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HISTORY of Christian Theology

Power Struggle The Papacy, the State and Councils

Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours
Changes in how popes were selected arose in response to the development of a three-way power struggle between kings, the papacy and the councils of bishops. This power struggle continued to influence major developments in Christianity into the modern era.

Birth of the Holy Roman Empire

Clovis became the king of one of the Frankish tribes in current northern France in 481. He set about conquering his Frankish rivals and, for the first time, united all the Franks to become the first king of Gaul (France). This was an important development because he also established stability by providing for his oldest living male heir to assume title to the throne instead of having his kingdom split up among all his sons. This new approach created the Merovingian dynasty which ruled Gaul for two hundred years. Unlike the other Germanic tribes, most of the Franks were pagans while the other tribes were Arian Christians. However, Clovis’s wife was a Catholic Christian who followed the Nicene Creed, unlike the Arians. Under his wife’s influence, Clovis was baptized a Catholic Christian, which led to widespread mass conversion to Nicene Christianity among the Frankish people.

Two hundred years later, Charles Martel (the “hammer”) was the de facto leader of the Franks as the mayor of the palace and their military leader. He reunified the Frankish kingdoms that had splintered off and stopped the Muslim advance into Europe at the Battle of Tours in 732. When he died, his son Pepin assume the throne of half the kingdom and founded the influential Carolingian dynasty. Pepin was a shrewd politician. He arranged an alliance with the pope whereby Pepin would help stamp out heresy and the pope would support Pepin’s claim to the throne over all of Gaul, including the half ruled by his rival brother. Pepin secured his rule over Gaul and came to the pope’s rescue when the Lombards captured the northern Italian city of Ravena from the Byzantine Empire and were marching to attack Rome. Pepin defeated the Lombard and gave this area to the Holy See to govern instead of returning it to the Byzantines. This cemented the symbiotic relationship between the king and the papacy which flowed down to the next generation.

Despite all this, the tension between secular and religious forces still plagued the process of electing a new pope. Initially, the selection of a new pope followed the ancient tradition for the election of all bishops. This consisted of the imprecise procedure of obtaining the general consensus of the local clergy without casting votes and public ratification by acclamation. Periodically disputes arose as to which of the rival candidates was the true pope. Violence was often used to settle this question. In order to simplify and bring more certainty to the process, as well as to secure more power for the clerics, a local council in 769 abolished the right of the laity to participate in the process of selecting a new pope.

Pope Leo III was elected pope in 795 and remained in power largely because of the support he received from Charlemagne, Pepin’s son. Charlemagne came to Pope Leo III’s aid when the Lombards again sought to take over Rome. Like his father, Charlemagne defeated the Lombards and donated even more land to the Holy See. But Leo III faced an even greater threat in Rome from the family of the defeated rival papal candidate.

However, his [Leo III] reign got off to a rocky start, thanks to jealous members of Adrian’s family, who accused him of all manner of things, including being an Arab, and thus not fit to be Pope. In April 799 while on a solemn procession through the streets of Rome, Leo was attacked by a group including Adrian’s nephew, who attempted to blind him and cut out his tongue (an act which would have forced him to resign). Fortunately, they failed, only knocking him unconscious, and he was transported to Charlemagne’s court in Paderborn to recover.

While there, Charlemagne and Leo became good friends, and when Leo returned to Rome in November 799, he faced a range of accusations, including perjury, adultery, and simony. …Charlemagne knew that Christendom remained unsettled, so he decided to make the journey to Rome. He arrived in November 800, and remarkably on Leo’s trial on the 23rd of December, the assembly accepted Leo’s claim that he was innocent and cleared his name. To reward Charlemagne for his friendship and willingness to stand in at the trial [the muscle needed to persuade the court], Leo crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor—the first ruler to hold this title—on the 25th of December 800.1

This act further alienated the Byzantine Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church which viewed their emperor as the rightful heir to the original Roman Empire, not some king of a Germanic tribe. Regardless, this unholy marriage of church and state under Charlemagne cast a long shadow down through the ages.

For a long time, the pope had been the chief representative of the old imperial power in Italy. A firm alliance had long existed between Charlemagne’s predecessor and himself on the one hand, and the popes on the other, for the mutual advancement of each other’s interests. He had become seized with the idea of a Holy Roman Empire, coordinated with the Holy Catholic Church, each having world-wide dominion, each advancing the interests of the other, each supreme in its own sphere.2

Charlemagne, however, followed Constantine’s approach and made the civil power and the church two departments of his government. During his reign, Charlemagne effectively ruled both church and state. He chose and deposed bishops and abbots unilaterally. He convoked and directed numerous councils and made the decisions regarding doctrinal issues. He viewed the pope as one of his vassals, having protected him and given the Holy See so much land.3

The Power Struggle Leads to Corruption

The tension between church and state grew after Charlemagne’s death, leading to a dispute between the metropolitans, (who had been appointed by the emperor and functioned like feudal lords), and the bishops, who reported to the pope. The bishops attempted to free themselves from the strings tying them to the state and the dispute became quite intense. At this critical time, a forged document surfaced that purportedly was composed during the second through the seventh centuries, giving the pope secular power from Constantine and others. This forgery is known as the Isidorian Decretals (also Pseudo-Isidore Decretals) and included the Donation of Constantine, which was used throughout the Middle Ages to support the Church’s claim of supremacy over secular matters. It was finally proven to be a forgery in the fifteenth century.

About the middle of the ninth century a document appeared which has been called the Pseudo-Isidore Decretals. This document consisted of a number of spurious and genuine canons and decretals (letter of popes) in which the following claims were made:

a. The spiritual power as exercised by the pope is infinitely superior to the secular power of the emperor and princes;

b. The bishops stand in the same relation to the pope as the other apostles stood in relation to Peter;

c. Provincial synods (councils) cannot be held without being summoned by the pope, and their decrees are only valid after they have been sanctioned by the pope. …[N]one of the clergy may be summoned before a secular tribunal. A layman may not even accuse a priest, and it requires at least seventy-two trustworthy witnesses to substantiate a charge against a bishop.

The Pseudo-Isodorian Decretals have been characterized as the boldest and most magnificent forgeries of history.4

The ecclesiastical rights outlined in this forged document set the stage for abuse from aspiring clerics who hid behind this shield of immunity. However, with the breakup of Charlemagne’s empire, feudalism took over with small property owners and peasants flocking to the protection offered by noblemen and wealthy strongmen. At this point, the papacy became subject to powerful Italian families. Under pressure from the Roman aristocracy, in 862, the nobility was given the right to participate in the election of a new pope, and the pope was required to swear allegiance to the newly created secular power, the Holy Roman Emperor.

Theodora

It was for the papacy an era of servitude and often degradation.5

The papacy, which had many immoral incumbents at this time, sank to its lowest depth.6

When the Carolingian Empire crumbled, the papacy was deprived of its sole protector. This was the signal for the Roman nobility to raise its head. The ambitious Theodora, wife of the vestiary Theophylactus, was one of the first to take a hand in its affairs, and entering into sinful relations with some of the most influential personages, she succeeded in getting possession of a number of villas and castles. In the opening years of the Tenth Century, her daughter Marozzia considerably increased the influence of the family. …For more than fifty years the family of Theophylacts dominated Rome and imposed the candidates of their choice [for pope] upon clergy and people.7

Marozzia arranged for John X to become the pope. He then led the Italian armies to defeat the Muslim forces that were invading Roman territory. Riding high from his military success, Pope John X returned to Rome and “succeeded in shaking off the yoke of the unholy princess who ruled Rome.”8 She, however, stirred up a revolt and killed the pope and his brother. Marozzia had complete control over the papacy and turned them into her puppets. She appointed three popes, including her son John XI. However, ambition and treachery ran in the family. Her other son, Alberic, assembled a small band of soldiers and imprisoned his mother, and she was then killed.

Concurrently, Otto I became king of one of the Germanic tribes, with the dream of restoring an empire like Charlemagne’s. The next pope, John XII, called on Otto I for support when the pope’s rule was threatened by the Roman aristocracy and the Lombards. Otto responded, and when he rode triumphant into Rome in 962, John XII crowned him emperor of the renewed empire. This was the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire which governed the German nations and much of Europe down to modern times.

The pope soon realized that he had let the fox into the hen house, as Otto took charge and demanded absolute authority over the church as well as secular affairs. When John XII objected, Otto exiled him: appointing a new pope, Leo VIII, and demanded that the pope and his subjects swear an oath of fidelity to the emperor. Otto then appointed bishops and made them princes in his realm. The practice of lay investiture became entrenched.9 This is a practice in which a secular king or prince confers a church position, such as bishop or abbot, on a candidate by giving him a ring or staff as sign of the appointment.

By the tenth and eleventh centuries it had become a universal practice. It was often linked with simony [selling religious positions], and even with the most debased form of abuse. Ecclesiastical offices were bought and sold, rented, given as dowry to the baron’s daughter, etc., and as the great lord disposed of a bishopric, so petty lord sold his parish. The result was an unworthy episcopate and an unworthy clergy.10

However, the Italian aristocracy was still greedy for the power and financial benefits that accompanied the papacy. The Crescentius family saw an opening and seized it when the throne passed to Otto I’s four-year-old grandson upon his father’s death. They gained power by murdering a number of popes and installing three of their own family members on the papal throne. Everywhere, religious leadership had sunk to the lowest depths of debauchery. The need for reform screamed from the bowels of eternity.11

Reforms by Pope Gregory VII

In the tenth to twelfth centuries, monasticism was the dominant expression of religious activity in the Roman Catholic world, commonly referred to as Christendom. The most influential monastery at that time was the monastery of Cluny in France, which served as the motherhouse for a large organization of monasteries and nunneries. Several popes had served as abbots at Cluny, and it had accumulated a lot of wealth, power, and influence. The need for reform became apparent to the leadership at Cluny and other monasteries, and its abbot, Bruno, became a powerful voice in favor of reform.

Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII’s given name) was a Roman monk who was staying at Cluny when Bruno was selected to become the next pope (Leo IX) by Emperor Henry III in 1049.12 Leo was impressed with Hildebrand’s interest in the reformation movement, his integrity and his overall competence, so Leo brought him to Rome to be the papal administrator. Hildebrand served as a papal legate to three successive popes, organized the troops to defeat an antipope and was elected to be the archdeacon of the Roman church in 1058, where he furthered the efforts to combat corruption and implemented reforms.

After Leo IX became pope and with Hildebrand’s assistance, things gradually started to change. One of the greatest reforms was an effort to eliminate the corrupting influence of the nobility in selecting popes. In 1059, the new pope, Nicholas II, decreed that only a newly created college of cardinals could elect the candidate to become the pope, upon ratification by the local clergy and the noble laity. Alexander II was elected pope under these new rules, and Hildebrand became the power behind the papal throne during his reign. Upon Alexander’s death in 1073, Hildebrand was elected the new pope and ruler of the papal states. According to custom, Hildebrand chose a new name, Gregory VII.

In reliance on the forged Donation of Constantine, Gregory VII asserted power over secular affairs throughout the empire and changed the role of the papacy forever. He declared:

The Roman Church was founded by God alone; the Roman Pope alone can with right be called universal; he alone may use the imperial insignia; his feet only shall be kissed by all princes; he may depose the emperors; he himself may be judged by no one; the Roman Church has never erred, nor will it err in all eternity.13

Gregory VII was comfortable with exercising power and immediately started a campaign to stamp out the practice of lay investiture (appointment of ecclesiastic positions by secular authorities) and its sister vice, simony (selling sacred items and offices). He was determined to wrest the power to appoint bishops and other church positions from the emperor, kings, princes and the rest of nobility. The millennia-old tension between church and state boiled over. The young emperor Henry IV, did not share Gregory’s vision and continued to assert the emperor’s traditional right to sell and appoint new bishops in his domain. Not only was it a lucrative practice, it also enabled nobility to strengthen its political control over the populace by appointing bishops who were friendly with the crown.

In 1075, Gregory charged Henry IV with crimes and sought to depose him. Henry in turn called a local council and sought to depose Gregory from the papacy. Gregory then excommunicated Henry, divested him of his royal authority and issued an interdict released all his subjects from their duty of fealty to the emperor. Henry feared the princes would revolt and use the pope’s interdict as an excuse to dethrone him so he was forced to travel to Canossa, where Gregory was staying, and to seek redemption through an elaborate charade of repentance. Gregory felt compelled to withdraw his interdict so things returned to normal. But the dispute regarding lay investiture was not resolved, and raised its head again when Henry continued the practice. Gregory again sought to depose Henry IV, but this time the princes supported Henry; he invaded Rome and forced Gregory into exile. Gregory was later reinstalled as pope but died before he could return to Rome. Regardless, Gregory VII had shifted the balance of power which strengthened the papacy for centuries. The dispute over lay investitures was resolved in 1122 by an agreement between the Church and the Holy Roman Empire (the Concordat of Worms) acknowledging that the power of appointment belonged to the Church, while also allowing secular rulers to advise the Church during the process.

Gregory VII is considered one of the most influential popes of all time. Under his leadership, the papacy gained more control over all aspects of the Church. He insisted that all ecclesiastical disputes between bishops be decided by the pope instead of a local council. This quarrel regarding papal primacy over church affairs versus councils of bishops had existed for a long time and would continue into the modern era, but Gregory VII was effective in gaining more power for the papal throne. He imposed compulsory celibacy on the clergy and released Christians from obedience to bishops who allowed priests to marry. He outlawed simony. But most importantly, Gregory VII was the first pope to assert authority over secular leaders, even though this right was based on the fraudulent Isodorian Decretals document.14

After the balance of power had shifted back toward the Church, the papacy sought to reinforce it by excluding the role of the laity and even the clergy in the election of new popes. In 1139, the Second Lateran Council abolished the right of the clergy and laity to assent in the election of a new pope, leaving the matter exclusively in the hands of the College of Cardinals, who were appointed by prior popes, thus excluding interference by secular forces.

Papal Supremacy under Pope Innocent III

By the time the Donation of Constantine was proven to be a forgery in the fifteenth century, the tradition of papal supremacy over secular affairs, which Gregory VII had started, was entrenched, largely as a result of the efforts of a young pope a century after Gregory VII. The papacy reached its zenith of power under Pope Innocent III (1161–1216). He was obsessed with the fullness of the power of the papacy (pleitudo potestatis) and declared that he was the vicar of Christ, a mediator “set between God and man; lower than God but higher than man, who judges all and is judged by no one.”15

Innocent III demanded absolute obedience and tolerated no criticism from bishops or kings. Every decision of any royal court throughout Europe was subject to his review and approval. When King John of England refused to accept the pope’s appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury, Innocent III placed the whole country under an interdict that forced the closure of churches for services, cemeteries for burials, and even the administration of the church’s sacraments for six years until the king relented. Likewise, when the king of France wanted to leave his wife for his mistress, Innocent III placed all of France under a similar interdict until King Philip Augustus submitted to his authority. He even excommunicated and deposed the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Otto of Brunswick, and appointed Frederick II in his place.16

Innocent III was a zealous protector of orthodoxy and an active opponent of heresy. He encouraged the reformation of the religious orders (monasteries) which had become quite affluent and powerful. To counter the power of the religious orders, Innocent III approved two mendicant orders, the Franciscans and the Dominicans, who reported directly to the pope. Innocent III put these monks to work directing the papal inquisition because he was dissatisfied with the lackluster efforts of the bishops. These new mendicant orders consisted of traveling monks who had taken a vow of poverty and fidelity to the pope, instead of to the abbot of a specific monastery or a cloister. Innocent III did not shy away from using violence to enforce what he believed to be God’s will. He called the fourth crusade to liberate Jerusalem from the Muslims and also ordered a crusade against the Christian Albigenses in France. The Albigenses held gnostic Christian beliefs that Innocent III viewed as a threat to the Catholic faith.

No one dared oppose Innocent III. The high point of his reign was the Fourth Lateran Council which ratified the primacy of the papacy over all other patriarchs and its right to assert itself in secular affairs. Accordingly, the council ratified the Pope’s appointment of Frederick II as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. This council also played a significant role in Catholic worship. Christians were to confess their sins at least once a year at Easter. For the first time, confession would be private, and everyone was supposed to receive the final anointing of extreme unction (commonly referred to as last rites) before death. It established canons regulating the religious orders and dioceses in detail and declared that provincial councils should be held every three years in an effort to reform the clergy. The council established education requirements for the clergy and addressed their misconduct and also formalized regulations regarding marriage.

Nearly a century later, Pope Boniface issued an official pronouncement from the pope, the bull Unam Sanctam, which codified Innocence III’s assertion of papal supremacy. It states:

The Gospel informs us that there are in the Church, and in the power of the Church, two swords, the spiritual and the temporal…

Both swords, therefore, the spiritual and the temporal, are in the power of the Church, but the latter must be drawn for the Church, and the former by the Church; the first by the hand of the priest, the second by the hands of kings and soldiers, but with the consent and at the will of the priest…

As a consequence we state, declare and define that all creatures must be subject to the Sovereign Pontiff in order to be saved.17

Councils Reassert Their Authority

In the early Church, councils exercised jurisdiction over bishops, metropolitans, patriarchs and popes. This tradition did not die, but simply took a back seat while powerful popes ruled with a tight fist. It reasserted itself in the fourteenth century when the papacy showed weakness.

Because of pressures from the French king and the large number of French cardinals, a French pope was elected in 1334. This new pope abandoned Rome and constructed a papal palace in Avignon, France. The election of French popes based in Avignon continued for nearly fifty years and was ensured to continue as each French pope appointed more French cardinals. This time period is referred to as the Avignon papacy and the Babylonian captivity. The Roman populace eventually had enough, so in 1378, a Roman mob broke into the conclave assembled in Rome to elect a new pope after the prior one had died. They forced the cardinals to elect an Italian pope, Urban VI. However, four months later when the cardinals were not under pressure from a mob, they ruled the election of Urban VI illegal and elected another French pope, who took up residency in Avignon. Now there were two popes, each claiming to be the legitimate heir to Peter’s keys. So, a general council was convened in 1409 at Pisa to resolve the dispute over the objection of both popes. The council deposed both popes and elected Alexander V instead, so now there were three rival popes.

Five years later, the emperor stepped in and reached an agreement with the bishop from Pisa to call another general council. This time, the pope in Rome abdicated, and the council deposed the popes in Avignon and Pisa. They then elected Martin V to become the pope in 1417. The Fourth Lateran Council declared that “it had its power immediately from Christ, and every Christian, also the pope, had to obey it, subject to punishment, in all things concerning its tasks.”18 This multipapal dispute is referred to as the Great Schism. The controversy regarding the supremacy of councils over popes was revived with a vengeance with councils dominating the papacy during the fourteenth century. This power struggle of conciliarism versus papism continued into the modern era, with the papacy gradually gaining greater power over time.

The balance of power between the papacy, councils and the state shifted back and forth and all around for nearly two millennia, often responding to political pressures created by world events and dynamic individuals.

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“The genius of Alister E. McGrath is his remarkable ability to write in a clear, concise, and lucid manner that draws both teachers and students to participate with the great thinkers of the Christian tradition, past and present. Education and illumination are the abundant fruits of this massive, well-organized text, which is sure to appeal to a wide range of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox audiences. For this we are indebted to the author.” Dennis Ngien, Professor of Systematic Theology, Tyndale University College and Seminary, Toronto, Canada. “For sheer comprehensiveness, clarity, and coherence, Alister McGrath has produced the definitive textbook. Always accurate and engaging, students are gently introduced to the gift of Theology in a memorable way.” Ian S. Markham, Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary.

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The Christian Theology Reader

The Christian Theology Reader

by Alister E. McGrath

Regarded as the leading text in Christian theology for the last 25 years, Alister E. McGrath’s The Christian Theology Reader is now available in a new 5th edition featuring completely revised and updated content. It brings together more than 350 readings from over 200 sources that chart 2,000 years of Christian history, situates each reading within the appropriate historical and theological context with its own introduction, commentary, and study questions, includes new readings on world Christianity and feminist, liberation, and postcolonial theologies, as well as more selections by female theologians and theologians from the developing world, and contains additional pedagogical features, such as new discussion questions and case studies, and a robust website with new videos by the author to aid student learning. It is designed to function as a stand-alone volume, or as a companion to Christian Theology: An Introduction, 6th edition, for a complete overview of the subject.

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Church History in Plain Language

Church History in Plain Language

by Bruce Shelley and Marshall Shelley

Bruce Shelley's classic history of the church brings the story of global Christianity into the twenty-first century. Like a skilled screenwriter, Shelley begins each chapter with three elements: characters, setting, plot. Taking readers from the early centuries of the church up through the modern era he tells his readers a story of actual people, in a particular situation, taking action or being acted upon, provides a window into the circumstances and historical context, and from there develops the story of a major period or theme of Christian history. Covering recent events, this book also: Details the rapid growth of evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity in the southern hemisphere; Addresses the decline in traditional mainline denominations; Examines the influence of technology on the spread of the gospel; Discusses how Christianity intersects with other religions in countries all over the world. For this fifth edition, Marshall Shelley brought together a team of historians, historical theologians, and editors to revise and update this father's classic text. The new edition adds important stories of the development of Christianity in Asia, India, and Africa, both in the early church as well as in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It also highlights the stories of women and non-Europeans who significantly influenced the development of Christianity but whose contributions are often overlooked in previous overviews of church history. This concise book provides an easy-to-read guide to church history with intellectual substance. The new edition of Church History in Plain Language promises to set a new standard for readable church history.

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Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years

Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years

by Diarmaid MacCulloch

The New York Times bestseller and definitive history of Christianity for our time—from the award-winning author of The Reformation and Silence. A product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill, Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity goes back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and encompasses the globe. It captures the major turning points in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox history and fills in often neglected accounts of conversion and confrontation in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. MacCulloch introduces us to monks and crusaders, heretics and reformers, popes and abolitionists, and discover Christianity's essential role in shaping human history and the intimate lives of men and women. And he uncovers the roots of the faith that galvanized America, charting the surprising beliefs of the founding fathers, the rise of the Evangelical movement and of Pentecostalism, and the recent crises within the Catholic Church. Bursting with original insights and a great pleasure to read, this monumental religious history will not soon be surpassed.

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How the Irish Saved Civilization

How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe

by Thomas Cahill

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A book in the best tradition of popular history—the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe. Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but they may not be aware of how great an influence St. Patrick was on the subsequent history of civilization. Not only did he bring Christianity to Ireland, he instilled a sense of literacy and learning that would create the conditions that allowed Ireland to become "the isle of saints and scholars"—and thus preserve Western culture while Europe was being overrun by barbarians. In this entertaining and compelling narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization—copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost—they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated. In the tradition of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, How The Irish Saved Civilization reconstructs an era that few know about but which is central to understanding our past and our cultural heritage. But it conveys its knowledge with a winking wit that aptly captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilization.

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The Story of Christianity

The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation

by Justo L. González

In The Story of Christianity: Volume 1, Justo L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought, presents a narrative history of Christianity, from the Early Church to the Dawn of the Protestant Reformation. From Jesus’ faithful apostles to the early reformist John Wycliffe, González skillfully traces core theological issues and developments within the various traditions of the church, including major events outside of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World. This updated and expanded edition incorporates recent archaeological discoveries about the life of Early Christian Communities, as well as important contemporary research revealing the significant role of women throughout the history of the church. With lively storytelling, The Story of Christianity provides a fascinating and panoramic history of the dramatic events, colorful characters, and revolutionary ideas that shaped the first fifteen centuries of the church.

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Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith

Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith

by Robert Barron

What is Catholicism? A two-thousand-year-old living tradition? A worldview? A way of life? A relationship? A mystery? In Catholicism, Bishop Robert Barron examines all these questions and more, seeking to capture the body, heart, and mind of the Catholic faith. Starting from the essential foundation of Jesus Christ’s Incarnation, life, and teaching, Bishop Barron moves through the defining elements of Catholicism—from sacraments, worship, and prayer, to Mary, the Apostles, and saints, to grace, salvation, heaven, and hell—using his distinct and dynamic grasp of art, literature, architecture, personal stories, Scripture, theology, philosophy, and history to present the Church to the world. Paired with his documentary film series of the same title, Catholicism is an intimate journey capturing “the Catholic thing” in all its depth and beauty. Eclectic, unique, and inspiring, Bishop Barron brings the faith to life for a new generation in a style that is faithful to timeless truths while simultaneously speaking in the language of contemporary life.

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The Story of the Christian Church

The Story of the Christian Church

by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut

No institution has spanned more centuries and more continents than the Christian church. Its dramatic story is one of bloodshed and peace, corruption and purity. Here Dr. Hurlbut retells this story in an objective, concise, and clear style, emphasizing the spirit of the church, its growth and maturation, and the causes leading to historic events and their resulting influence. Accurate, up-to-date, and vividly presented, Hurlbut's Story of the Christian Church traces the six general periods of church history from A.D. 30 to the present day. A concluding section, covering the period since Dr. Hurlbut's death, has been added in this revised edition, thus giving the reader a complete, easily understood overview of the Christian church. Designed for two audiences, this book contains outlines and references in the margins to aid the student or teacher along with a continuous narrative and numerous illustrations for the general reader. It is ideal for Sunday school use, since it includes suggested outlines and review questions for each chapter at the end of the book.

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History of the Christian Church, 8 volumes

History Of The Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes In One)

by Philip Schaff

A monumental work tracing the development of Christianity from its inception to the modern era. Spanning eight volumes condensed into one comprehensive edition, Schaff meticulously examines the growth of Christian doctrine, the evolution of church institutions, and the profound impact of key figures and events on global religious history. Through detailed scholarship and engaging narrative, Schaff provides readers with a thorough understanding of Christianity's journey through the centuries, making this work an essential resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike.

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The Lessons of History

The Lessons of History

by Will and Ariel Durant

A concise survey of the culture and civilization of mankind, The Lessons of History is the result of a lifetime of research from Pulitzer Prize–winning historians Will and Ariel Durant. With their accessible compendium of philosophy and social progress, the Durants take us on a journey through history, exploring the possibilities and limitations of humanity over time. Juxtaposing the great lives, ideas, and accomplishments with cycles of war and conquest, the Durants reveal the towering themes of history and give meaning to our own.

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1 Chester Ollivier, “Top 10 Most Prominent Catholic Popes from the Middle Ages,” TheCollector, January 4, 2023, https://www.thecollector.com/most-prominent-medieval-catholic-popes-from-middle-ages.

2 Barker, Apostasy, p. 575, quoting Newman, A Manual of Church History, Vol. I, pp 439, 440.

3 Barker, Apostasy, pp. 575–76, quoting McSorley, An Outline History of the Church, p. 224.

4 Barker, Apostasy, p. 577, quoting Qualben, A History of the Christian Church, p. 149.

5 Barker, Apostasy, p. 579, quoting Boulenger, Histoire Abregee de l’Eglise, p. 109.

6 Barker, Apostasy, p. 579, quoting Lortz-Kaiser, History of the Church, p. 183.

7 Barker, Apostasy, p. 580, quoting Poulet-Raemers, A History of the Catholic Church, Vol. I, p. 418.

8 Barker, Apostasy, p. 580, quoting Poulet-Raemers, A History of the Catholic Church, Vol. I, p. 419.

9 Ibid.

10 Barker, Apostasy, p. 582, quoting Lortz-Kaiser, History of the Church, pp. 197, 198.

11 Barker, Apostasy, p. 582; see also Thomas F. X. Noble, Popes and the Papacy: A History, (The Teaching Company, 2006), Lecture 6.

12 Two years earlier when Henry III arrived in Rome for his coronation, he found three rival popes who had been appointed by Rome’s nobility, so he deposed all three of them and appointed Clement II to become the pope. He subsequently appointed three more popes, one being Gregory VII.

13 Barker, Apostasy, p. 583, quoting Qualben, A History of the Christian Church, p. 160.

14 Thomas F. X. Noble, Popes and the Papacy: A History, (The Teaching Company, 2006), Lectures 7–8.

15 Jean Bethke Elshtain, Sovereignty: God, State, and Self, New York: Bantam Books, 2008 p. 48.

16 Thomas F. X. Noble, Popes and the Papacy: A History, (The Teaching Company, 2006), Lecture 9.

17 Barker, Apostasy, pp. 594–95, quoting Poulet-Raemers, A History of the Catholic Church, Vol. I, pp. 595–96.

18 Barker, Apostasy, p. 601, quoting Funk, Kirchengeschichte, pp. 371.

19 Thomas F. X. Noble, Popes and the Papacy: A History, (The Teaching Company, 2006), Lectures 10–11.

IMAGES:

Charles Martel at Battle of Tours, Great Chronicles of France, by Levan Ramishvili, Tbilisi, Georgia, [PD-US]

Clovis 1 Eer roi des Francs, by François-Louis Dejuinne, 1837, Palace of Versailles, [PD-US]

Empress Theodora, c. XIX, [PD-100]

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