Erastianism

Erastianism
/i ras"cheuh niz'euhm, -tee euh niz'-/, n.
the doctrine, advocated by Thomas Erastus, of the supremacy of the state over the church in ecclesiastical matters.
[1675-85; ERASTIAN + -ISM]

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      doctrine that the state is superior to the church in ecclesiastical matters. It is named after the 16th-century Swiss physician and Zwinglian theologian Thomas Erastus (Erastus, Thomas), who never held such a doctrine. He opposed excommunication as unscriptural, advocating in its stead punishment by civil authorities. The state, he held, had both the right and the duty to punish all offenses, ecclesiastical as well as civil, wherever all the citizens adhered to a single religion. The power of the state in religious matters was thus limited to a specific area. Erastianism acquired its present meaning from Richard Hooker's (Hooker, Richard) defense of secular supremacy in Of the lawes of ecclesiasticall politie (1593–1662) and as a result of debates held during the Westminster Assembly of 1643.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Erastianism — E*ras tian*ism, n. (Eccl. Hist.) The principles of the Erastains. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Erastianism — noun see Erastian …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • erastianism — The doctrine that the State is ascendant over the Church in ecclesiastical matters. It is named after the Swiss theologian Thomas Erastus (1524–83) …   Philosophy dictionary

  • ERASTIANISM —    the right of the State to override and overrule the decisions of the Church that happen to involve civil penalties.    See ERASTUS …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Erastianism —    The doctrine associated with Thomas erastus, that the Church should be under the control of the civil authorities …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Erastianism — [ɪ rastɪəˌnɪz(ə)m] noun the doctrine that the state should have supremacy over the Church in ecclesiastical matters (wrongly attributed to the 16th century Swiss theologian Thomas Lieber Erastus). Derivatives Erastian noun & adjective …   English new terms dictionary

  • erastianism — eras·tian·ism …   English syllables

  • Erastianism —  Эрастианизм …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов

  • Erastianism —    This term refers to the doctrine, named after Thomas Erastus (1524 1583), a Swiss Protestant theologian, that claims that the state has supreme authority over the Church …   Glossary of theological terms

  • Erastianism — noun the doctrine that the state is supreme over the church in ecclesiastical matters • Syn: ↑Byzantinism, ↑Caesaropapism • Hypernyms: ↑theological doctrine …   Useful english dictionary

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