I’ve been reading about early Christianity, which obviously leads to the papacy and early church. This is an informative podcast and often times amusing.

This has become my very favorite podcast. I love this topic and Steve’s delivery is perfect: a well organized and direct lecture with cute and funny turns of phrase and observations thrown in. He doesn’t presume that you already know things. Yay, Steve.

Quite insightful and informative analysis of the Papacy, but includes so much detail and information that leaves the listener yearning and wanting more. Steve sticks with the program and the naysayers (see some of the negative reviews) are either lost in the forest or looking up the wrong tree…can I get an Amen!?

Really enjoying this Podcast about the history of the Papacy ,Steve tells the history in a clear ,interesting and compelling way ,alway look forward to new podcasts. John Yonkers New York

Well presented historical podcast. All the things you never knew you wanted to know.

I was following a different podcast detailing Papal history, but it was often irreverent and the presentation style of one presenter was absolutely silly. I had resigned myself that there was no good option until I discovered History of the Papacy presented by Stephen Guerra. The episodes are scholarly and presented with respect. The guest episodes add extra perspectives and I enjoy the discussions of the historical subjects and persons. I particularly enjoy the duo of Steve and Gary. Their sessions are relaxed, interesting and can provide a chuckle or two. Because this is a prolific podcast, I’m only up to 2021. I see some recent reviews denigrating a guest named Dennis Prager. I don’t know who that is and I may react as strongly as some of these reviewers, but for anyone new to the podcast don’t be guilty of throwing the baby out with the bath water. There is real gold in these episodes and if there is an episode that doesn’t interest you move forward. I enjoy the sidetracks and teasers. The history of the Christian church is immense. Going off central from the papacy provides context of the times and influences the Papacy experienced. This is good history as history is never linear. The more you know, the better you understand. As for commercials—if you aren’t supporting this podcast through Patreon you have no ground to complain. It is not free to produce and Steve’s time is worth far more than I imagine his supporters are able to provide. For some unexplainable reason the commercials I get are in Spanish? I don’t care. I’m happy to have the information Steve brings. It’s valuable. It will be for you too if you have a real interest in the 2000 years of the Christian church.

I love the way this podcast breaks down the details and minutiae while still presenting the info in a very palatable & digestible way. Church history is so fascinating yet pretty impenetrable (to me) and the pod really does a great job. Huge props to Steve, lots of respect

This podcast is NOT about the Papacy. It’s full of Christian Nationalist pap with Fox quotes and a side order of prepper fearmongering. Go elsewhere if you want actual history

Steve is a helluva a podcaster, very informative and thought provoking work. For better or worse Roman Catholicism and the papacy have shaped a huge part of our world view and ideology.

Steve truly does an amazing job explaining the Papacy and Christian church. The shows are entertaining and informative. Thanks Steve for all your hard work

I have misgivings about the amount of ads you allow onto your show, especially those advocating unfettered gabbling. Seems like a Catholic show should understand this concept. Avarice is a delay sin.

This was a lightweight but occasionally interesting history podcast until they had fascist apologist/fake university founder Dennis Prager on as a guest. No need to listen to this garbage anymore.

This podcast used to be good. Dennis Prager?!?!? Seriously!?! This dude is conspiracy nut who believes in a literal interpretation of the Bible and spreads his falsehoods and propaganda. I hear Alex Jones is free next week. Maybe you can have him on to talk about ancient aliens in the Bible.

Dennis prager? Was the qanon guy not available?

This show used to be quite different. From the beginning, this show was purportedly going to be a sequential history of the papacy with “Sidetrack” episodes to deviate from that for fun and interest. About two years ago, the entire podcast became about sidetrack episodes. In addition to this, the bulk of episodes released more recently are “Teaser” episodes, which really have no content at all and seem to be excuses to pump advertising. The host really knows his material, but has lost the thread in terms of sequencing. Perhaps it is not as fun or lucrative to produce a sequential history podcast, but we could at the very least do without all these ridiculous TEASER episodes.

While I am not a Catholic, I find these episodes very interesting and a very good birds eye view of the Papacy.

Sorry, but serving me a local car dealership advertisement is the fastest way to get me to tune out. Bye!

The history of the Papacy (which must essentially include a history of the Catholic Church) is a massive undertaking and can get bogged down in doctrine and religion. The host does a masterful job of avoiding pitfalls like this while making the material interesting and accessible. Highly recommended.

Very good at keeping it academic not faith based. Really good at making it entertaining.

I love listening to Steve and Garry talk through biblical stories. They take turn reading bits, and then discuss. When they enact faux court, it’s brilliant.

Stephen Guerra is simply the gold standard when it comes to podcasters and the papacy. He has an encyclopedic knowledge about the subject and his analysis is second to none. If you want to understand the papacy, this podcast is where to go.

Stephen Guerra has become the gold standard to listen to for church history,Dr Carly McNamara was a terrific guest to learn about Irish church influence on Christianity!

Why do a show on a subject and then make fun of it and scoff at it.. Bringing in protestent "experts" to comment on catholic popes seems bad. maybe an agenda.. show started well. i got about 1/3 through it.. usual protestants ragging on catholics. no one from the popes side. many popes were bad. but to get it from the catholic side would be better.

I enjoy history podcasts and have read extensively on the history of various religions. Steve’s presentation is exactly what I have been looking for.

He plays the same Verizon ad 2-3 times in a row CONSTANTLY. Takes away from the show…

Overall, I would recommend the entirety of the podcast to anyone. However the tone of the Minor Prophets has struck me as a little off. I was excited to listen to it and learn and I have but, as I listen to Steve and his guest host analysis of these books it sounds as if they believe them to be a historical documents but historical work of mainly fiction. That is fine, but way do a Christian-themed podcast, then mock the very books that the podcasts subject matter rest on? I makes me take this podcasts lightly now. Not sure if that is the current intent, if it is, then I will appreciate the earlier episodes for the brilliant work they were, but understand that now, this podcast is something different from what it started out as. Hope this feedback helps to get this podcast back on track.

I didn’t realize this podcast existed but am looking forward to learning more about the history of the papacy!

I teach art history, a subject that incorporates the connection of art, religion (spiritual practice), and philosophy. I’ll include this podcast as a teaching component in my course to help AH students better understand religious motifs. - L. Riggin

I’m very interested in Roman History and European history. This podcast does a great job showing how Christianity and Catholicism played a role in shaping the history of Europe.

This is a Protestant podcast disguising itself as Catholic. The history part is great, when it gets into theology do yourself a favor and listen to someone else.

This podcast is good for what it is. But if you’re looking for a history of the Papacy, or the Catholic Church more broadly, look elsewhere. Any given episode, you might be talking about Nestorian missionaries in China, or Gnostics, or the Protestant Reformation, or the Russian Orthodox Church. Or maybe a Pope. You never know, he’s all over the place. It would be better titled “An extremely unorganized history of Christianity”. An it is very unorganized. Popes of the early Middle Ages one week, Martin Luther the next, maybe an episode on how Revelation fits into the Jewish apocalyptic tradition the one after that. Maybe an interview with a modern non-Catholic clergyman for...some reason. I got through maybe half the episodes and quit listening. It was just too scattershot for me. There was no consistent narrative at all. Even when he had maybe 6-8 episodes on a unified topic, they’d be interspersed with three different side tracks, none of them at all related to the main topic. It was really frustrating, not least because the information in any individual episode was usually pretty good, there was just no coherence to the podcast overall.

I’m 6 years behind current episodes and catching up, so new episodes may be a bit different. Not exactly a history of popes- it’s even better than I thought. It fills in a bunch of early church history that doesn’t get a lot of air time. Steve is a great researcher and narrator. He moves at a good pace- lots of detail and color, but doesn’t bog down over-explaining things.

This podcast is full of interesting details and anecdotes. The host does a great job of presenting a variety of complicated and crucial topics. I look forward to each successive episode.

This podcast does a really good job explaining the rise of Christianity within the historical context. There aren’t many written sources during the collapsing Roman Empire and the rising of the Christian Church but this podcast provides a lot detail you won’t hear anywhere else.

This podcast is a key to your understanding of western history and the development of the western Christian church. Steve leaves no stones untouched as he narrates a path through his topics. He’s gotten so good at this. I always have episodes queued up and ready for listening. I got sucked in after listening to the History of Rome and embarking on the history of Byzantium. The History of the Papacy provides context to some of the greatest events in western history. His side track episodes are a must. Thanks for doing this, Steve!

Well-researched and balanced. Perhaps other people would respond better to the presentation than do I, but the presenter needs some coaching from a voice actor. I don’t want to say something cruel about someone who is obviously putting forward such sincere and intelligent effort, but the presentation makes the content very difficult to appreciate.

Have you ever wanted to know about Arianism? Nestorianism? Monophysism v. Dyophysitism? How all of this affected the early Church and how the Bishop of Rome became the head of the Roman Catholic Church? Then the History of Papacy Podcast is your huckleberry. This podcast does a good job of explaining the hows and whys the Papacy is what it is today with some digressions. There are many digressions, almost as many sidetrack episodes as there are narrative ones. Fortunately, Steve and his sidetracking guests are entertaining. Definitely give it a listen.

Sorry. Unsubscribing.

I first gave this podcast a listen when a friend mentioned something about Arianism and I did not know what that was. I became hooked after one episode! This is a truly informative and entertaining podcast. Thanks to Steve for the massive effort this must take!

This is a fascinating podcast about a topic that is not typically discussed. I love that Steve’s “sidetrack” episodes are almost as numerous as the standard episodes. Thanks for the education!

It’s a fascinating and interesting podcast. I’m not particularly religious but I am interested in the varied history of religion(s).

I truly appreciate you bringing us a podcast that tries to tell the history of the papacy without all the religious propaganda. I've been wanting to hear this for a long time so thank you

Interesting but marginalizes the Bible and faith.

Steve has poured a lot of time into researching the Popes and the Church. He also spends a great deal of time discussing the people and events that help shape these two to give you much needed context for the main subject. He obviously loves doing the podcast and the research for it, and it is refreashing to hear someone who is trying to tell the story and doen't have a real adgenda beyond that. My only complaint is that I'm caught up on all the episodes.

Fascinating and very relevant.

I love all this information

Steve does a great job of thoroughly reviewing a little known sector of history. He discusses interesting areas of history, politics and theology. While there is a lot of sidetracking he keeps it interesting and comprehensive. Listen at 1.5 or 2x speed though. Otherwise he drones a bit

The History of the Papacy Podcast is one of the finest history podcasts out there. With a long form main narrative, Steve keeps the podcast focused and progressing, but its in the bonus/sidetrack episodes that Steve’s work really shines. Whether diving into current papal events, collaborating with other history podcasters, our just deciding to go down a fascinating rabbit trail, Steve’s work is never boring. There’s always something new and Steve brings a balanced and fresh perspective to Papal history. Absolutely recommended!

I have listened to 22 episodes and there has been little to no talk about popes much less the history around them. I am extremely disappointed in this podcast. I understand there has to be some build up but this is not what this podcast was advertised to be.

The host and guests bring a genuine passion to the subject matter. It draws the listener in. Very interesting to hear Christianity history through their lens. Well done.