In the year 1166, the Eastern Roman Emperor Manuel I made a request of the head of the Armenian church to compose a short explanation to the history and constitution of their church structure, so that it might remain independent from the Imperial church in Asia Minor. The result of that request is this document, composed by the the contemporary Catholicos of All Armenian, Nerses IV, who explained the unique features of Armenian liturgy and ecclesiology, and how it differed from the more fa...

As its title suggests, this work by St. Bernard of Clairvaux in interested in promoting the new moral code of combat that has been baptized and become the groundwork for the various Catholic military orders. While Catholic orders for the maintenance for the hospital in Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulcher had already been established, St. Bernard wants to bluster the morale and prestige of the the Knights of the Temple, also known as the Templar Knights to history. He sees their efforts in the...

This work, by the Carthaginian bishop, Capreolus, dictates some of the concerns and trepidations that the church in North Africa had during the time of the Ecumenical council at Ephesus. Since the African church's luminary, St. Augustine of Hippo (d. 430), had passed a few years prior, there is a gap in the historic record of how the African bishops perceived Imperial ordinances and the political fiasco that was the tenure of Nestorius as patriarch of Constantinople.

This is a short collection of documents between the successors of St. Columba and the kings of the Lombardic state. Initially, they are a sign of a civic guarantee for both the Catholic faith and the monastery in particular. They are given by the Lombard court to ensure that their own Arian leanings will not impact the state of the political impartially they have on their Italian subjects.

This short volume compiles the few remains fragments of the sentinel work by the Byzantine Historian Hippolytus of Thebes. They are collected here translated into English for the first time. These dozen fragments are the surviving elements of his magnum opus detailing events of the life of the Emperor Constantine, the family of Christ, and events related to the founding of the early Christian church.

This 5th century apocryphal text gives insight into the early Christian tradition regarding the life of John the Baptist and the subsequent fate of his earthly remains. The surviving manuscripts are composed in Syriac, but claim to be from the pen of the Coptic priest, Serapion.

In this short volume, St. Albert the Great outlines and explores the meaning of human destiny. His draws upon sources from the classical world and tries to synthesize their perspectives through the process of medieval scholasticism.

"The Vision of Theophilus is an apocryphal work that enjoyed great popularity in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages [wrongly attributed to the Patriarch Theophilus (385-412 CE)]. The original text, now lost, was composed in Coptic, but versions have survived in Syriac, Arabic and Ethiopic.

Bessarion (sometimes with the prenomen John of Basil), the famous Greek Orthodox bishop who involved himself in ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church composed this work of apologetics, following the failed union of churches at the Council of Florence. He attempts to report on and display the common doctrinal ground that is at the root of East-West Christian dialogue to his fellow Greek bishops, many of whom were living in exile, or under Turkish domination. His primary opponen...

Anastasius Bibliothecarius, also known as Anastasius the Librarian, was an Antipope during the 9th century. He composed this short collection of documents regarding the first thirty forth Roman Popes. It spans the pontificate of St. Peter in the 1st century and the 4th century tenure of St. Sylvester. This text also contains the both the original Latin text, as well as the English translation.

In nomine Domini is a papal bull written by Pope Nicholas II. The bull was issued on 13 April 1059 and caused major reforms in the system of papal election, most notably establishing the cardinal-bishops as the sole electors of the pope, with the consent of minor clergy. It also start to help define the relationship that existed between the bishops of Rome and the Holy Roman Emperor.

This is a small library of the ecclesiastical documents issued by the German king, Louis II, during his tenure over the eastern Frankish realm. This includes his work on Ecclesiastical Constitution, Chapters of law for the German church, and Chapters for the church in France and Aquitaine. These works represent a snapshot of the state of the Western church during the height of the Carolingian period.