Özet:

In 1880, Ernest Renan received an invitation to London to speak at the Hibbert Institute about the relationship between Christianity and Rome. This translated lecture, along with others in the series, makes it very evident that the subject matter of the lecture was Pope Pius IX's doctrine of papal infallibility, which was established following the First Vatican Council in 1870. Here, Renan narrates the history of Rome's rise and fall to its esteemed current place in the Church hierarchy. He presents an overview of both the pagan era of ancient Rome and its subsequent era, which was distinguished by the arrival of Peter and Paul in place of Romus and Romulus. He notes that the Church of Rome maintained its prestige among the Christian communities until Constantine moved the capital to the east. He further claims that Emperor Constantine himself was partly responsible for the split between the Eastern and Western Churches. Renan expresses that the lectures he delivered at the Hibbert Institute were intended to provide an explanation of the past glory of the Catholic Church. He admits that he had been brought up by the Church, that these deep bonds from his childhood had bound him to Catholicism, and that even though he had left the Church, he had not lost hope in her. However, Renan also asserts that Catholicism is a threat to the freedom of human reason and that it is therefore right and necessary to oppose the Catholic Church and her clergy.