The noun schisma, from which English derives 'schism,' names a splitting or tearing apart, applied both to material objects and to human communities. Jesus uses the concrete image of a tear in cloth to warn against patching an old garment with unshrunk fabric (Matt 9:16; Mark 2:21), since the new patch pulls away and the schisma becomes worse. John's Gospel deploys the word three times for divisions of opinion among the Jewish crowd and leaders over Jesus' identity (John 7:43; 9:16; 10:19). Paul then elevates the term to its most theologically charged register, urging the Corinthians that there be 'no divisions' among them (1 Cor 1:10) and lamenting the schismata visible at their communal meals (1 Cor 11:18).