A division of the church (6)
I believe the answer is:
schism
This clue is a double definition.
'a division' is the first definition.
(I know that schism is a type of division)
'church' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
'of the' is the link.
(Other definitions for schism that I've seen before include "Split based on opposing beliefs" , "Breach or split in a church" , "Division of a group into opposing factions" , "Formal division of a church into two" , "Friction or division in church organisation" .)