Conciliation and Confession: The Struggle for Unity in the Age of Reform, 1415–1648

Abstract

Conciliation and Confession: The Struggle for Unity in the Age of Reform, 1415–1648. Edited by HOWARD P. LOUTHAN and RANDALL C. ZACHMAN (Notre Dame: U. of Notre Dame P., 2004; pp. 298. $60; pb. $28). IN the two centuries after the Reformation there were a number of territories across Europe where one confessional party failed to establish hegemony. Such circumstances inspired a variety of responses, and even encouraged an occasional statesman or theologian to pursue tentative plans for conciliation: sometimes by concentrating on theological positions held in common, sometimes by pursuing the dream of reunification. A variety of these interesting experiments are considered in this collection of essays, which range across Europe and establish a helpful context with precedents from before the Protestant and Catholic divisions of the Reformation. In many respects the Council of Florence, discussed here by Nicolas Constas, sets the tone...