The Vatican Council: 1869-1870, Based on Bishop Ullathorne's Letters
Type
Book
Authors
Category
Catholic Church - History
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Publication Year
1962
Publisher
Collins and Harvill Press, United States
Pages
510
Description
The history of the Church is bound up with the succession of General Councils. That of Nicaea, held in 325, is usually considered the first, though the inter-congregational meeting, which is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and recorded as having been held in Jerusalem within a few years of Our Lord's life, was probably the first Church Council of any kind. The twentieth General Council, the last one to date, was held at the Vatican in 1869 and 1870.
Since these great assemblies are very rare events (the Vatican Council was the first since the sixteenth century), it is inevitable that their character, purpose and procedure are not widely understood. The Vatican Council is perhaps the best possible introduction to the subject. The book was first published in 1930. Its author was Dom Cuthbert Butler, Abbot of Downside from 1906 to 1922, one of the best Roman Catholic scholars of his time. This able and lovable man had one great advantage in having known several of the personalities of 1870, notably Bishop Bernard Ullathorne who acted as a moderating influence on the extremists. Nevertheless, to write about the events of 1869 and 1870 was an exacting task, for the Vatican Council, which defined Papal supremacy and infallibility, was among the most controversial in history. Abbot Butler unquestionably succeeded in his undertaking, and his book, written in no polemical or partisan spirit, but with charity to all men, has probably done more to set the Council in perspective for English-speaking readers, both within the Roman Catholic Church and outside it, than any other work in our language.
This edition has been revised by the present Abbot of Downside, who has also written an introduction to the work of his predecessor.
The Rt. Rev. Cuthbert Butler, MA, was born in 1858. He was educated at Downside School, entered the Benedictine Order in 1876 and was ordained eight years later. From 1896 to 1904 he was at Cambridge. He was Abbot of Downside Abbey from 1906 to 1922. He was President of the English Benedictine Congregation from 1914 to 1921, and was a scholar of international repute, celebrated for his 'critico-practical' edition of St. Benedict. He died in 1934.
William Bernard Ullathorne, on whose letters Dom Cuthbert Butler based The Vatican Council, was born in 1806, made his profession at Downside as a Benedictine in 1825 and was ordained priest in 1831. He spent eight years with the Australasian Mission, and declined several Australian bishoprics. He was appointed to the western vicariate of England in 1845 and in 1850 was translated to the newly erected see of Birmingham, on the restoration of the English Catholic Hierarchy. A prominent figure at the Vatican Council of 1870, his writings on the subject include The Council and Papal Infallibility and a reply to Mr. Gladstone's pamphlet on The Vatican Decrees. He died in 1889.
Taken from the inside flaps.
Since these great assemblies are very rare events (the Vatican Council was the first since the sixteenth century), it is inevitable that their character, purpose and procedure are not widely understood. The Vatican Council is perhaps the best possible introduction to the subject. The book was first published in 1930. Its author was Dom Cuthbert Butler, Abbot of Downside from 1906 to 1922, one of the best Roman Catholic scholars of his time. This able and lovable man had one great advantage in having known several of the personalities of 1870, notably Bishop Bernard Ullathorne who acted as a moderating influence on the extremists. Nevertheless, to write about the events of 1869 and 1870 was an exacting task, for the Vatican Council, which defined Papal supremacy and infallibility, was among the most controversial in history. Abbot Butler unquestionably succeeded in his undertaking, and his book, written in no polemical or partisan spirit, but with charity to all men, has probably done more to set the Council in perspective for English-speaking readers, both within the Roman Catholic Church and outside it, than any other work in our language.
This edition has been revised by the present Abbot of Downside, who has also written an introduction to the work of his predecessor.
The Rt. Rev. Cuthbert Butler, MA, was born in 1858. He was educated at Downside School, entered the Benedictine Order in 1876 and was ordained eight years later. From 1896 to 1904 he was at Cambridge. He was Abbot of Downside Abbey from 1906 to 1922. He was President of the English Benedictine Congregation from 1914 to 1921, and was a scholar of international repute, celebrated for his 'critico-practical' edition of St. Benedict. He died in 1934.
William Bernard Ullathorne, on whose letters Dom Cuthbert Butler based The Vatican Council, was born in 1806, made his profession at Downside as a Benedictine in 1825 and was ordained priest in 1831. He spent eight years with the Australasian Mission, and declined several Australian bishoprics. He was appointed to the western vicariate of England in 1845 and in 1850 was translated to the newly erected see of Birmingham, on the restoration of the English Catholic Hierarchy. A prominent figure at the Vatican Council of 1870, his writings on the subject include The Council and Papal Infallibility and a reply to Mr. Gladstone's pamphlet on The Vatican Decrees. He died in 1889.
Taken from the inside flaps.
Number of Copies
1
