Conciliar Movement Flashcards
What did Watanabe argue about the nature of the decree of the Council of Constance?
“Probably the most revolutionary official document in the history of the world is the decree of the Council of Constance asserting its superiority to the Pope”
What did Nicholas de Cusa assert concerning the General Council?
The surest and the truest approximation to the truth, the rock of the church, is the General Council, which represents the Universal Church less confusedly and more truthfully, and whose judgement is always more infallible than the Pope’s alone
Who did Nicholas de Cusa point to as authorities for his assertions?
Cusa points to Liberius, Honorius (Popes) who had erred in the past - evidence of human fallacy impacting the Pope, therefore encroaching on infallibility.
What does Thompson argue about the secular use of of conciliarism in France?
It was wielded as a weapon - kings regularly threatened a council in their struggles with the Papacy - consequently, conciliarism developed a strongly Gallican character
What was damaging to the intellectual integrity of the Council of Basel?
It refused to accomodate the Greeks, costing it strong intellects.
What was the Babylonian Capitivity of the Church?
1309-1377.
The beginning of the “Babylonian Captivity of the Church.” For 70 years the papacy was in Avignon and under the thumb of the King of France. The papacy was pro-France, and Britain was at war with France
Thompson: What was the dominant mode of thought in the Council of Constance?
The dominant mode of thought was that restoring unity in the church, with some reform, was the objective of the Council. Whilst some may have believed in the claims to supremacy of the General Council, these were in a minority.
When was the council of constance?
The Council of Constance is the 15th century ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Western Schism, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.
What was the conciliar movement?
- A Church movement centred on the three general councils of Pisa (1409), Constance (1414–18), and Basle (1431–49).
- Original purpose was to heal the papal schism caused by there being two, and later three, popes.
- The movement was successful, deposing or accepting the resignation of the popes concerned.
- It declared the superiority of a general council of the Church over the papacy, formulated in the decree Haec Sancta (sometimes called Sacrosancta) of 1415, and tried to make general councils a regular feature of the Western Church.
- It also dealt with various heresies, the council of Constance burning John Huss and condemning John Wyclif in 1415, and it initiated some reforms.
- The movement, in so far as it challenged papal authority, was eventually defeated by the papacy, but its long-term influence upon Christian Churches was considerable.
Who was Cesarini?
Cesarini was President of the Council of Basel, in which capacity he successfully resisted the efforts of Eugenius IV to dissolve the council, though later (1437) he withdrew, believing the majority of delegates present were more anxious to humiliate the pope than to accomplish reforms, for his first loyalty was to the idea of church unity.
What did Cesarini want, and why did he differ in approach to his colleagues?
Cesarini essentially wanted reform, but thought this could only come through discussion, rather than extreme doctrine.
Who wanted to more violently curb the power of the Pope during the council of Basel?
Caridnal of Aries, Louis d’Allemand - who had behind him the university of Paris and the French clergy behind him
Why did Basle fall apart?
People regularly ignored Cesarini - the French were set in demanding the next council to be held at Avignon, whilst Italian factoins were in favour of Florence or Udine - it had descended into secular national conflict
The Great Schism: What caused it?
- Gregory XI died within a year of returning to Rome, resulting in the election of Urban VI. Urban VI alienated his own court, and attempted to introduce an influx of Italian cardinals in order to outnumber the French, who dominated.
- College of Cardinals met in Avignon and voted for a new Pope - Clement VII - who resided there.
- In 1409, the Council of Pisa voted for the election of a new Pope, Alexander V, who was to be legitimate, though Benedict XIII of Avignon and Gregory XII of Rome, refused to accept the council’s decision.
Who followed Alexander V?
John XXIII
Who instigated the General Council of 1414?
Emperor Sigismund of Germany. He agreed to protect John XXIII only on condition that he agree to another general council.
Sigismund managed to assemble that council in 1414. They, like the previous council, rejected all the current popes, and they elected Pope Martin V.
Morrall: What does Gerson argue about the nature of Papal dominion?
Dominion is not absolute - would be lawful to oppose the Pope if he attempted unlawful aggression against the lives or proprty of the faithful
Who does Gerson channel in his works?
William of Ockham - evolving to argue that Gerson ensures to define the difference between dominium and potestas.
Morrall: What did Gerson suggest about the convention of the General Council, and what implications did this have about his understanding of the affair?
Only a Pope could convene a General Council, suggesting that Gerson did not desire a unilateral overhaul of the position
What is at the core of Gerson’s ecclesiology?
Conception of church as body incomplete without essential parts of constitution is at forefront of Gerson’s ecclesiology
What did Gerson do with the theme of the humility of the Incarnate Christ?
Taking as his theme the humility of the Incarnate Christ, as shown by His submission to the precepts of the Jewish Law, Gerson contrasts it with the worldly pomp and pride of many highly placed ecclesiastics
Why was Gerson particularly potent?
He attacked the entire ecclesiastical system. He attacked the excessive use of ecclesiastical censures and comments sharply on the Curia’s tendency to monopolize appointment to benefices.
What did Gerson do in 1409?
1409- Council of Pisa - Gerson breaches own beliefs on papal supremacy over church
Gerson provided 10 reasons for calling a GC without permission beyond heresy - “recourse to Epikeia and the purpose of law, which is peace” et al.
What did De Unitate Ecclesiastica advocate?
“the church has no less right to take extraordinary measures in its own defence than has any secular body - basis therefore not canon law, but divine and natural law”
Who was an early conciliarist?
D’Ailly - Attempted to graft onto the trunk of conciliarism the ideas deriving from the older oligarchic tradition of the Roman Curia.
What did Zabarella’s work do?
Outlined the model of a corporatist structured church
What did Figgis assert about the nature of the conciliar theorem, post-use?
It was Figgis’s great insight to see that the ideas of the fifteenth century conciliarists did not die away altogether, that they had a continuing afterlife in writings on secular constitutional theory. The conciliarists, he wrote, had formulated universal principles of politics that could be applied to any society.
What is D’Ailly often connoted with?
Strict conciliar theory
What were the ambitions of conciliarism?
- Demand for reform of the ‘head and members’ of the church, through periodic assemblies of councils
- Papacy should not be related to a nation or kingdom
- Prevention of bishops being under age/ too close to secular affairs
What was the outcome of the Council of Constance?
Outcome of Constance - Sacrosancta, which asserted that general councils, acting alone, are superior in authority to the pope, and Frequens, which provided for the assembly of such councils at frequent and regular intervals
What is the core of Figgis’ argument? (Figgis was a constitutionalist)
At its heart lay the belief that the pope was not an absolute monarch but rather in some sense a constitutional ruler
How did conciliar theory intersect with time
- Conciliar theory drew from the intellectual heritage of earlier constitutional developments.
- The later 16th and 17th century constitutional theorists would invoke conciliarism as an influential authority on certain matters.
What does Walter Ullmann argue about conciliar theory?
Conciliar theory, far from being a reaction against canonist views or a profane importation onto ecclesiastical soil, was in fact the logical outgrowth of certain strands of canonist thought itself, the outcome of the attempts of generations of canonists to rationalize the structure both of the individual churches and of the Universal Church.
What does Oakley contest about the nature of the conciliarist writers?
They did not turn to guidance to the customs of France or England, but rather, to the common law of the Universal Church
When did varying numbers of popes claim to be pope?
- 1378 - 2 people claimed to be Pope
- 1409 - 3 claimed to be Pope
What is Canning’s warning about conciliarism as a thing?
- might be more conservative than it looks
Why might it be considered conservative in nature?
- All worked on basic idea that the Clergy were superior to the Leity - not democratic
- Not Protestants before their time - were not trying to get rid of the Papacy
- Not to get rid of Pope, to control him
- Brian Tierney - Constitutional monarchy was the desire
- Alternative before the reformation
What are the key texts of the Bible which confer papal authority?
Matthew 16:18-19 - Upon this rock…
Matthew 18:15-20 - Power binding and loosening - given to Peter, not the disciples
Name some other important Biblical texts?
John 21:15-17 - feed my sheep
Luke 22-32 - prayer for Peter
What evidence of prior councils exist in antiquity?
Origins from early days of Christianity - Council of Jerusalem
Four Ecumenicals of antiquity (Ecumene - the world)
When was the last substantial Council prior to Constance?
Well, excluding Pisa! The Fourth Lateran Council, 1215 (Innocent III)
How did Baldus attempt to defend Urban VI?
Baldus, revered Lawyer - CoC, like soldiers, meant to be brave - election in fear not possible
