Welcome to the history of the Christian Church, Season 1 with Lance Rolston.

This episode is titled Popes, and we begin with a quote from Pope Leo I in his fifth sermon. Quote,

it is true that all bishops taken singly preside each with his proper solicitude over his own flock

and know that they will have to give account of the sheep committed to them. To us, and by us,

Leo means the popes. To us, however, is committed the common care of all,

and no single bishop's administration is other than a part of our task, unquote.

The history of the popes, also known as the bishops of Rome, could easily constitute its

own study and podcast. Stephen Gera has done that very thing. You can access it via iTunes

and the history podcaster's website. Our treatment here will be far more summary and brief.

Several of the factors that elevated the church at Rome to prominence by AD 200 were still

pertinent in the 4th and 5th centuries.

Theologically, while at the dawn of the 3rd century, Rome claimed an overriding apostolic authority

derived from both Peter and Paul, by the 5th century, Paul had been dropped.

His historical role in the Church at Rome was forgotten in favor of the textural argument based on three

key New Testament passages that seemed to assign Peter a special place as de facto leader of

the church under Christ. For those taking notes, the passages are Matthew 16, Luke 22, and John 21.

As noted in previous episodes, another factor lending weight to Rome's claim as Premier Church

was the steadfastness of the bishops of Rome during the Aryan controversy.

Rome simply maintained a reputation for orthodoxy.

It's interesting that the bishops of Rome never attended one of the ecumenical councils.

By doing so, they ostensibly avoided the political maneuvers that often accompanied the councils,

as we saw with Cyril and Nestorius and the nasty schemes that embroiled the churches of Alexandria

...