From its beginnings this church in the capital, with its claim to the ministry of the apostles Peter and Paul, gained the respect and admiration of Christians throughout the empire. That is not to say, as the Roman Catholic church has claimed, that God gave it authority over all other churches. But once a church took root in the capital it naturally assumed leadership in Christian affairs, even as large churches in metropolitan areas do in our own time. Beyond Rome to the west and north, progress of the gospel seems to have been slow. In the southern area of what is now called France (then
...more
