The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church
Encyclopedia
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church is a 1981 book by Catholic priest and author Malachi Martin
.
in its ecclesiastical organization
and doctrinal unity since the Second Vatican Council
(1962-1965).
The book is an account of the history of the Roman Catholic Church progressing from the earliest beginnings to Roman emperor Constantine the Great's eventual relationship with the church during the reign of Pope Silvester I
up until the post Vatican II popes and Pope John Paul II
.
It shows the transformations that took place in the institution of the papacy as the relationship between temporal power and spiritual authority was worked out throughout the years. Also, the book tells how the early popes were chosen, including how many were appointed by secular rulers - often involving intrigue and poisonings - up until the invention of the conclave.
The Pius XI chapter contains significant information on both the pope's encounter with marxism and his visionary life. Martin, was a protege to Pius' confidante and confessor, cardinal Augustine Bea, is a valid source for this information which has a lot to say about Pius' overall vision of contemporary history that lies beneath the continuing 'Pius War concerning the Jews' now raging in the print world.
They must be read in conjunction with Martin's other chronicles of the modern papacy, Vatican: A Novel, the The Keys of This Blood
and Windswept House.
The book was translated in Spanish
, French
and German
.
Malachi Martin
Malachi Brendan Martin Ph.D. was a Catholic priest, theologian, writer on the Catholic Church, and professor at the Vatican's Pontifical Biblical Institute. He held three doctorates and was the sole author of sixteen books covering religious and geopolitical topics, which were published in eight...
.
Content
Malachi, a Vatican insider, wrote this non fiction book to analyse the sudden and rapid decline of the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in its ecclesiastical organization
Catholic Church hierarchy
The term Hierarchy in the Catholic Church has a variety of related usages. Literally, "holy government", the term is employed in different instances. There is a Hierarchy of Truths, which refers to the levels of solemnity of the official teaching of the faith...
and doctrinal unity since the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
(1962-1965).
The book is an account of the history of the Roman Catholic Church progressing from the earliest beginnings to Roman emperor Constantine the Great's eventual relationship with the church during the reign of Pope Silvester I
Pope Silvester I
Pope Sylvester I was pope from 31 January 314 to 31 December 335, succeeding Pope Miltiades.He filled the See of Rome at a very important era in the history of the Catholic Church, but very little is known of him....
up until the post Vatican II popes and Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
It shows the transformations that took place in the institution of the papacy as the relationship between temporal power and spiritual authority was worked out throughout the years. Also, the book tells how the early popes were chosen, including how many were appointed by secular rulers - often involving intrigue and poisonings - up until the invention of the conclave.
Unique background information
The last two chapters of the book - concerning popes Pius XII and John Paul II - give important background information on recent papal history from the Vatican insider Martin is.The Pius XI chapter contains significant information on both the pope's encounter with marxism and his visionary life. Martin, was a protege to Pius' confidante and confessor, cardinal Augustine Bea, is a valid source for this information which has a lot to say about Pius' overall vision of contemporary history that lies beneath the continuing 'Pius War concerning the Jews' now raging in the print world.
They must be read in conjunction with Martin's other chronicles of the modern papacy, Vatican: A Novel, the The Keys of This Blood
The Keys of This Blood
-Content:Martin, a Vatican insider, wrote this non fiction apocalyptic book as a geopolitical and georeligious analysis of the last decades of the 20th century. He identifies this period as the millennium end-game for a new world order, which has three main contenders. It will establish the first...
and Windswept House.
The book was translated in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.