There have been twenty-one universal gatherings 'ecumenical councils' of the Catholic Church. The first opened in 325, the last closed in 1965, and the names of

This one-volume survey of the history of the Catholic Church--from its beginning through the pontificate of John Paul II--explains the Church's progress by usin

The history of Catholicism is the history of Christian faith. Anthony E. Gilles traces its development—from its beginnings in hushed gatherings within the Rom

Narrative history emphasizing dramatic events in the history of the Roman Catholic Church covering a period of two thousand years.