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Anathema

A solemn ecclesiastical condemnation — formal separation from the Church's communion.

Anathema means 'set apart.' In ecclesiastical usage it became the strongest form of condemnation: formal separation from the body of Christ. The Ecumenical Councils pronounced anathemas against heretics; the Synodikon of Orthodoxy lists all the heresies condemned over seven centuries. Anathema declares a position incompatible with the Christian faith — more final and public than excommunication.