Conciliarism
A History of Decision-Making in the Church

A comprehensive introduction to conciliarism, decision-making and conflict-resolution in the history of the Christian church.

Paul Valliere (Author)

9781107015746, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 February 2012

302 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.61 kg

'How to create legitimacy at the universal level for a group of distinct autonomous churches will be a question high on the agenda of the next archbishop of Canterbury. The suggestions offered in this fascinating and often tantalizing book might feasibly offer him a degree of hope for the future.' Sewanee Theological Review

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.

Introduction
1. The conciliar testament
2. The conciliar tradition
3. The conciliar theory
4. Conciliarism in Anglican experience
5. The Pan-Anglican Council
Conclusion
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Religion & beliefs [HR], British & Irish history [HBJD1]