Conciliarist Tradition

In the early fifteenth century, the general council assembled at Constance and, representing the universal Church, put an end to the scandalous schism which for almost forty years had divided the Latin Church between rival lines of claimants to the papal office. It did so by claiming and exercising an authority superior to that of the pope, an authority by virtue of which it could impose constitutional limits on the exercise of his prerogatives, stand in judgementover him, and if need be, depose him for wrongdoing. In so acting the council gave historic expression to a tradition of conciliarist constitutionalism which long competed for the allegiance of Catholics worldwide with the high papalist monarchical vision that was destined to triumph in 1870 atVatican I and to become identified with Roman Catholic orthodoxy itself. This book sets out to reconstruct the half-millennial history of that vanquished rival tradition.

One greatly appreciates the thoroughness, persuasiveness and eloquence of this book., ... The fruit of a life's work. Francis Oakley, who has studied the subject for over forty years, here presents a synthesis by dealing sequentially with contested issues., This elegant and vividly written book is never jargon-ridden or obscure; it is closley argued, and makes demands on its readers. It is also hugely important, a model of service the church historian has to offer the church., The mastery shown of both primary sources and secondary literature is exceptional. The book is likely to remainthe point of departure for studies in the field for many years to come., The ideas discussed in this book are old, but of enormous contemporary relevance.