sentence (nidflui) was pronounced with great formality of solemn curses, and was for an indefinite time. Little is definitely known about the possibility and the manner of recon ciliation. Some have thought they found a third species of excommunication in the expression shantmatha; but this is properly a general term, which may be applied to either of the foregoing. A similar power was recognized from the first in the Christian Church (see Matt. xviii. 17; I. Cor. v. 5; I. Tim. i. 20). Further proofs that it has always claimed the power of excommuni cation are to be found in such early writers as lrenuus, Cyprian, Basil, Leo the Great, and Am brose. The fathers spoke of two forms of excom munication, medicinal and mortal—that is, heal ing or reformatory and damnatory. The two de grees of excommunication, major and minor, were early distinguished. Minor excommunication in volved exclusion from the sacrament of the Lord's Supper and from other privileges of the Church. :Major excommunication was pronounced upon obstinate sinners, relapsed offenders, and heretics. Its form was usually more solemn and the de cree not so easily revoked. The term of the ex eonimunication was left to the bishop. (See ABSOLUTION.) In Africa and Spain the absolu tion of lapsed persons—that is. those who in
times of persecution had yielded and fallen away from their Christian professions by actual sacri fice to idols—was forbidden except at the hour of death, unless by the special intercession of martyrs. At first no civil disabilities were con nected with excommunication, but as govern ments became Christian, major excommunication was followed by loss of political rights and ex clusion from public ofliee. The capitularies of Pepin the Short, in the eighth century, ordained that major excommunication should be followed by banishment. Other national laws still further extended the scope of the ecclesiastical censure. By a logical consequence a sentence of excom munication directed against the ruler deprived him of his rights to govern, and by that fact ab solved his subjects from their allegiance to him. When such a purpose was intended, however, a special sentence to that effect was attached to the bull of excommunication. The reformers claimed the power of excommunication in the same de gree as the Church from which they seceded. Luther, as may he seen from the Table Talk, insisted on the right of excommunication as in herent in the ministers of the Church. Calvin (see Dyer, Life of (oir.in. London, 1S50) assert. ed that exeommuni•ation is of the very essence of the ministry. At first civil disabilities, as in teneva, followed excommunication in reform communities. Later this ceased to he the prac tice. Nevertheless in England, until 1S13, per sons eNeom ninnies t ed were debarred from bring ing or maintaining act ions, from serving as jury men, from appearing as witnesses in any cause, and from practicing as attorneys in any of the courts of the realm. All these disabilities were removed by statute (53d Geo. 111., ch. P27), and the excommunicate were deelared no longer liable to any penalty, except "such imprisonment, not exceeding six months, as the court pronouncing or declaring such person excommunicate shall direct." By the laws of the United States, ex communication cannot be made to involve the less of civil rights, and the civil courts cannot be used to enforce the restoration of church membership.