This chapter examines Paul Cullen’s arrival in Armagh, the subsequent Synod of Thurles and its reforms of the discipline and devotions of the Irish Catholic Church, the appalled reaction of the British government, and Cullen’s successful defence of the synod against British complaints to Rome.

Chapter 5 examines how the Cappadocians utilise an array of protective measures against the devil. The sacrament of baptism is the first defence and the greatest protection against the devil’s attacks; at the same time, however, baptism heightens the likelihood of the devil’s advances. Amongst the numerous tactics that they employ to combat the ongoing threat of the devil, the Cappadocians appeal to the sign of the cross. They also teach on wearing the whole armour of God. These forms of protection emphasise the eschatological nature of the devil’s defeat, since they recall what Christ has done while also highlighting how spiritual warfare continues throughout the Christian life.

This chapter traces Cullen’s adaptation to the reign of Pius IX, his opposition to Sir Robert Peel’s proposal to found three non-denominational ’Queen’s College’s’ in Ireland, and finally his own and his family’s invovlement in attempts to relieve suffering during the Great Famine.

This chapter examines Cullen’s experience as Archbishop of Dublin, his management of his priests, his attempts to reform religious orders, particuarly of men, his support for women religious, and his attitudes towards poverty, proselytism, and the role of the state in providing social and educational services.

Paul Cullen became Ireland’s first cardinal in 1866, an appointment which formalised his long-standing influence in the Propaganda Fide, especially in the appointment of bishops in the English-speaking world. This chapter considers two such interventions, in Scotland and Australia, where Cullen sought to use his influence, unsucessfully in the former and successfully in the latter. The chapter then turns to the first Vatican Council, where Cullen was an important voice in support of papal infalibility, ultimately providing the compromise language that was accepted as Catholic doctrine.

This chapter traces Paul Cullen’s origins, his family’s experience of the 1798 rebellion, the execution of his uncle and imprisonment of his father, his education at a Quaker school, journey to Rome, and student years the Urban College of the Propaganda Fide.

This chapter examines Paul Cullen’s attempts to navigate British party politics, at first in an alliance with the Liberal Party, and then through his own political vehicle, the National Association. The Association was intended by Cullen to fill a vacuum in constitutional politics, and to advocate for the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland, moderate land reform, and Catholic education. The first two Cullen saw as being obtainable in alliance with the more radical sectors of the British Liberal Party associated with John Bright.

Paul Cullen was deeply comitted to Catholic education, and in particular to the erection of a Catholic University in Ireland. This chapter examines his attempts to create such a university, his recruitment of John Henry Newman as its first rector, the educational theories of both men, and the slow decline and eventual collapse first of their relationship, and then of the University itself. The effective failure of the Catholic University led to Cullen experiencing a serious nervous breakdown in the summer of 1858.

The Introduction establishes the scope, methods, and aims of the book and explores the treatment of the devil in contemporary scholarship on early Christian thought. This chapter also introduces the book’s interlocutors: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, and Macrina the Younger and provides an account of ‘the Cappadocians’ as a group of apprentices in a workshop on spiritual warfare. The Introduction closes with an outline of the book’s argument.

Paul Cullen’s most important political goal was the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland. This chapter examines how Cullen navigated William Gladstone’s proposal to do exactly that, his careful handling of the political risks, and his deliberate eschewal of controversial demands. The chapter concludes with a discussion of Cullen’s attitude towards Gladstone’s proposed reform of tenant rights in Ireland.

The Conclusion focuses on the book’s principal arguments and offers thoughts for further reflection. Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, and Macrina the Younger treat the devil as a live enemy in their midst. The devil is central to their respective theological projects and to their visions of the Christian life, appearing in one form or another across the full breadth of their corpora. They utilise a range of biblical, philosophical, theological, and spiritual resources as they respond to the enemy of salvation and as they teach the church to do the same. Reflection on the devil is not simply a strategy for explaining the problem of evil in the world—the devil himself is the problem.

This chapter examines Cullen’s appointment as rector of the irish College in Rome, his career in that position, and his lifelong friendship with his vice rector Tobias Kirby, as well as his abortive appointment as coadjtuor bishop of Charleston, South Carolina.

This chapter traces Paul Cullen’s attempt to obstruct the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between Britain and the Holy See, the turmoil leading up to the flight of Pius IX and the establishment of the Roman Republic, and Cullen’s own experience of Rome during the republican occupation, before turning to his uexpected and unwelcome appointment as archbishop of Armagh.