The decree Haec sancta synodus ("This holy synod"), also called Haec sancta, was promulgated by the fifth session of the Council of Constance on April 6, 1415. It contains a section on the question of whether the Pope is above an ecumenical council or, conversely, such a council is above the Pope.[1] The question is related to papal primacy, papal supremacy and conciliarism.
The decree played an essential role in shaping conciliarism.
See also: Papal supremacy and Conciliarism. The section concerning the supremacy of a council over the pope and any clergy member reads:
In theology, "[t]he range of interpretations [of ''Haec sancta''] is large. It ranges from the qualification of the decree as a dogma via the so-called 'necessity theory', to the thesis of minimizing its theological content to that of a legal decree, not a doctrinal statement, which is mainly due to the way the language of the text is opened up".[4]
. 2003. Francis Oakley. The Conciliarist Tradition: Constitutionalism in the Catholic Church, 1300–1870. Oxford University Press. 978-0199265282. 83.