Conciliarism

A History of Decision-Making in the Church

Paul Valliere

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781139227841
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Christianity

Conciliarism is one of the oldest and most essential means of decision-making in the history of the Christian church. Indeed, as a leading Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann states, 'Before we understand the place and the function of the council in the church, we must, therefore, see the church herself as a council.' Paul Valliere tells the story of councils and conciliar decision-making in the Christian church from earliest times to the present. Drawing extensively upon the scholarship on conciliarism which has appeared in the last half-century, Valliere brings a broad ecumenical perspective to the study and shows how the conciliar tradition of the Christian past can serve as a resource for resolving conflicts in the church today. The book presents a conciliarism which involves historical legacy, but which leads us forward, not backward, and which keeps the church's collective eyes on the prize - the eschatological kingdom of God.

Table of contents

• Cover
• CONCILIARISM
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1: The conciliar testament
• CHAPTER 2: The conciliar tradition
• CHAPTER 3: The conciliar theory
• CHAPTER 4: Conciliarism in Anglican experience
• CHAPTER 5: The Pan-Anglican Council
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index