Description
Book SynopsisBy emphasizing the ways the Bishops of Rome first leveraged the cult of St. Peter to their advantage, George E. Demacopoulos constructs an alternate account of papal history that challenges the dominant narrative of an inevitable and unbroken rise in papal power from late antiquity through the Middle Ages.
Trade Review"The genius of Demacopoulos's book is that it takes an entrenched assumption about Roman papal authority-that the late ancient pope claimed to speak through Peter, Christ's chosen apostle, when asserting matters of doctrine or discipline-and turns it on its head." *
Early Medieval Europe *
"Demacopoulos's meticulous study with helpful appendices should be read carefully by everyone, especially by those who think that they already know well enough the history of the early papacy." * Tarmo Toom,
Journal of Theological Studies *
"
The Invention of Peter makes a valuable contribution to two fields that have not yet much affected each other: intellectual history of the papacy and late antique cultural studies. It encourages fresh, innovative scrutiny of a subject too important to languish." * Kevin Uhalde, Ohio University *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1. Petrine Legends, External Recognition, and the Cult of Peter in Rome
Chapter 2. The Many Faces of Leo's Peter
Chapter 3. Gelasius' Domestic Problems and International Posture
Chapter 4. The Petrine Discourse in Theoderic's Italy and Justinian's Empire
Chapter 5. Restraint and Desperation in Gregory the Great's Petrine Appeal
Postscript: The Life of St. Gregory of Agrigentum as a Seventh-Century Petrine Critique of the Papacy
Conclusion: The Invention of Peter
Appendices (translations by Matthew Briel)
I: Pope Gelasius to Augustus Anastasius
II: Tract VI
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
