[marbren]

Weren't there non Pope following Christians in the first millennium of the Church? Walenses(sp) or something?

[Cronos]

Weren't there non Pope following Christians in the first millennium of the Church?

Yup -- the Pope is properly the Patriach of the West. There were Christians under the Patriach of Constantinople, under the Pope of Egypt (the Copts, the current Pope of the Copts is Pope Shenouda), under the Catholicos of the Assyrian Church, under the Catholicos of the Malabar Christians in India, under the Patriarch of Antioch etc. etc. However they were all within the Apostolic Church irrespective of which bishop they had