The Papacy, the Councils, and Reform: Constance, Basel, and Florence (CH9182C)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

This unit will present the work of the Councils of Constance (1414–1418), Basel (1431–1449) and Florence (1438), councils that produced effects that lasted well beyond the fifteenth century. Constance was called to heal the disastrous papal schism caused by the dubious elections in 1378 of two popes. When Europeans became aware that the Church was now divided and with no immediate prospect of uniting a divided papacy, there were calls to recover unity, but how to accomplish this was not obvious. As the schism continued, desire also arose to thoroughly reform the Church in head and members, especially urgent because of the conditions of the time. This unit will show how ideas about collegiality and reform developed at this time had echoes until the Second Vatican Council.

Unit code: CH9182C

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Articulate a critical understanding of the key primary texts of the councils of this period and their wider significance in conciliar history
2.

Evaluate the principal achievements of these councils in attempting the reform and unity of the Church
3.

Demonstrate the integration of advanced skills in the interpretation of key historical texts and formulate reasoned historical arguments in terms of the key areas of collegiality and reform.
4.

Define, develop and undertake a specific topic of research in a critically rigorous, sustained, and self-directed manner in the ongoing interpretation of conciliar historiography.
5.

Critically examine and contextualise the key theological ideas of this period to contemporary ecclesiastical concerns.

Pedagogy

Lectures and seminar discussion

Indicative Bibliography

  • Avis, Paul. Beyond the Reformation? Authority, Primacy and Unity in the Conciliar Tradition. London: T. & T. Clark, 2008.
  • Black, Antony. Council and Commune: The Conciliar Movement and the 15th Century Heritage. London: Patmos Press, 1979.
  • Burns, J. H. and Thomas M. Izbicki., eds. Conciliarism and Papalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
  • Martin, John J. Doctrinal Authority in the Church on the Eve of the Reformation Ann Arbor: University Films International, 1984.
  • Morrissey, Thomas. “The Decree ‘Haec Sancta’ and Cardinal Zabarella: His Role in the Interpretation and Formulation.” Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum 10 (1978): 145–176.
  • Oakley, Francis. The Conciliarist Tradition: Constitutionalism in the Catholic Church, 1300–1870. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
  • Rollo-Koster, J., and Thomas M. Izbicki., eds. A Companion to the Great Western Schism (1378–1417). Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition 17. Leiden: Brill, 2009.
  • Stieber, Joachim W. Pope Eugenius IV, The Council of Basel, and the Secular and Ecclesiastical Authorities in the Empire: The Conflict over Supreme Authority and Power in the Church. Leiden: Brill, 1978.
  • Stump, Phillip H. The Reforms of the Council of Constance (1414–1418). Studies in the History of Christian Thought, LIII. Leiden: Brill, 1994.
  • Valliere, Paul. Conciliarism: A History of Decision-making in the Church. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Book Review

1,000-word book review

 0 20.0
Essay

4,000-word essay

 0 60.0
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper

1,000-word tutorial paper

 0 20.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 7 Aug, 2018

Unit record last updated: 2024-08-09 13:10:51 +1000