[hosepipe]

[.. The Church always had a person given "more respect" -- Peter was the head of the apostles, not in the sense of a drill sergeant and his troop, but more the term of first among equals. The Roman Bishop was given that honor -- right from the start, there was never any doubt of the Roman bishop having that "honor" ..]

Not so.. Absolutely not so.. The churchs for the almost 300 years were local area controlled.. They fellowshipped somewhat accross areas but the control was local.. even if they agreed on "things"..

[Cronos]

Not so.. Absolutely not so.. The churchs for the almost 300 years were local area controlled.. They fellowshipped somewhat accross areas but the control was local.. even if they agreed on "things"..

Sorry, that's not correct. The various Churches within the Roman Empire and in the Parthian and Axum Empire were always in communication with each other, right from the times of the apostles. Take Paul's travels for example, there was regular communiques. Read www.newadvent.com or check on wikipedia or even just google it up

[kosta50]

Cronos: [.. The Church always had a person given "more respect" -- Peter was the head of the apostles, not in the sense of a drill sergeant and his troop, but more the term of first among equals. The Roman Bishop was given that honor -- right from the start, there was never any doubt of the Roman bishop having that "honor" ..]

hosepipe: Not so.. Absolutely not so.. The churchs for the almost 300 years were local area controlled.. They fellowshipped somewhat accross areas but the control was local.. even if they agreed on "things"..

The churches are still a communion of bishops and laity. The bishops are equal but some of them have greater jurisdictional responsibility. As the Church grew, so did the levels of that responsibility. That had nothing to do with the onenness of the Church. Even St. Ignatius, as early as 105 AD, speaks of only one true Church and he calls it catholic.