Beyond the Reformation: Authority, Primacy and Unity in the Conciliar Tradition

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Beyond the Reformation sheds fresh light on divisive issues of authority in the Christian Church and puts them in a new historical and ecumenical perspective. Against the background of the perennial tension between the mystical and the institutional dynamics in the life of the Church, it goes beyond the tragic divisions of the Reformation era in two major ways. First, it examines the power struggles of the medieval period, the largely abortive attempts at reform, and the theological solutions to apparently intractable divisions that were proposed by the Conciliar Movement and enacted by the reforming councils of the fifteenth century. It shows how the legacy of conciliar theology was both continued and modified by the Continental and Anglican Reformers and how this has shaped the churches in the modern world. It examines the question of continuity and discontinuity in the Reformation, seeing that event as an unresolved argument within the family of the Western Church. But this book also seeks to move beyond the Reformation in a second way. Drawing on Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican theology, the book explores the theme of conciliar and primatial authority in relation to the ecumenical quest for reconciliation and unity in the fragmented Church of today. In this major, ground-breaking work, Anglican theologian and ecumenist Paul Avis adds to his repertoire of studies of authority in the Christian Church, brings together historical, confessional and ecumenical aspects of ecclesiology, and charts a course for convergence between the major traditions on the thorny questions of authority, primacy and unity.

Reviews

Avis gives a forceful and convincing demonstration of the relevance of the conciliar tradition for the contemporary church; he raises precisely the issues we need to be discussing concerning authority, reception, and role of the entire community in the decision-making of the church. His ecumenical insights are rooted in a thorough grasp of the historical realities; he presents an eminently readable introduction to a portion of our past we ignore at our loss. This is a book I will return to regularly in the future. * Michael Root *
Paul Avis's study is a timely reminder of the importance of the late-medieval conciliar tradition for questions about the reformation and reunification of the Western church. A historian and a practical ecumenist, he shows us the pervasive influence of conciliarist constitutional principles through the intervening centuries, as well as their continuing relevance to our contemporary search for Christian unity. And - of special interest to Anglicans at a difficult juncture - he draws out especially the promise of these principles for the episcopally ordered communions. There is much to be learned here by those who concern themselves with the church in our times and its roots in the past. -- Oliver O'Donovan and Joan Lockwood O'Donovan
This timely study of the historical debates between conciliarists and monarchists/papalists throws light on the catholicity of the Church. It shows the continuing relevance of conciliarism and the necessity of an ecumenical balance between the two principles of collegiality and of primacy. It will be an excellent introduction to contemporary dialogues on the structure of the Church. -- George H. Tavard
... thoughtful and challenging... a rich texture of scholarship and pithy comments... of major historical and ecumenical importance... a detailed and sensitive study that substantiates common ground and hope for the future. -- Prof. Norman Tanner, Gregorian University * Gregorianum 88 (2007) *
This book marks a watershed in fifteenth-century conciliar research, its history, principles and lasting influence. -- Gerald Christianson * Church History *
...Avis presents here a careful, descriptive analysis of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century conciliarism and then proceeds to an examination in the light of the conciliarist legacy of the ecclesiological preoccupations and practices of the churches of the Reformation. The account he gives is solid and informative... -- Francis Oakley * The Catholic Historical Review, October 2007 *
This is a well-researched, fluently written book that deftly combines historical analysis with the interrogation of present-day concerns. * Theological Book Review, Vol. 21, 2009 *
Solid scholarship and passionate pleading by a senior Anglican ecumenist. * Ecclesiological History, 2009 *
... Avis is among the foremost commentators on the present state of Catholic-Protestant dialogue. -- Religious Studies Review, Vol. 37, Issue 4
Paul Avis describes his timely book as 'a study of authoirty in the Christian Church: its principles and theological basis; its structures and organisation; and its dynamics, the way it is exercised in practice.' It ought, therefore, to be required Anglican reading in the present times. -- Christopher Hill * Church Times, 2008 *
Mention -Book News, February 2009
|Reviewed by Mark W Elliott, Theological Book Review Vol.19 No.1 2007
Reviewed with another book on the same subject, by Andrew Atherstone in ANVIL vol.24 no.4 2007
...a theologically sophisticated, broadly based, open and yet passionate argument for a more clearly defined Anglican Communion. * Ecclesiastical Law Journal, 2009 *
As Avis' readers will expect, this is a work of thorough historical scholarship...I found the book enjoyable and most informative...the book is an excellent resource, and will be of value to ecclesiologists, historians and students of the Reformation alike. * Modern Believing, October 2009 *
Whilst the rapid and exciting pace of ecumenical development has definitely slowed, work such as Paul Avis' Beyond the Reformation offers careful and wise engagement with ecumenical issues that demonstrate that ecumenism is still a powerful driver of major ecclesiological contributions. -- John P. Bradbury, Westminster College, Cambridge (UK) * Journal of Reformed Theology, Volume 5 (2011) *

Author Bio

Paul Avis is Honorary Professor in the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, UK, as well as Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter, UK, and Editor-in-Chief of Ecclesiology.