Consentement et unité dans le De concordantia catholica de Nicolas de Cues

Abstract

Consent and unity in Nicholas of Cusa’s De concordantia catholica

This article aims to investigate the place of the notion of consent (consensus) in Nicholas of Cusa’s ecclesiology and political philosophy. Usually seen as a “programme” of the conciliarist movement during the first part of the council of Basel, his early work De concordantia catholica represents a synthesis between a hierarchical vision of the world, including the Church, and a juridical and political thought according to which the legitimacy is obtained through the consent of the people concerned by authorities and laws. The notion of consent, as it is found in the Roman law and especially in the canonical tradition, is used to express the co-operation between every human participation in decisions concerning the life of the Church and the government, and the will of God that is the transcendent origin of both spiritual and temporal power.

Keywords: Nicholas of Cusa, consent, concordantia, ecclesiology, council