Magisterium
The magisterium of the Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition". According to the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, the task of interpretation is vested uniquely in the Pope and the bishops, though the concept has a complex history of development. Scripture and Tradition "make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church", and the magisterium is not independent of this, since "all that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is derived from this single deposit of faith."
Solemn and ordinary
The exercise of the Catholic Church's magisterium is sometimes, but only rarely, expressed in the solemn form of an ex cathedra papal declaration, "when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church," or of a similar declaration by an ecumenical council. Such solemn declarations of the church's teaching involve the infallibility of the Church.Pope Pius IX's definition of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and Pope Pius XII's definition of the Assumption of Mary are examples of such solemn papal pronouncements. Most dogmas have been promulgated at ecumenical councils. Examples of solemn declarations by ecumenical councils are the Council of Trent's decree on justification and the First Vatican Council's definition of papal infallibility.
The Catholic Church's magisterium is exercised without this solemnity in statements by popes and bishops, whether collectively or singly, in written documents such as catechisms, encyclicals, and pastoral letters, or orally, as in homilies. These statements are part of the ordinary magisterium of the church.
The First Vatican Council declared that "all those things are to be believed with divine and Catholic faith which are contained in the Word of God, written or handed down, and which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by her ordinary and universal teaching magisterium, proposes for belief as having been divinely revealed."
The Second Vatican Council declared further that not everything contained in the statements of the ordinary magisterium is infallible, but the Catholic Church holds that the Church's infallibility is invested in the statements of its universal ordinary magisterium: "Although the bishops, taken individually, do not enjoy the privilege of infallibility, they do, however, proclaim infallibly the doctrine of Christ on the following conditions: namely, when, even though dispersed throughout the world but preserving for all that amongst themselves and with Peter's successor the bond of communion, in their authoritative teaching concerning matters of faith or morals, they are in agreement that a particular teaching is to be held definitively and absolutely."
Such teachings of the ordinary and universal magisterium are obviously not given in a single specific document. They are teachings upheld as authoritative, generally for a long time, by the entire body of bishops. Examples given are the teaching on the reservation of ordination to males and on the immorality of procured abortion.
Even public statements by popes or bishops on questions of faith or morals that do not qualify as "ordinary and universal magisterium" have an authority that Catholics are not free to merely dismiss. They are required to give that teaching religious submission:
Etymology
The word "magisterium" is derived from Latin magister, which means "teacher" in ecclesiastical Latin. The noun magisterium refers to the office of a magister. Thus the relationship between magister and magisterium is the same as the relationship in English between "president" and "presidency".Since the time of Pope Pius XII, the word "magisterium" has also been used to refer to the persons who hold this office.
Levels
Only the Pope and bishops in communion with him exercise the office of magisterium; theologians and schismatic bishops do not.| Teacher: | Level of magisterium: | Degree of certitude: | Assent required: | Applies to: |
| 1. Pope ex cathedra | Extraordinary and universal teaching of the Church | Infallible on matters of faith and morals | Full assent of faith, Religious Assent. Religious submission of mind, intellect, and will. | Whole Church; All Catholics |
| 2. Ecumenical council | Extraordinary and universal teaching of the Church | Infallible on matters of faith and morals | Full assent of faith, Religious Assent. Religious submission of mind, intellect, and will. | Whole Church; All Catholics |
| 3. Bishops, together with the Pope, dispersed but in agreement, proposing definitively | Ordinary and universal teaching of the Church | Infallible on matters of faith and morals | Full assent of faith,Religious Assent. Religious submission of mind, intellect, and will. | Whole Church; All Catholics |
| 4. Pope, Encyclical, Apostolic constitution | Ordinary teaching of the Church | Authoritative but not irreformable | Papal magisterium to be treated with special reverence via submission of intellect and will | To whom the papal documents are addressed |
| 5. A bishop individually, or a bishop joined up in a conference of bishops, or a particular council of bishops | Ordinary teaching of the Church | Authoritative but non-infallible | Religious assent. Religious submission of mind, intellect, and will | Catholics entrusted to the care of the relevant bishop |
Historical development
Early Church
Bishops as authority
The most basic foundation of the magisterium, the apostolic succession of bishops and their authority as protectors of the faith, was one of the few points that was rarely debated by the Church Fathers. The doctrine was elaborated by Ignatius of Antioch in the face of Gnosticism, expounded by others such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose, and Augustine, and by the end of the 2nd century AD was universally accepted by the bishops.Some of the first problems began to arise, however, with the increasing worldliness of the clergy. Criticism arose against the bishops, and an attempt was made to have all bishops drawn from the ranks of monastic communities, whose men were seen as the holiest possible leaders. However, there had also developed in the Church a Roman sense of government, which insisted upon order at any cost, and this led to the phenomenon of the "imperial bishops", men who had to be obeyed by virtue of their position, regardless of their personal holiness, and the distinction between "man" and "office".
Early disagreements
This understanding was not universally accepted. According to Robert B. Eno, Origen was one of the most famous critics of the episcopal corruption. He says that throughout Origen's life, many of his writings were considered to be questionably orthodox, and he seemed to espouse the idea of a teaching authority based on theological expertise alone rather than, or at least along with, apostolic succession.Another early disagreement in the Church surrounding the issue of authority manifested itself in Montanism, which began as a movement promoting the charism of prophecy. Montanism claimed, among other things, that prophecies like those found in the Old Testament were continuing in the Church, and that new prophecies had the same authority as apostolic teaching. The Church, however, ruled that these new prophecies were not authoritative, and condemned Montanism as a heresy. Other times, private revelations were recognized by the Church, but the Church continues to teach that private revelations are altogether separate from the deposit of faith, and that they are not required to be believed by all Catholics.