English summary: As an institution of the church and a Christian authority, the council became a central and, from the perspective of religious policy, highly controversial topic during the Reformation. The discussions, which were held on theological, church and political levels, were triggered by Martin Luther, whose attitude towards the council had up to now not been studied in detail. Christopher Spehr succeeds in providing a differentiated analysis of Luther's attitude towards the councils in the ancient church and the (late) Middle Ages as well as towards those demands for a council in the decades of the Reformation. The author sheds light on how Luther developed his concept of a council and how he modified this during his entire lifetime and also studies the question of Luther's intentions in occasionally calling for a free, Christian council. Since the question of a council also affected the problem of church authority at the same time, this study provides insight into the entire structure of Luther's theology, which was centered around the theology of the doctrine of justification.
German description: Das Konzil als kirchliche Institution und christliche Autoritatsinstanz avancierte wahrend der Reformationszeit zu einem zentralen, religionspolitisch hochst strittigen Thema. Ausgelost hatte die auf theologischen, kirchlichen und politischen Ebenen gefuhrten Debatten Martin Luther, dessen Haltung zum Konzil bisher nicht eingehend untersucht worden ist. Christopher Spehr gelingt es, Luthers Einstellung sowohl zu den altkirchlichen und (spat-)mittelalterlichen Konzilien, als auch zu dem in den Reformationsjahrzehnten laut werdenden Konzilsbegehren einer differenzierten Analyse zu unterziehen. In welchen Konstellationen Luther sein Konzilsverstandnis entwickelte und zeitlebens modifizierte, wird ebenso beantwortet, wie die Frage, mit welchen Intentionen Luther bisweilen ein freies, christliches Konzil einfordern konnte. Weil mit der Konzilsfrage zugleich auch die Problematik der kirchlichen Autoritatsinstanzen beruhrt wird, durchdringt diese Studie das gesamte, rechtfertigungstheologisch zentrierte Gefuge der Theologie Luthers.
Der Autor erhielt fur das Werk den Hanns-Lilje-Preis 2010 der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen.
| ISBN: | 9783161504747 |
| Publication date: | 7th September 2010 |
| Author: | Christopher Spehr |
| Publisher: | Mohr Siebeck |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 639 pages |
| Series: | Beitrage Zur Historischen Theologie |
| Genres: |
Systems of law: ecclesiastical (canon) law History of religion Christian Churches, denominations, groups Christianity |