Jurisdiction in the Early Church: Episcopal and Papal
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Written on the eve of the Second World War at a time when the Anglican community was feeling most isolated in the Christian world at large, Jurisdiction in the Early Church takes a controversial stand in engaging an ecumenical investigation of the origins of the Roman Catholic papacy and early Christian episcopate. Referencing numerous church fathers throughout the ancient Christian world as well as recent publications (such as the publication of The Roman Primacy to A.D. 461 by B.J. Kidd, which set the tone for Dix’s work), Dix boldly discusses the recent issues of Vatican I’s declaration of infallability of the pope, the New Testament and early Christian evidences of central juristiction, and the implications of tradition as theological authority. His conclusions quickly stirred up controversy in the Christian world, but his defense of the papacy remains standard to contemporary studies on the papacy for Anglicans and Roman Catholics alike.
George Eglinton Alston Dix (named Gregory in religion) (1901–1952) was an English monk and priest of Nashdom Abbey, an Anglican Benedictine community. He was a noted liturgical scholar whose work had particular influence on the reform of Anglican liturgy in the mid-twentieth century.