Doctrine and Power

Abstract

During the fourth century AD, theological controversy divided Christian communities throughout the eastern half of the Roman Empire. At stake in these disputes was not only the truth about God but also the authority of church leaders whose legitimacy rested on their willingness to validate that truth. Because that truth could not be fixed, however, nor that willingness secured, the dispute constantly threatened prelates' claims to authority. In this book, Galvão-Sobrinho argues that churchmen's response to that challenge gave birth to a new style of church leadership that contributed to the affirmation of episcopal power. The author shows how prelates engaged in the dispute embarked on quests to assert their orthodoxy and legitimacy—tasks that called for organized, sustained, and effective action, and that demanded prelates and their congregations to be constantly mobilized. Galvão-Sobrinho argues that the dispute produced new modes of behavior—dispositions and tendencies to act in particular ways—that continuously channeled powers. While these novelties were largely the work of prelates in the first half of the fourth century, the style of command they inaugurated was incorporated into a dynamic model of ecclesiastical leadership that came to define the episcopal office in late antiquity.