Focusing on major issues and in a non-polemical way, William Webster raises questions about doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church that current Catholics claim as part of a changeless creed, but which were not held by predecessors.

Focusing on major issues and in a non-polemical way, William Webster raises questions about doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church that current Catholics claim as part of a changeless creed, but which were not held by predecessors.

of the Pope." --Book Jacket.

In this illustrated book, the renowned Latinist Pierre Grimal examines the multitude of churches in pontifical Rome, rediscovering through them not only the traces of nascent Christianity but also the spirit of the ancient Imperial city. Taken together, the churches of Rome reveal the evolving variations upon a basic architectural typology, while also allowing a dramatic summary of the history of Christianity, with its upheavals, schisms, and spiritual developments.

Winner of a 2020 Catholic Press Association book award (first place, best new religious book series). Suspense, politics, sin, death, sex, and redemption: Not the plot of the latest crime novel, but elements of the true history of the Catholic Church. Larger-than-life figures such as Athanasius of Alexandria, Augustine, and Constantine played an important part in the history of the Christianity. In The Church and the Roman Empire (AD 301–490): Constantine, Councils, and the Fall of Rome, popular Catholic author Mike Aquilina gives readers a vivid and engaging account of how Christianity developed and expanded as the Roman Empire declined. Aquilina explores the dramatic backstory of the Council of Nicaea and why Christian unity and belief are still expressed by the Nicene Creed. He also sets the record straight about commonly held misconceptions about the Catholic Church. In this book, you will learn: The Edict of Milan didn’t just legalize Christianity; it also established religious tolerance for all faiths for the first time in history. The growth of Christianity inspired a more merciful society: crucifixion was abolished; the practice of throwing prisoners to wild beasts for entertainment was outlawed; and slave owners were punished for killing their slaves. Controversy between Arians and Catholics may have resulted in building more hospitals and other networks of charitable assistance to the poor. When Rome fell, not many people at the time noticed. Books in the Reclaiming Catholic History series, edited by Mike Aquilina and written by leading authors and historians, bring Church history to life, debunking the myths one era at a time.

For years, historians have argued that Catholicism in the United States stood decisively apart from papal politics in European society. Drawing on previously unexamined documents from Italian state collections and newly opened Vatican archives, Peter D'Agostino paints a starkly different portrait.