Lay Agency in the Context of Ecclesiastical Crisis

While much historiography on the development of, and crises within, religious traditions focuses on leaders, which most often consists of the clergy, this volume proposes a different perspective. By centering the role of lay agency, this volume brings factors beyond the theological into clearer view. Lay agency, exercised by both women and men, encompasses activities such as funding, social networking, legal advice, book production, housing, and liturgical apparel. Case studies drawn from the 1723 – 1724 Utrecht schism provide a kaleidoscopic view of lay agency, while also suggesting that similar approaches be applied in other historical contexts.

Peter-Ben Smit is Professor, by Special Appointment, of Ancient Catholic Church Structures at Utrecht University; Professor of Contextual Biblical Interpretation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Professor Extraordinary of Biblical Studies at Stellenbosch University.Genji Yasuhira is Associate Professor of European History at Kyoto University, Japan. He is the author of Catholic Survival in the Dutch Republic: Agency in Coexistence and the Public Sphere in Utrecht, 1620-1672 (Amsterdam, 2024). He is currently working on Catholics and citizenship in the Dutch Republic, c. 1672-1750.Dick Schoon is lecturer in Church History at the Old Catholic Seminary and was from 2008-2026 Bishop of Haarlem. He is the author of multiple works on the history of the Cleresie and the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, including: Van bisschoppelijke Cleresie tot Oud-Katholieke Kerk. Bijdrage tot de geschiedenis van het katholicisme in Nederland in de 19de eeuw (2004) and Een aartsbisschop aangeklaagd in Rome. Dagboeken over het verblijf van Petrus Codde te Rome (1700-1703) (2019).