Council (Roman Catholic Church)
Council ( Latin ) or synod ( Greek ) in the Catholic Church refers to an assembly in church matters to deliberate on upcoming decisions. Understood as gatherings in the Holy Spirit , councils are celebrated as liturgical celebrations. Different levels of hierarchy can be distinguished depending on the type of convocation and the composition of the participants.
Liturgical celebration
An ordo for the celebration of a council can be traced back to the 4th century. In the Middle Ages it was laid down in the pontifical , since the Council of Trent in the Roman Ritual . Important elements are the enthronement of the Gospel , the votive mass for the Holy Spirit (with the proprium of Pentecost ), the indispensable Credo with the following swearing-in of the participants and at the beginning of the deliberations the prayer Adsumus . The council closes with a solemn Te Deum .
All-Church Councils
The ecumenical council is the place where the college of bishops, which besides the Pope (but only in agreement with him) has the highest authority over the entire Church, solemnly exercises it (can. 336, 337§1 CIC ). See also List of Ecumenical Councils .
The authority of the Catholic councils in the second millennium, also known as ecumenical councils , is only recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. The last three councils were the Tridentinum 1545–1563, Vaticanum I (1869/70) and Vaticanum II ( Second Vatican Council 1962–1965).
In Catholicism , the ecumenical councils are subordinate to the Roman Pope . Their resolutions are only valid to the extent that they are confirmed by the Pope. The Pope or his legates preside over the council; only the Pope is entitled to convene, relocate or dissolve them. This view has historically prevailed over conciliarism .
Particular Councils
A particular council (can. 439–446 CIC) is convened for the territory of a country. Depending on whether there is a single church province (e.g. in Belgium today ) or a bishops' conference (as in Germany ), it is called a provincial or plenary council. It consists of the diocesan bishops , the coadjutors , the auxiliary bishops , the titular bishops with special tasks (e.g. the military bishop ) and possibly other bishops. In addition, there are other participants from the diocese leaderships, orders , seminaries , Catholic universities and faculties, and possibly other priests and lay people , with “only advisory voting rights” . Guests can also be invited, which can be applied to Orthodox and Evangelicals, for example.
It is the task of the particular council to “provide for the pastoral needs of God's people” (can. 445 CIC). For this it has the particular church legislative power .
Synods
The Synod of Bishops meets regularly to deliberate the Pope (can. 342 CIC) in order to promote the bond between Pope and Bishops; she has no decision-making power. It consists partly of bishops elected by authorized bodies and partly appointed by the Pope (mainly).
The diocesan synod likewise has no legislative power as a body , but only the diocesan bishop who presides over it; nevertheless, since it is only called up “when necessary”, so to speak, it can expressly (!) be left to discuss the problems for “free discussion” (can. 465 CIC) and the bishop as legislator is immediately present (if he does not leave the chairmanship of the meeting to a deputy) are given greater importance for the diocese than the Synod of Bishops has for the universal Church. It consists of the diocesan bishop, the coadjutor and the auxiliary bishops, the other diocesan leadership ( vicar general , official , episcopal vicar ), the cathedral chapter , the seminary rector, the deans , some superiors , the council of priests , an elected priest for each dean's office, elected by the pastoral council Lay people including religious and any other members called by the bishop. In addition, “observers” from non-Catholic churches and ecclesiastical communities can also come.
A few other (episcopal) synods for limited areas were also convened. A list can be found here .
literature
- Hubert Jedin : Small Council History , Herder, Freiburg et al. 1978. ISBN 3-451-18537-7 .
- Martin Klöckener : The liturgy of the diocesan synod. Studies on the history and theology of the “Ordo ad synodum” of the “Pontificale Romanum”. Liturgical scientific sources and research 68, Münster / Westphalia 1986.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Product Council liturgy in: Rupert Berger , Pastoral Liturgical Handlexikon, Freiburg 2008, 277-278.