What does "febronianism" mean?

A powerful movement within the Roman Catholic Church in Germany in the latter part of the 18th century, directed towards the nationalizing of Catholicism, the restriction of the power of the papacy in favour of that of the episcopate, and the reunion of the dissident churches with Catholic Christendom.

What is a synonym for "febronianism"?

Common synonyms include: febronism, febronism.

Febronianism

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A powerful movement within the Roman Catholic Church in Germany in the latter part of the 18th century, directed towards the nationalizing of Catholicism, the restriction of the power of the papacy in favour of that of the episcopate, and the reunion of the dissident churches with Catholic Christendom. historical, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

febronism febronism

Antonyms

All antonyms

ultramontanism

Etymology

Derived from the pseudonym Justinus Febronius adopted by Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, coadjutor bishop of Trier, in publishing his book De statu ecclesiae et legitima potestae Romani pontificis; + -ism.

Related phrases

roman catholic church

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.