Reveals how the largest Sun Temple in the world, built according to Hermetic principles, is located at one of Christianity’s holiest sites: the Vatican • Shows how famous Renaissance philosophers and scientists called for a Hermetic reformation of Christianity by building a magical Temple of the Sun in Rome • Explains how the Vatican architect Bernini designed St. Peter’s Square to reflect heliocentric and Hermetic principles • Reveals how the design was masterminded by Bernini, Jesuit scholars, the mystical Queen Christine of Sweden, and several popes In 16th century Italy, in the midst of the Renaissance, two powerful movements took hold. The first, the Hermetic Movement, was inspired by an ancient set of books housed in the library of Cosimo de’ Medici and written by the Egyptian sage Hermes Trismegistus. The movement expounded the return of the “true religion of the world” based on a form of natural magic that could draw down the powers of the heavens and incorporate them into statues and physical structures. The other movement, the Heliocentric Movement launched by Copernicus, was a direct challenge to the Vatican’s biblical interpretation of a geocentric world system. Declared a heresy by the Pope, those who promoted it risked the full force of the Inquisition. Exploring the meeting point of these two movements, authors Robert Bauval and Chiara Hohenzollern reveal how the most outspoken and famous philosophers, alchemists, and scientists of the Renaissance, such as Giordano Bruno and Marsilio Ficino, called for a Hermetic reformation of the Christian religion by building a magical utopic city, an architectural version of the heliocentric system. Using contemporary documents and the latest cutting-edge theses, the authors show that this Temple of the Sun was built in Rome, directly in front of the Vatican’s Basilica of St. Peter. They explain how the Vatican architect Bernini designed St. Peter’s Square to reflect the esoteric principles of the Hermetica and how the square is a detailed representation of the heliocentric system. Revealing the magical architectural plan masterminded by the Renaissance’s greatest minds, including Bernini, Jesuit scholars, Queen Christine of Sweden, and several popes, the authors expose the ultimate heresy of all time blessed by the Vatican itself.

Arthur S. Turberville details the Vatican's doctrine underlying the violent Roman Inquisition, which was used to suppress all opponents to the Roman Catholic Church's well-established religion. This book is not a detailed history of the Inquisition, but rather an excellent survey of literature on the Church's doctrines on this practice.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1986.

Heresies, like doctrinal formulations, are products of history. They must be understood historically as well as theologically. When doctrinal issues become intertwined with historical ones, advocates of a new understanding have often run afoul of religious authorities.

Some of the most portentous events in medieval history—the Cathar crusade, the persecution and mass burnings of heretics, the papal inquisition—fall between 1000 and 1250, when the Catholic Church confronted the threat of heresy with force. Moore’s narrative focuses on the motives and anxieties of elites who waged war on heresy for political gain.

As hunger for the faith continues to grow, Pope Benedict XVI gives the Catholic Church the food it seeks with 598 questions and answers in the