The Problem Of Authority In The Catholic Church Papacy And Conciliarism
In this study, it is revealed that the Papacy does not always represent absolute authority in the Church. The subject is discussed based on the discussions of conciliarism in the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Conciliarism is a doctrine that holds that General Councils hold the highest authority in the church. Contrary to the view that the pope was accepted as the highest authority in the church in the Middle Ages; According to this understanding, ecclesiastical authority is represented in the church itself, not in the Papacy, and the church uses this authority through General Councils. The theory of conciliarism was represented during the Great Western Schism (1378-1417) by the conciliarist movement, which sought to limit Papal authority through General Councils. The main purpose of this movement is to redefine the structure of the church, to reunite it under the rule of a single legitimate pope, and to limit the papal authority through church reform. In addition, this movement represented a strong opposition to the Papal authority in the church in the period between the Council of Pisa (1409) and Council of Basel (1431-1449) and lost its influence after the Council of Basel. On the other hand, the influence of conciliarism as a theory was not limited to this period, but resurfaced in the following periods under the name of different movements such as Gallicanism and Febronianism, which were opposed to the Papal authority. Moreover, the idea of conciliarism has survived to the present day through theologians such as John Mair (1467-1550), Edmond Richer (1559-1631) and Hans Küng (1928-2021). In our study, the doctrines, practices and related institutions of the papalist and conciliarist theology, which were accepted as the highest authority in the church in the historical process, and the situation of the council and the papacy in terms of authority were examined. The subject is discussed in the example of the views of the German theologian Nicholas of Cusa (Ger. Nikolaus von Kues, 1401-1464), who is one of the central figures in the discussions of conciliarism.
Keywords: Catholic Church, Papacy, Authority, Conciliarism, Nicholas of Cusa