In the period following the collapse of the Carolingian Empire up to the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), the episcopate everywhere in Europe experienced substantial and important change, brought about by a variety of factors: the pressures of ecclesiastical reform; the devolution and recovery of royal authority; the growth of papal involvement in regional matters and in diocesan administration; the emergence of the "crowd" onto the European stage around 1000 and the proliferation of autonomous municipal governments; the explosion of new devotional and religious energies; the expansion of Christendom's borders; and the proliferation of new monastic orders and new forms of religious life, among other changes. This socio-political, religious, economic, and cultural ferment challenged bishops, often in unaccustomed ways. How did the medieval bishop, unquestionably one of the most powerful figures of the Middle Ages, respond to these and other historical changes? Somewhat surprisingly, this question has seldom been answered from the bishop's perspective. This volume of interdisciplinary studies, drawn from literary scholarship, art history, canon law, and history, seeks to break scholarship of the medieval episcopacy free from the ideological stasis imposed by the study of church reform and episcopal lordship. The editors and contributors propose less a conventional socio-political reading of the episcopate and more of a cultural reading of bishops that is particularly concerned with issues such as episcopal (self-)representation, conceptualization of office and authority, cultural production (images, texts, material objects, space) and ecclesiology/ideology. They contend that ideas about episcopal office and conduct were conditioned by and contingent upon time, place and pastoral constituency. What made a "good" bishop in one time and place may not have sufficed for another time and place and imposing the absolute standards of prescriptive ideologies, medieval and modern, obfuscates rather than clarifies our understanding of the medieval bishop and his world.

Law, Liberty and Church examines the presuppositions that underlie authority in the five largest Churches in England - the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church and the Baptist Union. Examining what has influenced their development, and how the patterns of authority that exist today have evolved, Gordon Arthur explores the contributions of Scripture, Roman Legal Theory, and Greek Philosophy. This book shows how the influence of Roman legal theory has caused inflexibility, and at times authoritarianism in the Roman Catholic Church; it explores how the influence of reason and moderation has led the Church of England to focus on inclusiveness, often at the cost of clarity; it expounds the attempts of the Free Churches to establish liberty of conscience, leading them at times to a more democratic and individualistic approach. Finally Arthur offers an alternative view of authority, and sets out some of the challenges this view presents to the Churches.

Integrity matters. We expect it of leaders in all walks of life. But why is integrity so rare? Jonathan Lamb looks at the example of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians and offers us a model of integrity in leadership that spans the centuries.

Published in 1998, these essays focus on Rome and the curia in the 11th and 12th centuries. Several relate to Cardinal Deusdedit and his canonical collection (1087) and to the pontificate of Paschal II (1099-1118). Both personalities and their ideas are presented within the larger setting of contemporary problems, highlighting divergent currents among ecclesiastical reformers at a time of the investiture controversies. A third common theme is formed by discussions of the organization and archival practices of the curia, which were of fundamental importance for the growth and codification of canon law, not to mention papal control of the Church.

The important questions in ecumenical dialogue centre upon issues of authority and order. This book uses the development of ministry in the early Methodist Church to explore the origins of the Methodist Order and identify the nature of authority exercised by John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church. Showing Methodism as having been founded upon Episcopalian principles, but in a manner reinterpreted by its founder, Adrian Burdon charts the journey made by John Wesley and his people towards the ordination of preachers, which became such a major issue amongst the first Methodist Societies. Implications for understanding the nature and practice of authority and order in modern Methodism are explored, with particular reference to the covenant for unity between English Methodists and the Church of England.

Alexei Khomiakov (1804-1860), a great Russian thinker, one of the founders of the Slavophile school of thought, nowadays might be seen as one of the precursors of critical thought on the dangers of modern political ideas. The pathologies that Khomiakov attributes to Catholicism and Protestantism - authoritarianism, individualism, and fragmentation - are today the fundamental characteristics of modern states, of the societies in which we live, and to a large extent, of the alternatives that are brought forth in an attempt to counter them. Khomiakov's works therefore might help us take on the challenge of rescuing Christian thought from modern colonization and offer a true alternative, a space for love and truth, the living experience of the church. This book serves as a step on the path toward recovering the church's reflection on its own identity as sobornost', as the community that is the living body of Christ, and can be the next step forward toward recovering the capacity for thought from within the church.

Introduction by Piers Paul Read

Pius VI was the last great papal patron of the arts in the Renaissance and Baroque tradition. This book presents the first synthetic study of his artistic patronage and policies in an effort to understand how he used the arts strategically, as a means of countering the growing hostility to the old order and the supremacy of the papacy. Pius' initiatives included the grand sacristy for St Peter's, the new Vatican Museum of ancient art, and the re-erection of Egyptian obelisks. These projects, along with Pius' use of prints, paintings, and performances, created Pius' public persona, and helped to anchor Rome's place as the cultural capital of Europe.

The year 2000 witnessed the 900th anniversary of the birth of Adrian IV, the only Englishman to sit on the papal throne. His short pontificate of four and a half years, distracted by crisis and controversy and followed as it was by an 18-year schism, could be judged a low point in the history of the papacy. The studies in this book challenge the view that Adrian was little more than a cipher, the tool of powerful factions in the Curia. This is the first large-scale work on Adrian since 1925, and is supported by a substantial appendix of relevant sources and documents in facing translation. Relations with the Empire, the Norman kingdom and the Patrimony are all radically reassessed and the authenticity of 'Laudabiliter' reconsidered. At the same time, the spiritual, educational and devotional contexts in which he was operating are fully assessed; his activities in Catalonia and his legatine mission to Scandinavia are examined in the light of recent research, and his special relationship with St Albans is explored through his privileges to this great abbey. These studies by leading scholars in the field, together with the introductory chapter by Christopher Brooke, reveal an active and engaged pope, reacting creatively to the challenges and crises of the Church and the world.

This classic text outlines the development of the papacy as an institution in the Middle Ages. With profound knowledge, insight and sophistication, Walter Ullmann traces the course of papal history from the late Roman Empire to its eventual decline in the Renaissance.
The focus of this survey is on the institution and the idea of papacy rather than individual figures, recognizing the shaping power of the popes' roles that made them outstanding personalities. The transpersonal idea, Ullmann argues, sprang from Christianity itself and led to the papacy as an institution sui generis.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203349520

When assessing the legacy of black intellectuals in the 20th century there has been a general tendency to overlook the impact of black religious leaders. In Black Religious Intellectuals, Professor Clarence Taylor sheds some much-needed light on the rich intellectual and political tradition that lies in the black religious community.
Taylor shows how black leaders were able to carve out a space for religion as part of a progressive political agenda. Examining leaders from diverse religious and political backgrounds, he reveals the complex and innovative ways that black religious notions were continually reworked and reconstructed to accommodate the communities they served.

When assessing the legacy of black intellectuals in the 20th century there has been a tendency to overlook the impact of black religious leaders. Clarence Taylor sheds some much-needed light on the rich intellectual and political tradition that lies in the black religious community.
He shows how black leaders were able to carve out a space for religion as part of a progressive political agenda. Examining leaders from diverse religious and political backgrounds, he reveals the complex and innovative ways that black religious notions were continually reworked and reconstructed to accommodate the communities they served.

This first full-length study of the Anglo-Saxon episcopate explores the activities of the bishops in a variety of arenas, from the pastoral and liturgical to the political, social, legal and economic, so tracing the development of a particularly English episcopal identity over the course of the tenth and eleventh centuries. It makes detailed use of the contemporary evidence, previously unexploited as diffuse, difficult and largely non-narrative, rather than that from after the Norman Conquest; because this avoids the prevailing monastic bias, it shows instead that differences in order (between secular and monk-bishops) had almost no effect on their attitudes toward their episcopal roles. It therefore presents a much more nuanced portrait of the episcopal church on the eve of the Conquest, a church whose members constantly worked to create a well-ordered Christian polity through the stewardship of the English monarchy and the sacralization of political discourse: an episcopate deeply committed to pastoral care and in-step with current continental liturgical and theological developments, despite later ideologically-charged attempts to suggest otherwise; and an institution intricately woven, because of its tremendous economic and political power, into the very fabric of English local and regional society. MARY FRANCIS GIANDREA teaches at George Mason University

Kirkby's register is a lively record of life in a remote part of the country, with fighting on the Scottish border and quarrels in the diocese. This volume contains a calendar of the register, together with an introduction. John Kirkby's episcopate was an eventful one. It coincided with a period of Anglo-Scottish warfare in which the bishop participated with gusto, but even domestically his tenure of the see of Carlisle was stormy, for the bishop was involved in feuding among the local gentry, and quarrelled with his archdeacon and with the dean and chapter of York during the vacancy of 1340-42. This volume contains a wide range of adminstrative material, for example, ordination lists and exchanges of benefices (with the reasons fully given), yet provides a lively record of life in a remote part of the country. A second volume will include a rental of of episcopal manors,an appendix of transcipts of documents, and the index. R.L. STOREY is Professor of Medieval History Emeritus, Nottingham University. He is the author of several standard books on late-Medieval England.

Never before had France had a church council so large: almost 1000 churchmen assembled at Bourges on 29 November 1225 to authorize a tax on their incomes in support of the Second Albigensian Crusade. About one third of the participants were representatives sent by corporate bodies, in accordance with a new provision of canon law that insisted, for the first time ever, that there should be no taxation without representation. Basing himself on the rich surviving records, Professor Kay paints a skilful portrait of this council: the political manoeuvering by the papal legate to ensure the tax went through, and his use of this highly public occasion to humiliate members of the University of Paris; and, on the other hand, his failure to win a permanent endowment to support the papal bureaucracy, the bishops' effective protests against the pope's threat to diminish their jurisdiction over monasteries, and a subsequent 'taxpayers' revolt' that challenged the validity of the tax. The book also draws out the importance and implications of what took place, highlighting the council's place at the fountainhead of European representative democracy, the impact of the decisions made on the course of the Albigensian Crusade, the reform of monasticism, and the funding of the papal government which was left to rely on stop-gap expedients, such as the sale of indulgences. In addition, the author suggests that the corpus of texts, newly edited from the original manuscripts and with English translation, could be seen as a model for the revision of the conciliar corpus, most of which still remains based on 18th-century scholarship.

'Tim Alford has learnt these lessons not in the classroom but in the hurly-burly, heart breaking, inspiring world of Christian leadership. It's required reading for every leader who wants to leave a legacy of fired up leaders who totally follow Jesus. Is there really anything more important than that?' Andy Hawthorne OBE, Director of The Message Trust Youth and childrens' ministry is impacted by many things - from training and resources to demographic. But ultimately it is leadership skills that determine how fruitful our ministries can be. Leadership 101 is a manual designed to equip youth and kids workers with the tools they need not just to lead, but to lead well. Taking a holistic look at leadership, Tim Alford, national director of Limitless, explores the principles of self-leadership, culture and team building, vision and strategy and offers practical, experienced advice how to implement those principles in our Christian leadership. Thoroughly readable and entirely applicable, Leadership 101 is the perfect leadership book for childrens' and youth workers to refer to again and again as you lead your ministry into a brighter, more fruitful, future.

Michael Novak's eyewitness report on the second and pivotal session of Vatican II in 1964 vividly inter weaves pageantry, politics, and theology. An unusually well-informed lay intellectual, who had earned a theological degree just before the Council, Novak applauded the purposes of Pope John XXIII and his successor Paul VI-"to throw open the windows of the church." In this report, he coined the classic description of the foes of the reforms at Vatican II as the party of "nonhistorical orthodoxy," emphasizing the eternal and unchanging, neglecting history and contingency.
The author recounts many moments of high drama-Pope Paul VI's opening speech, the vote on the collegiality of bishops, the plea of Cardinal Bea on behalf of the chapter on Jews, and Bishop De Smedt's defense of religious freedom. His colorful chapter on the American bishops in 1964 serves as a fascinating benchmark, as do his many insights into the new role of the laity. His final chapter is a moving tribute to the Open Church engaging the contemporary world, and his new introduction brings this report up to date.
This work will be of compelling interest to those interested in the post-conciliar fall of Communism, under the great John Paul II-who took his name from his two predecessors at Vatican II.
The winner of the million-dollar Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion (1994), Michael Novak is a theologian, author, and former U.S. ambassador. He currently holds the George Frederick Jewett Chair in Religion and Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. where he is director of social and political studies. His writings have appeared in every major Western language, and in Chinese, Bengali, Korean, and Japanese. Also available from Transaction are his "Catholic Social Thought and Liberal Institutions, The Experience of Nothingness, The Guns of Lattimer, Unmeltable Ethnics, Belief and Unbelief," and "Choosing Presidents."

Speak up.
Don’t take it so personally.
Just make a decision already.

Every day, whether they’re competing in the business world or serving in a nonprofit, women hear that they’re not enough. They’re too emotional to lead, and the way they act, speak, and even think is detrimental to success.

But in Lead Like a Woman, former Fortune 500 executive Deborah Smith Pegues shows that your uniquely female qualities can position you for success—if you know how to use them. She’ll teach you to embrace 12 traits that can help you excel as a leader, and she’ll also help you eliminate 12 tendencies that could be hindering your progress.

You will discover how to…

• develop confidence while sharpening your professional and relational skills
• let go of unproductive thoughts and habits that sabotage your success
• create a transformative, participative, and inclusive organization

Kennon Callahan shares a new understanding of leadership, and helps missionary pastors grow their leadership by cultivating new understandings and practices in seven key areas. Callahan guides pastors and key leaders in building on their creativity and imagination in order to revitalize their local churches and advance their missions.

Cyril was bishop in Jerusalem from c.350-351 AD until 386 AD. His writings are an important source for the history of early Christian doctrine. This book provides full English translations, with explanatory commentary, of his most important works. The introduction covers Cyril's life; his historical and archaeological context; his theology; and contemporary doctrine and practice. This will be essential reading for students and scholars of patristics, and those studying the history of the early Church and late antiquity.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203137450

The essays in this volume centre upon the epoch-making papacy of Gregory VII (1073-85), and complement the author's major study of the pope. They look at the formation and expression of Gregory's ideas, notably in relation to simony and clerical chastity, and emphasise his religious motivation; attention is also given to the impact of his pontificate on the Anglo-Norman lands and Scandinavia. The book further includes extended discussion of the contrasting figure of Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury (1070-89), and of the complex question of the interaction between him and Pope Gregory.