The Rise of the Papacy

Gene talks about events that led up to the formation of the Papacy in the Roman church, and how it gained prominence over the head of the church in Alexandria, which was established 200 years before. A key event is the martyrdom of Peter in Rome, and claims of the church in Rome that Peter founded the church there. Fairly early on, around AD 250, the passage from Matthew 16:18 is cited by Roman bishops as a bases of authority. The continued deterioration of the Roman empire, control, and rule in the 5th century accelerates the rise of the authority of the church, and consequently the Papacy, in Rome.