The volume contains Italian and English introduction and 18 studies in Italian or in English on nearly 500 pages. Its genesis was given by the international workshop organised May 2013 in Budapest with the same title for the 500th anniversary of the participation of Cardinal Tamás Bakócz the archbishop of Esztergom in the conclave. The Italian, Spanish, French, German, Austrian, Slovenian and Hungarian lecturers without exception detailed their thoughts and utilized the experiences of the scholarly conference lasting several days in monumental studies written in Italian or in English.
The volume divides into six chapters; each is introduced by a study that synthesizes the given period and themes, followed by two or three analytic papers.
There are separate chapters about the 16th century and the age of the “reform nunciatures” (I.); the 17th century political, church jurisdictional and doctrinal questions (II.); the problems of the Holy See and the local churches in the 18th century (III.); and the overseas missions in the early modern age (IV.). In the Vth (1–2) chapter the relations to some particular churches (Poland, German bishops) and the role of the nunciatures of Paris and Munich is presented up to the 19th and partially to the 20th century. The VIth chapter has again chronological character and deals with the long 19th century with outlook to the modern age.
The collection of studies utilizes and contains the latest results of the relating international researches. Its declared aim is to be an essential aid and inspirer of further examinations in these subjects of world history nature (Reformation, Gallicanism, the Roman Question....).
The book is closed by an account about the conference and an index of names. The results of the Italian studies are delineated in English summaries.