History of the Papacy Podcast

Description: The dynasty of Theodosius the Great guided the Roman Empire and the Christian Church through some of the most difficult times Europe has ever experienced. Deep theological conflict threated to rip the empire apart from the inside and the mass migration of people worked to destroy the empire from the outside. The Theodosians lived in exciting times! You can learn more about the History...

Description: John Cassian crossed the lines between East and West. He was a man of the East who made and lost his name in the West. He was a friend and trusted of the biggest names in Christian Church history, including John Chrysostom and Pope Leo the Great of Rome. Join us as we learn about the fascinating story of the spiritual grandfather of Western Monasticism, an Institution: John Cassian. Y...

Description: Bishops who held both ecclesiastical and political power has developed in different ways throughout history. I am joined by Ben Jacobs of the Wittenberg to Westphalia podcast to discuss how warrior bishops developed and influenced European history. You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http://atozhistorypage.com/ email: steve@atozhisto...

Description: Now we swing our sights over to the other major theological school of thought in the fourth and fifth century debates. The Catechetical School of Alexandria and the See of Alexandria held incredible political and ecclesiastical power. These powerful Bishops of Alexandria strongly influenced the debate of Jesus’ natures and what the Christian Church would become. You can learn more abo...

Description: The Church of the East also known as the Nestorian Church was out of phase with western Churches. While the west was rooted in Greek and Latin language and culture, the Church of the East Syrian and Aramaic in culture. In this episode, we’ll explore why the church of the Middle East was different that the churches of the West and why certain disagreements came to the surface. You can...

Description: After the Council of Constantinople in 381AD, the Orthodox movement should have been poised to consolidate and spread massively. The Orthodox had the power of the Roman State behind it and had for the most part marginalized all other groups. Instead of consolidating, the Orthodox movement was about to splinter over theological and political issues. The School of Antioch: Diodore of Ta...

Description: In this episode Garry and Steve talk heresy. Again you might say? Today we are talking about the ancient school of thought called Gnosticism. We talk about how Gnosticism developed and its possible routes in Persian Dualism, Old Testament era apocalyptic literature, and Greek philosophy. If you have any questions, please send them in! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and...

Description: In this episode, we talk to Robin Pierson of the History of Byzantium podcast. Specifically we talk about John Chrysostom who was the Arch Bishop of Constantinople during the late 300’s AD. John ended a long, interesting career with a short, rocky tenure in Constantinople. Robin has created a series call the “Byzantine Stories.” The first series is on the career of John Chrysostom, so...

Description: In this episode we start to peel back the layers of history behind of the meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch of Kirill of Moscow in February of 2016. Many claims of superlatives have been made about this meeting. Was it the first meeting of its kind? We will see, the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches have some good reasons to push the reset button. You can learn more abo...

Description: This episode is a preview and walking tour of the theological or maybe more properly Christological situation of the early 5th century. Let’s learn what about the Monophysites, Miaphysites, Dyophysites and more! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http://atozhistorypage.com/ email: steve@atozhistorypage.com http://rss.acast.com/histo...

Description: The idea of a priesthood occurs in many religions across the world. Garry and Steve started to wonder how the priesthood developed in Judaism and Christianity. As usual, we didn’t find many answers and had a lot more questions. This time we even consulted experts. This episode is just the tip of the iceberg, so stick around for a lot more to come! You can learn more about the History...

Description: This time Garry Stevens of the History in the Bible Podcast answer your questions and respond to your comments about James the Just. We just can’t get enough of James the Just! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http://atozhistorypage.com/ email:...

Description: In this episode, we will have a wide ranging discussion with Mar Awa Royel, bishop of California in the Assyrian Church of the East, sometimes known as the Nestorian Church. We have a wide ranging discussion that will serve as an overview for the entire series on Christianity in the East. You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http://at...

Description: This is the introductory episode to our new series: West Meets East. We will layout where we are going and how we are going to get there. We will explore exciting moments in Church history such as the Council of Ephesus in 431, The Council of Chalcedon in 451, Pope Leo the Great, Nestorius, Cyril of Alexandria, Persia, China and much, much more! You can learn more about the History of...

Description: The late fourth and early fifth centuries were a time of incredible change for the Christianity, the Papacy and the Roman Empire. The popes of Rome were beginning to accumulated serious ecclesiastical power within the Church. Events were also unfolding which would give the Papacy and the Church an opportunity to gain power in the larger secular world. You can learn more about the Hist...

Description: Today we welcome Prof CJ from Prof CJ’s Dangerous History Podcast to talk about the political, cultural and economic situation around the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. We will discuss how the collapse of the Western Roman Empire impacted the average Roman and we will also talk about the groups that filled the void in government. You can learn more about the History of...

Description: This is the second part of Steve and Garry’s quest of discovery for James the Just, Brother of Jesus and earliest Christian leader. James had his feet firmly planted in both the traditional Jewish world of his time and in the growing new Christian world. Walking the line between those two worlds was no easy task for James or his group of followers. Your comments and feedback are impor...

Description: In this episode, we will discuss two commonly held views. Firstly, that Italy and Western Europe were the cradle of Latin Christianity. Secondly, that Northern Africa never held a significant Christian population. We’re going to explore both of these ideas in this episode. The history of the Popes of Rome and Christian Church encompasses so much more than just Italy and Western Europe...

In this very special episode, we talk with Thom of the American Biography Podcast and journalist Steve Sterling of the New Jersey Star Ledger about the recent visit of Pope Francis the First to the United States. We look at the history of Papal visits to the United States and then get a firsthand perspective of the Papal visit and the whole experience from Stephen Sterling. As you may have noticed...

This is another collaboration with Garry Stevens of the History in the Bible podcast. In this episode, we will attempt to learn more about James the Just, also known as James, the Brother of the Lord. Is James a character the Church purposefully tried to hide or has he always been there, we just had to look? You are an important part of this show, so send in your comments and feedback, so we can a...

Description: The story of Priscillian carries on with our theme of lesser known figures in Church history, who should be better known. Priscillian raised many interesting questions that cut to the heart of Christianity. Priscillian questioned the role of personal connection to scripture, asceticism and the relationship with the hierarchy and civil authorities. Priscillian will wade into the heated...

Description: The Goths and Germans were much more than barbarians bent on destruction. These groups were looking to plug into the economic, military and cultural institutions the Roman Empire had to offer. Religion was another way for outside groups to integrate into the Roman Empire. Goths signed on to Christianity quite early, with their other Germanic cousins joining in successive waves. This e...

Description: In this episode, we will continue in our series of Sidetrack episodes on lesser known figures and events in Papal and Church History. Pelagius was a famous ascetic and teacher from Britain who developed distinct theories and ideas on the nature of man and salvation that rocked many a boat in the Christian community at the time. Let’s take a closer look at Pelagius’ life and shed some...

Description: In this episode, we will wrap up the Arian Century series. The First Council of Constantinople, the generally recognized second ecumenical council marked the end of Ariansim as a real force in the theological and political debates over what dogma of Christianity would be the Orthodox and official position of the Roman Empire.   You can learn more about the show and subscribe at all th...

Description: The First Council of Constantinople, the second of the great ecumenical councils, would become a major turning point in the history of the Popes of Rome, the Roman Empire and the Christian Church. In this episode, we’ll take a look at the creed that would be developed at this council, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. The history of Europe, whether the people at the time knew it or...