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:
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]
References
- 1.Tanner, Norman P., ed. (1990). Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. pp. 409–10. ISBN 0878404902.
- 2.[2.2]"Konziliarismus". Theologische Realenzyklopädie (in German). Vol. 19. Horst Robert Balz, Gerhard Krause, Gerhard Müller, Siegfried Schwertner. Berlin: De Gruyter. 1990. p. 582. ISBN 311006944X. OCLC 4190363.