History of the Papacy Podcast

In this Sidetrack Episode installment, we have a special guest host who will take use through the connections between the Jewish Passover and the Christian Easter celebration. This connection is much more than skin deep and reaches to the basic core of what Christianity is historically and culturally. Thanks to Jason G for putting this great episode together! You can learn more about the History o...

In this Sidetrack Episode installment, we will take a closer look at someone who was one of the most important figures in Christian history, but does not get very much attention. Helena, the mother of Constantine, strongly influenced her son and stuck through all the ups and downs with him. It is very likely in fact that Helena was the person who introduced a young Constantine to Christianity. Hel...

The First Ecumenical Council, The Council of Nicaea, wasn’t just about Arianism. The Council had a laundry list of controversies, problems, gripes and grievances to deal with which had built up in the Christian Church since day one. Constantine the Great wanted a unified Empire and what he needed to attain that goal was a unified religion. Setting a uniform date for the celebration of Easter, the...

In this Sidetrack Episode, we will continue to discuss the importance of the Easter Holiday and celebration. This time though, we will go down a sidetrack we’ve never gone down before, a book review. We will see how the historical fiction book, The Inquest by Stephen Dando-Collins, provides a very interesting perspective on mid first century A.D. through a piece of historical fiction. You can lear...

In this Sidetrack Episode, we will take a look at one of the main influences on the Christian Celebration of Easter. Passover is a Jewish Holiday that was thousands of years old by the time of Jesus and the Early Christian Movement. The time of Passover in the liturgical calendar will be one of the most important debates at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325AD. You can learn more about...

Arianism might not have been the idea of Arius of Alexandria alone, but he was the one who definitely popularized that set of theological positions. The writings, creeds and canons of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 made it very clear where the Church stood on Arianism and what the Christian God was all about, but that didn’t mean everything was written in stone. One way or the other...

The Council of Nicaea in 325 dealt with many issues and involved many larger than life personalities. Arius of Alexandria was as large as any of the other big names. He may not have invented the theological school which was named after him, but he is the one who made it popular and that goes a long way. Come along and find out about the life and times of Arius of Alexandria. You can learn more abo...

Meletius of Lycopolis may not be a household name, but this bishop from the middle of Egypt set the wheels in motion for the necessity of a Church wide council in 325. There were so many problems in the Egyptian Church, which magnified problems in other local churches, the Emperor Constantine felt he had to step in. Meletius of Lycopolis, probably inadvertently, gave the firebrand preacher Arius a...

Alexandria and Antioch were major centers of Christian learning and Origen highly influenced both schools. Origen was one of the greatest Christian theologians of all times, but had many ideas which were considered somewhat questionable by both his contemporaries and later thinkers. This isn't the first episode featuring Origen and it certainly won't be the last. The First Ecumenical Council would...

Arius didn’t develop his theology in a vacuum, instead there were a number of thinkers and theologians who influenced him. Two of these people were Paul of Samosata and Lucian of Antioch. Each of these men had ideas that were outside of the typical Orthodox mainstream, but would become quite popular in time. Learn how the lines between orthodoxy and heresy aren’t quite as sharp as it may seem. You...

This is the introductory episode to our new multipart series on the First Council of Nicaea in 325AD. We will take a quick look at the issues that were faced at this first Ecumenical council, as well as the role of the Roman Popes, other leading bishops and Emperors of Rome in this process. We will also take the opportunity to put the Council of Nicaea into context within the history of the first...

In this Sidetrack Episode, we will take a look at the developments in early church architecture during the period of Constantine the Great. The meeting space of Christians will go from simple house Churches to grand monumental buildings. 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.ac...

In this final episode in our series on the history of the Popes prior to the Council of Nicaea, we will discuss the facts and legends of Pope Sylvester. We will see that even though Sylvester was Pope for an incredibly long time, the history of his papacy is long on legend and short on fact. They are certainly great legends though! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at al...

In this Sidetrack episode we will discuss how the two concepts of the Church and churches as physical buildings are related. We will also begin to discuss the architecture of Christian churches. In future Sidetrack Episodes we will look at how the architecture of churches in general evolved and talk about some famous churches around the world. You can learn more about the History of Papacy and sub...

The Christian Church and the Church in Rome was in turmoil and the Persecution of Diocletian was still in full swing. This is the situation we find ourselves in during the time period we will discuss in this episode.  The Pope in Rome during this time was a man named Miltiades and he will witness a church that will in short order transition from a brutally persecuted, illegal religion to a major p...

Eusebius of Caesarea is known as the father of Church history. He is one of our few sources who lived during the Persecution of Diocletian and conversion of Constantine. In this Sidetrack episode, we will look at the life of Eusebius and the times in which he lived. You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http://atozhistorypage.com/ email: steve@atoz...

In this episode we take a look at the very unstable situation in the late 3rd century and early 4th century AD in the Roman Empire. Christianity is gaining converts, but major storm clouds are on the horizon. The Roman and Christian worlds are on a collision course and nothing will be the same afterward. You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http:/...

In this seventh installment of our Sidetrack shows, we are discussing the political and governmental situation Diocletian found himself in and what he created. The Roman Empire was in terrible shape and massive reforms had to be instituted. Diocletian was a true reformer. We’ll explore Diocletian’s political reforms to see what worked and how these reforms effected early Christianity. You can lear...

This is first installment of a two part series of Sidetrack Episodes on the background of the various reforms of Diocletian. We will focus primarily on the economic reforms of Diocletian and discussed how they affected the growth of the Roman Papacy during the early fourth century and beyond.  You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http://atozhistor...

Sidetrack Episode 5 - Boniface the Eighth, Unsung Hero is available for download. This episode originally aired on the History Collage presented by History Podcasters.com, but includes bonus commentary. As always, thank you for listening and enjoy! You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http://atozhistorypage.com/ email: steve@atozhistorypage.com ht...

This time on the History of the Papacy Podcast's Sidetrack episodes, we will take a closer look at the impact of the Plague of Cyprian on the growth of the early Christian movement. We will see if a major plague can actually help a movement grow and thrive. You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http://atozhistorypage.com/ email: steve@atozhistorypa...

Christianity and the Roman Papacy have weathered a serious persecution and the fall out of how to deal with the Christians who had sacrficed. Now we are entering a long period of relative peace and quiet for Christianity. There are controveries, plagues and war, but Christianity will continue to grow in the Roman Empire. Don't get too accustomed to tranquility because it isn't going to last very l...

This is the third of our Sidetrack Episodes. In this Sidetrack we look at a Pope who was not a Pope of Rome, but instead a Pope of Alexandria. Dionysius was the Bishop of Alexandria, then as today they are known as Pope. Dionysius of Alexandria was involved in all the major issues and conflicts of the day and definitely left his own stamp on the history of the early Church. You can learn more abou...

At long last, we're back with Episode 23: The Ante-Nicene Popes Part 3. In this episode we will start sifting through the mess left over at the end of the Persecution of Decius. A mess is the only way to describe it, we have politics, personal dislike and schisms. Many of the most important leaders at the time seriously disagreed with what was the best way for the Church to go forward. You can lea...

In this Sidetrack Episode, we will take a look at the issue of excommunication and the importance of excommunication to the early Christian movement. We will take a look at how one can become excommunicated and the ways someone can get back into communion. You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: http://atozhistorypage.com/ email: mailto:steve@atozhis...