Rome

ROME

BASIC R.C. BELIEF The “Eternal City”, in which Peter ministered as Bishop and hence Pope. Since Rome was the political head of the world as well as the center of paganism, it was an important city. Among the five Patriarchs of the early Church, Rome demanded the place of highest honor. Eventually there were only two competitors, Rome and Constantinople. The problem of primacy was solved when dual ex-communications formed two churches.

CHRISTIAN COMMENT Although churchmen from about the 4th century did tend to give in to the demands of Rome, there is nothing biblical to suggest either a need for a Pope or the linking of that Pope with Rome. All of the political battles among churchmen, and the resulting pre-eminence of Rome, came about because of the degeneration of the institutionalized Church, especially after it became the Imperial Church of the Roman Empire.