Ideal for students of theology, or for anyone asking the question, "What does the Catholic Church believe about the Pope?", The Early Papacy is a clear exposition and sound defence of the Catholic belief of the role of the Pope in the Church, drawing upon evidence from the Fathers of the Church up to 451.
Originally published in 1920, the scholarship of Dr. Adrian Fortescue retains its validity. This, the third edition, has been edited so that readers today can appreciate Fortescue's arguments, and includes a preface which contains hitherto unpublished extracts from his fascinating correspondence.
Appendices provide extracts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the papacy, and offer a guide to further reading.
Adrian Fortescue was the first parish priest of the church of St. Hugh, Letchworth, Hertfordshire. He was a gifted linguist, musician, artist, historian, theologian and liturgist. He is best remembered for his Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, the most recent (1962) edition of which has been republished by The Saint Austin Press.
Scott M.P. Reid, formerly a teacher of religious education, is now a monk of Farnborough Abbey, England. He is editor of Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, A Bitter Trial and General Sacramental Absolution, published by The Saint Austin Press.
The Early Papacy, by Fr. Adrian Fortescue (ed. Scott M.P. Reid).
92 pages, paperback. ISBN 1 901157 60 1.
We regret that this book is now out of print in the UK.