History of the Papacy Podcast

This Papal Vault episode introduces the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and explains why this first ecumenical council became a defining moment for Christianity. Steve sets the stage with Constantine’s push for unity, the Arian controversy, the dating of Easter, and the larger role councils played in shaping doctrine, authority, and church identity. The episode also previews the first seve...

Bry from Pontifacts joins Steve to discuss how historical podcasting shapes public understanding of the Catholic Church and how artificial intelligence is changing research, media, ministry, and religious authority. They explore the value of human connection, the limits of AI-generated content, Pope Leo's approach to new technology, and how the Church might adapt without losing the humanity at the...

Coming this week on the History of the Papacy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: email: steve@atozhistorypage.com Join Us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacy Connect on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@historyofthepapacy https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypage https://facebook.com/atozhistorypage Get Your Histor...

Pastor Miles DeBenedictis joins Steve to explore artificial intelligence through the lenses of Christian ethics, pastoral ministry, and human dignity. They discuss how churches can use AI as a tool without treating it as a replacement for wisdom, community, work, or the unique value of people created in the image of God. Find Miles DeBenedictis’s Work Here: pastormiles.com HistoryOfThePapacy...

Coming this week on the History of the Papacy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: email: steve@atozhistorypage.com Join Us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacy Connect on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@historyofthepapacy https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypage https://facebook.com/atozhistorypage Get Your Histor...

Pope Sylvester I presided over one of the most important eras in Christian history, even though the real records of his papacy are buried under layers of legend and forgery. This episode separates fact from fiction in the stories of Sylvester, Constantine, the Donation of Constantine, the rise of papal authority, and the road to the Council of Nicaea. #HistoryOfThePapacy #ChurchHistory #PopeSylves...

Steve Guerra talks with Pastor Lance Ralston about how Christian teaching, ministry, and community are changing in an age of abundant digital content and artificial intelligence. They discuss the authority of teachers, the value of in-person church life, responsible uses of AI in research and sermon preparation, the limits of machine-generated ministry, and why human dignity cannot be reduced to p...

Coming this week on the History of the Papacy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: email: steve@atozhistorypage.com Join Us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacy Connect on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@historyofthepapacy https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypage https://facebook.com/atozhistorypage Get Your Histor...

What does it mean to disarm artificial intelligence? Steve Guerra welcomes back Glenn Amorosia to discuss Magnifica Humanitas and the place of AI in Catholic social teaching. Their conversation connects human dignity, the common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity with questions about corporate power and technological change. From Leo XIII and Rerum Novarum to Vatican II, they explore the tradition...

Coming this week on the History of the Papacy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: email: steve@atozhistorypage.com Join Us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacy Connect on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@historyofthepapacy https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypage https://facebook.com/atozhistorypage Get Your Histor...

Pope Miltiades stood at the turning point when Christianity moved from persecuted religion to legal and politically important force in the Roman Empire. This episode covers Constantine, the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, the Edict of Milan, the Donatist controversy, and the first major steps toward a church tied to imperial power. #HistoryOfThePapacy #ChurchHistory #Constantine #EdictOfMilan #Roman...

What happened to the Guelphs and Ghibellines after Dante’s generation? The names survived for centuries, but their original meaning slowly gave way to family rivalries, oligarchic struggles, territorial states, foreign armies, and new ways of thinking about political power. In this capstone to the series, we move from Dante to another exiled Florentine, Niccolò Machiavelli, and ask wh...

Coming this week on the History of the Papacy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: email: steve@atozhistorypage.com Join Us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacy Connect on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@historyofthepapacy https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypage https://facebook.com/atozhistorypage Get Your Histor...

Pope Boniface VIII, King Philip IV of France, and Dante Alighieri all believed in Christendom, but they had radically different ideas about how spiritual and temporal power should fit together. From Unam Sanctam and the attack on Boniface at Anagni to Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio, and Monarchia, this episode explores the medieval fault line beneath the struggle between pope and king. None of these...

The Great Peace of the Church gave Christianity room to grow, but that calm shattered under Diocletian’s brutal persecution. This episode follows Popes Caius, Marcellinus, Marcellus, and Eusebius through martyr stories, lapsed Christians, Donatist tensions, and the violence that shook the Roman church before Constantine’s rise. #HistoryOfThePapacy #ChurchHistory #EarlyChristianity #Dio...

Coming this week on the History of the Papacy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: email: steve@atozhistorypage.com Join Us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacy Connect on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@historyofthepapacy https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypage https://facebook.com/atozhistorypage Get Your Histor...

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing work, education, medicine, creativity, and even the way podcasts like this one are produced. Steve talks with technology entrepreneur Erik Fogg about where AI may be heading, why massive increases in productivity could also bring widespread unemployment, and what happens when machines become better than humans at most economic tasks. The conversation ult...

Guido Guerra was one of the most respected Guelph leaders of medieval Florence: a soldier, statesman, and civic hero whom Dante himself clearly admired. So why does Dante place him deep in the Inferno among those punished for violence against nature? In this episode, we move from Guido the historical man, to medieval ideas about sin and salvation, and finally to a larger question: are we reading D...

Coming this week on the History of the Papacy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: email: steve@atozhistorypage.com Join Us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacy Connect on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@historyofthepapacy https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypage https://facebook.com/atozhistorypage Get Your Histor...

For generations, the Guelphs and Ghibellines divided the cities and families of medieval Italy, but behind the strange names was a much older struggle over the power of pope and emperor. From Frederick Barbarossa and the Lombard League to Frederick II and the violent factions of Florence, we trace how a German dynastic dispute became a deeply personal Italian conflict of politics, family, exile, a...

Coming this week on the History of the Papacy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: email: steve@atozhistorypage.com Join Us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacy Connect on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@historyofthepapacy https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypage https://facebook.com/atozhistorypage Get Your Histor...

From Lucius to Eutychian, the papacy entered a quieter but still important period marked by disputes over baptism, renewed persecution, plague, and early Trinitarian debates. This episode shows how the church survived instability in the Roman Empire while internal arguments over authority and doctrine continued to simmer before the great conflicts ahead. #HistoryOfThePapacy #ChurchHistory #EarlyCh...

The Shroud of Turin has been called the burial cloth of Jesus, but how far back can its documented history actually be traced? This episode follows the evidence from medieval France through Constantinople and into Edessa, the true historical black hole in the Shroud’s proposed chain of custody. Along the way, we examine the radiocarbon evidence, the mysterious Mandylion, Byzantine Iconoclasm...

Coming this week on the History of the Papacy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: email: steve@atozhistorypage.com Join Us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacy Connect on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@historyofthepapacy https://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypage https://facebook.com/atozhistorypage Get Your Histor...

After the Decian persecution, the church faced a crisis over what to do with Christians who had sacrificed to the Roman gods under pressure. This episode explores Cornelius, Novatian, Cyprian of Carthage, and the bitter disputes over repentance, authority, and who had the right to speak for the true church. #HistoryOfThePapacy #ChurchHistory #EarlyChristianity #Cyprian #Novatian Let us know what y...