Haec sancta synodus
The decree Haec sancta synodus ("This holy synod"), also called Haec sancta, was promulgated by the fifth session of the Council of Constance on April 6, 1415. It contains a section on the question of whether the Pope is above an ecumenical council or, conversely, such a council is above the Pope.[1] The question is related to papal primacy, papal supremacy and conciliarism.
The decree played an essential role in shaping conciliarism.[2]
Excerpt on supremacy of an ecumenical council
The section concerning the supremacy of a council over the pope and any clergy member reads:
| Official text[3] | English translation[4] |
|---|---|
| Et primo (declarat), quod ipsa in spiritu sancto legitime congregata concilium generale faciens, et ecclesiam catholicam militantem repraesentans, potestatem a Christo immediate habet, cui quilibet cuiuscumque status vel dignitatis, etiam si papalis existat, obedire tenetur in his quae pertinent ad fidem et extirpationem dicti schismatis, ac reformationem dictae ecclesiae in capite et in membris. | First [the council] declares that, legitimately assembled in the holy Spirit, constituting a general council and representing the catholic church militant, it has power immediately from Christ; and that everyone of whatever state or dignity, even papal, is bound to obey it in those matters which pertain to the faith, the eradication of the said schism and the general reform of the said church of God in head and members. |
Opinions on the decree
In theology, "[t]he range of interpretations [of Haec sancta] is large. It ranges from the qualification of the decree as a dogma via the so-called 'necessity theory', to the thesis of minimizing its theological content to that of a legal decree, not a doctrinal statement, which is mainly due to the way the language of the text is opened up".[2]
See also
References
- Tanner, Norman P., ed. (1990). Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. pp. 409–10. ISBN 0878404902.
- "Konziliarismus". Theologische Realenzyklopädie (in German). Vol. 19. Horst Robert Balz, Gerhard Krause, Gerhard Müller, Siegfried Schwertner. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 1990. p. 582. ISBN 311006944X. OCLC 4190363.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - Provvidente, Sebastián. "The meaning of the Haec Sancta: between theology, canon law and history. The lesson of the judicial practices" (PDF). University of Helsinki. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- Oakley, Francis (2003). The Conciliarist Tradition: Constitutionalism in the Catholic Church, 1300–1870. Oxford University Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0199265282.
Further reading
- Decaluwe, Michiel (2004-09-01). "La position de la papauté mise en cause après le Grand Schisme : légitimation de part et d'autre". C@hiers du CRHiDI. Histoire, droit, institutions, société (in French). ISSN 1370-2262.
- Huf, Hans-Christian, ed. (2008). Die Päpste – Herrscher über Himmel und Erde (in German). Berlin: Ullstein Buchverlage. ISBN 978-3550086939.
- Izbicki, Thomas M. (1986). "Papalist Reaction to the Council of Constance: Juan de Torquemada to the Present". Church History. 55 (1): 7–20. doi:10.2307/3165419. ISSN 1755-2613. JSTOR 3165419. S2CID 159799747.
- Provvidente, Sebastián (2013-03-21). "The synodial practices of the Council of Constance (1414-1418): Between symbol and trace". Bulletin du centre d'études médiévales d'Auxerre (Hors-série n° 7). doi:10.4000/cem.12784. ISSN 1623-5770.
- Schneider, Hans (1976). Der Konziliarismus als Problem der neueren katholischen Theologie. Die Geschichte der Auslegung der konstanzer Dekrete von Febronius bis zur Gegenwart (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3110057441.