From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Gallicanism is the doctrine that the authority of monarchs over the Roman Catholic Church in their country is of comparable magnitude to that of the Pope. Gallicanism is intermediate between Ultramontanism and Anglicanism, in that it downgrades the authority of the Pope without denying it entirely.
The doctrine originated in France (the term derives from "Gaul"), but in the 18th century it spread to the Low Countries as well.
See also Gallican Church.
