Conciliarity is the adherence of various Christian communities to the authority of ecumenical councils and to synodal church governance. It is not to be confused with conciliarism, which is a particular historical movement within the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Different churches interpret conciliarity in different ways.

Catholic Church

The government of the Catholic Church is essentially monarchical, both on a papal and episcopal level. Catholic doctrine does regard ecumenical councils as legitimate but extraordinary sources of authority. They can only be called by a pope. A pope can prorogue a council (as Pius IX prorogued the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

in 1871). If a pope dies in the middle of a council the council immediately loses its source of authority. His successor must renew the council, as happened when Pope Paul VI succeeded Pope John XXIII in 1963, when the Second Vatican Council was sitting.Conciliarism: A History of Decision-Making in the Church
Valliere, P. 2012. CUP. Retrieved: 27/05/18 The decisions of an ecumenical council do not become authoritative until approved by the pope. Popes are not bound by the decisions of ecumenical councils, nor by the mandate to implement a council's decisions. However, since the decrees of an ecumenical council are regarded as expressing the mind of the Church and of Jesus Christ, a pope would not normally ignore a council. The decisions of ecumenical councils, approved by the pope, are binding upon all the clergy and laity, subject to papal regulation. Lesser councils also play a part in the governance of the Catholic Church. The Synod of Bishops is an assembly of bishops which advise the pope in the government of the Church. On a national level, there is the episcopal conference, regulating national issues. These conferences do not, however, exercise authority over particular dioceses.

Eastern Orthodox churches

Churches of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

communion view ecumenical councils as the supreme norm of government.

Protestant churches

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

communities tend to deny or downplay the authority of ecumenical councils, though many do adhere to synodal government. This is not the case with Anglicans; the authority of the ecumenical councils is more firmly recognized by Anglo-Catholics (high-church Anglicans).The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies
Chapman, M, D et al. 2015. OUP. Retrieved:27/05/18

Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodox churches

Protestant churches

See also

References

Further reading