A revolution shook the Christian world in the second half of the eleventh century. Many eminent historians point to Hildebrand, later Gregory VII (1073-1085), a

A History of the Popes tells the story of the oldest living institution in the Western world—the papacy. From its origins in Saint Peter, Jesus' chief discipl

Searchable database of the information in chronological order of all the officially recognized popes from St Peter to John Paul II, whose entry has now been exp

This 1991 book was the first ever English rendition of the classic statement of divine right absolutism, published in 1707. Jacques-Benigne Bossuet argues in th

The papacy has often resembled a secular European monarchy more than a divinely inspired institution. Roman pontiffs bestowed great wealth on their families and