Судьба средневекового папства в современной России

Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Серия 2. История. 2026. Т. 71. № 2. С. 525–533.

Потехина И. П.

The review is dedicated to the fourth volume of the “History of the Roman Popes” (2024), which represents a continuation of the long-term scholarly project lead by the philosopher and historian Vitaly L. Zadvorny. The volume itself is dedicated to the popes of the 11th - early 13th centuries and generally continues the traditions laid down in the previous volumes (published in 1995, 1997, and 2019). The author of the review notes that despite the title the book is still more of a bio-bibliographic dictionary or a reference book on the history of the papacy than a monographic study. The undoubted achievement of V. L. Zadvorny is the inclusion in the book not only of the biographies of individual popes and an extensive bibliography, but also texts that came directly from the Papal See, translated into Russian. At the same time, the book is not free from some shortcomings. Among them the lack of understanding of a number of issues concerning the dynastic ties of individual popes with Roman and Italian aristocratic families, the stages and factors of the development of the papal administrative apparatus, papal financial activity, etc. Some claims can also be addressed to the author's selection of sources for translation. However, the most noticeable and significant of the shortcomings of the publication by V. L. Zadvorny is the excessive idealization of papal power and the overly complimentary style of narration, which hinders the creation of an objective vision of the ways and mechanisms of the formation of the papal monarchy during the Gregorian and post-Gregorian eras.

Keywords: история Средних веков, история папства, History of the Middle Ages, Gregorian Reform, григорианская реформа, history of the papacy, Papal See, папский престол, Gregory VII, Innocent III, V.L. Zadvorny, Григорий VII, Иннокентий III, В.Л. Задворный