Convening the First Council of New Granada [1868]: an Effort by the Church Hierarchy to Reestablish Ecclesiastic Discipline

Following the Independence of New Granada, relations between the Church & State took a new direction. In June 1853, Jose Maria Obando's Liberal government decreed the separation of Church & State. To counteract the effects of this law, considered to be a direct attack against the Church, Archbishop Antonio Herran convened the country's bishops to a provincial council in January 1868. This article addresses the convocation of that council. In particular, it analyzes the discourse of the convocation to try to understand how this mechanism was used to find a solution to one of the worst crises experienced by the Church in New Granada. The analysis shows that the Catholic hierarchy sought not only to reestablish ecclesiastic discipline, but also used the council to dismantle & refute the radical Liberals' discourse on which the law that separated Church & State was based. References.