Subsidiarity and a Conciliar Future
PDF (FULL TEXT)

Keywords

Subsidiarity
Conciliarity
Connectionalism
Unity
Community

How to Cite

Wood, C. M. (2018). Subsidiarity and a Conciliar Future. Methodist Review, 10, 93–111. Retrieved from https://methodistreview.org/index.php/mr/article/view/212

Abstract

Conciliarity is a feature (or mark) of the church that has not received its proper share of attention from Methodists, despite its apparent links with such Wesleyan themes as “conference” and “connection.” An important aspect of a conciliar understanding of the church is a principle that has come to be known as subsidiarity. Subsidiarity denotes a relationship between a larger community or political entity and the smaller communities and individuals it includes, in which the larger community does not assume the tasks and responsibilities that rightly belong to the smaller communities and individuals that constitute it, but rather provides them assistance when needed, and coordinates their efforts in achieving together those proper ends that they cannot achieve—or cannot as readily achieve—on their own. In this article, I aim to provide a brief exposition of conciliarity and subsidiarity as ecclesiological concepts, to consider the vital role a principle of subsidiarity has to play in any adequate embodiment of a conciliar vision, and to explore some factors that either hinder or foster the realization of that vision.

PDF (FULL TEXT)

Authors who publish with Methodist Review agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright ownership and all intellectual property rights to their work, and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal but prohibits modification or commercial use of the work without the permission of the author.

  • Authors are free to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), in whole or in part, on the condition that its initial publication in this journal is clearly acknowledged.

  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.