Conciliar theory

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | 700+ words | Copyright

Conciliar theory. The doctrine that supreme authority in the Church lies with a General Council. The movement associated with the theory culminated in the 15th cent., but the foundations of it were laid in the early 13th, when canonists found difficulty in reconciling the increasing claims of Papal authority with the theoretical possibility of a heretical Pope. The outbreak of the Great Schism in 1378 raised the question of authority in an acute form. In 1380 Conrad of Gelnhausen advocated the summoning of a General Council, arguing that the absence of a single recognized Pope left the duty of convening it to the cardinals. In the early sessions of the Council of Constance it was claimed that the power of the Council came directly from Christ, but the very success of the Council in ending the schism weakened the position of the conciliarists. Pius II in 1460 specifically forbade appeals from the Pope to a future General Council, and after the 15th cent. support for the Conciliar theory waned.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Conciliar theory." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Conciliar theory." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Conciliartheory.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Conciliar theory." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Conciliartheory.html

Learn more about citation styles