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The Medieval Church · 18 November 1302

Unam Sanctam

Pope Boniface VIII · c. 1230–1303

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What it is

A bull declaring that there is one church outside which there is no salvation, that both swords are the church's, and that submission to the Roman pontiff is necessary for salvation.

Why it lasted

The strongest claim to papal authority ever made — issued at the exact moment that authority was collapsing before the king of France.

Where to read it

Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.

These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.

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