- Councilarism
Councilarism is a theological view expressed from the late middle ages on. It states that ecumenical councils, representing the bishops of the Catholic Church are above the Roman pontiff.
These views were most prominently expressed during the Ecumenical
Council of Constance (1414-1418) and in the following councils inBasel (1431-1437),Ferrara (1437-1439) andFlorence (1439-1442) These councils witnessed an ongoing debate regarding the superiority of ecumenical councils over the papacy.At the beginning of the Council of Constance there was the great schism, with three popes, each claiming legitimacy. One of them, John XXIII called for the Council to take place in Konstance, Germany, hoping to get additional legitimation from the council. When the public opinion moved against him in March 1415, he fled to
Schaffhausen [Hubert Jedin , "Kleine Konzilsgeschichte", Freiburg, Herder, 1960, 66] and went into hiding in sevralBlack Forest villages such asSaig . After his flight, the Council issued the famous declaration "Sacrosancta", which declared, that any pope is below not above an ecumenical council. The council deposed all three popes and installedPope Martin V , [Jedin 69] who made his peace with John XXIII be installing him as a cardinal.Quotes
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