The Catholic Church

Since the early years of civilization, Rome has consistently been a place to discover the many adversities or triumphs of a structured society. Whether it be civil war, the fall of an empire, or the rise of an empire, It can be found in the history of Rome. Just as Jesus Christ was crucified in Rome in 33 A.D, Gregory the Great was named bishop of Rome in 590 A.D. He professed himself as pope and the head of the “universal church,” which supported the petrine theory and affirmed the title for his two-hundred successors. The Catholic church has been a prominent institution for Catholics to practice their faith. The leader of this institution is the pope, or as many may say the leader of the “universal church.” Catholics believe this hierarchical structure within the Catholic religion was granted by Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:18-19.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The passage from the gospel of Matthew is the single testimony that the ecclesiastical leadership, the papacy, is based. The passage is interpreted that Jesus Christ declared Peter the “rock” on which the church should be built, Therefore he should be the successor of Christ as the head of the church. Moreover, although there were sixty-three popes before Gregory the Great, the primacy of the papacy was not established until the petrine theory was recognized. While this belief legitimized the papacy for Catholics, it drew global scrutiny from religious and political factions. Although the legitimacy of the papacy has been disputed, Its political power and authority has increased through five evolutionary periods. The five evolutionary periods of the papacy can be divided into: The early, medieval, renaissance, early modern and modern