Inventing the Church

Bénédicte Sère explores how the Catholic Church has repeatedly invented and reinvented itself through a constant back-and-forth between narratives of the Middle Ages and modernity, excavating and traces this history through seven pivotal concepts.

Bénédicte Sère is a member of the Institut Universitaire de France and an associate professor in medieval history at the University of Paris Nanterre. She is a visiting professor at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Caroline Wazer is a translator and writer who holds a PhD in ancient Roman history from Columbia University.

Caroline Walker Bynum is University Professor Emerita at Columbia University and professor emerita of medieval European history at the Institute for Advanced Study.