Ecclesiology

• Authority
  • Excommunication — The penalty of major excommunication imposed automatically (ipso facto) for unauthorized printing or alteration of the Vulgate text
  • Imprimatur and Ecclesiastical Censorship — The system of ecclesiastical approval required before printing sacred books, including the role of censors, ordinaries, and religious superiors, as decreed by Trent and enforced by papal bulls
  • Lay Investiture Controversy — The conflict over whether secular rulers could confer ecclesiastical insignia (staff and ring) on bishops — a key issue of ecclesial independence
  • Papal and Royal Authority (Two Luminaries) — Pope Innocent III's symbolic reading of the two great luminaries as the Pontifical authority (sun/spiritual) and royal power (moon/carnal), with the difference between them as great as between sun and moon
• Clergy
  • Ecclesiastical Discipline — The restoration and maintenance of proper order, morals, and governance within the Church — correction of unworthy clergy, enforcement of canonical norms, reform of institutions
  • Episcopal Duty and Pastoral Office — The obligations of bishops as shepherds of souls — gradual ascent through ecclesiastical offices, pastoral visitation, care for the poor, restoration of discipline, and accountability before God
  • Pastoral Visitation — The bishop's duty of personally visiting parishes, monasteries, and institutions in his diocese to reform, correct, and strengthen them
• Councils
  • Council of Trent — The ecumenical Council of Trent and its Session IV decrees on canonical Scripture, the Vulgate's authenticity, proper interpretation, and regulation of printing
• Papacy
  • Papal Authority — The role of the Apostolic See in overseeing the integrity of Scripture, enforcing conciliar decrees, and exercising supreme jurisdiction over the Church's discipline
• Persecution
  • Persecution by Heretics — Persecution of Catholics by Protestant/heretical forces — destruction of property, imprisonment, and desecration during the religious wars of the Low Countries
• Religious Life
  • Female Religious — Women's religious communities — their establishment, governance, episcopal visitation, and reform
  • Jesuits (Society of Jesus) — The Society of Jesus and its members' role in scholarship, pastoral ministry, and education — Lapide's membership and the Society's institutional procedures
  • Monasticism and Religious Life — The institution of cenobitic monastic life — its divine origins, its apostolic defenders, and its role in sanctifying individuals and transforming society
  • Nazirites — The Old Testament institution of Nazirites (Numbers 6) as a typological precursor to Christian religious life and monasticism
  • Preaching and Scripture — The necessity of Scripture study for preaching and sacred teaching — preachers must draw their arguments from the sacred pages and build on the foundation of divine authority
  • Religious Life Lived in the World — The possibility of living a de facto religious life without formal religious profession — ordering one's household like a monastery while remaining in the world
• Schools and Education in Sacred Scripture — The history of schools and academies dedicated to the study of sacred Letters, from the Alexandrian school through Nisibis, Constantinople, York, Paris, and Louvain