ultramontanism

ultramontanism (ŭl"trumon'tunizum) [key][Lat.,=beyond the mountains, i.e., the Alps], formerly, point of view of Roman Catholics who supported the pope as supreme head of the church, as distinct from those who professed Gallicanism or other tendencies opposing the papal jurisdiction. The term was used principally in France by Gallicans, especially before the French Revolution, but it was revived in 19th-century Germany by the group that left the church as Old Catholics after the First Vatican Council. The term is now obsolete, since all those in communion with the pope accept his supremacy. See papacy.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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