febronianism

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In the Rom. Cath. Ch., the theory of ecclesiastical government developed by John Nicholas von Hontheim, suffragan bishop of Treves, in a work published in 1763 under the pseudonym of Justinus Febronius, the leading feature of which was opposition to the primacy of the papal power. Its doctrines resembled those of Gallicanism.