“. . . AND UPON THIS ROCK . . .”
A HISTORY OF THE PAPACY FROM PETER
TO PIUS XII
Over the past two millennia more than 280 men (Popes
and anti-popes) have claimed the title of Bishop of
Rome, the Patriarch of the West, and the successor of
St. Peter. Many of them came to be canonized as
saints, but many others were condemned by Church
and State as criminals. Some have been elevated to
the throne of St. Peter by the mobs of Rome, only to be
eventually dethroned and murdered by that same mob.
Most Popes have preached peace, some war; a few
have even led armies into battle. Some men were
elected to the office by reason of their unparalleled
piety, but others gained it through unspeakable
treachery. And the Papacy survived it all.
The Papacy has evolved from a simple ecclesiastical
charge concerned primarily with the poor of the city of
Rome to an international religious authority to which
nearly one billion people look for guidance. This course
will examine the vicissitudes of fortune of the Papacy
from its simple foundation, through its position as the
mighty sovereign of Rome and the Papal States, to its
current status as a practically landless but still
religiously and politically powerful entity, a situation
brought about by the unification of Italy in the
nineteenth century.
LECTURES:
- Humble Beginnings: “. . . and upon this rock . . .”
- Sylvester I and Constantine the Great.
- The Two Swords: The Medieval Papacy.
- The Popes Bring the Renaissance to Rome.
- The Challenge of the Protestant Reformation.
- From Porta Pia to Pius XII: The Modern Papacy.
341 DVD. 6 lectures on DVD $48.00.
342 CD. 6 lectures on audio CD $30.00.
343 Tape. 6 lectures on audio tape $35.00.
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