Ecumenical, Universal and General: The History and Impact of Church Councils (CH2183C)

Content

This unit will explore the history and impact of councils in the life of the Catholic Church from Nicaea (325) to Vatican II (1962-65). The unit will give an overview of the historical and theological contexts of councils against wider social, cultural and political forces operative at the time. The councils determined much of what the Church believes and how it articulates and lives its rich and diverse theological heritage across history. Various council texts will be examined in order to highlight the development of key theological ideas throughout the Christian tradition.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Prerequisites: 36 points of Church History

Pedagogy

Lectures and seminar discussion

Indicative Bibliography

• Bellitto, Christopher. The General Councils: A History of the Twenty-One Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2002.
• Burns, J H., and Thomas M. Izbicki., eds. Conciliarism and Papalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
• Colberg, Kristin. Vatican I and Vatican II: Councils in the Living Tradition. Collegeville, MN: Michael Glazier, 2016.
• Kelly, Joseph. The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2009.
• Noceti, Serena. Reforming the Church: A Synodal Way of Proceeding*. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2023.
• O’Malley, John. Vatican I: The Council and the Making of the Ultramontane Church. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2018.
• Oakley, Francis. The Conciliarist Tradition: Constitutionalism in the Catholic Church, 1300-1870. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
• Tanner, Norman P., ed. Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. 2 vols. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1990.
• Tanner, Norman P. The Church in Council: Conciliar Movements, Religious Practice and the Papacy from Nicaea to Vatican II. London: I.B. Tauris, 2011.
• Valliere, Paul. Conciliarism: A History of Decision-making in the Church. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Assessment