The Priestess and the Pope weaves a powerful narrative with telling historical details, revealing for readers the crucial leadership role women played in the formation of the early church, which has long been hidden from the public eye. In the year 495, Pope Gelasius issues an epistle demanding that outlying churches cease the practice of ordaining women as priests. Samuel, a young papal aide, is commissioned to deliver the Pope's epistle to a southern Italian church with a long history of both female and married priests. Unbeknownst to the Bishop of Rome, he begins to study in secret the...