Table of contents

Introduction - 1. Some hypotheses on the origins of the science of jus publicum ecclesiasticum - 2. The peculiarity of an apologetic science on the border between law and theology - 3. The question of method in the analysis of treatises on jus publicum ecclesiasticum - 4. Divine law as the primary source of jus publicum ecclesiasticum - 5. The relationship between legal reflections and ecclesiological investigation in canon law: the probable inspiration of jus publicum ecclesiasticum in the ecclesiology of Torquemada and Bellarmine - 6. The relationship with theology in the methodological perspective of the Würzburg jurisprudents - 7. Some concluding remarks