Conciliarism: A History of Decision-Making in the Church

By Paul Valliere

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1107448719
• ISBN13: 9781107448711
• Release Date: June 2014
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"