yes there were, someone had to prevail, and the Catholic church did. Would you expect anything less from the church that Jesus Himself created?????Now to the papacy....as the church grew she recognized that, in order to maintain a semblance of continuity she needed a centralized position of authority. The Pope is not a special human being other than the fact that he holds a high office. He is the titular leader of more than 1 billion human believers and he is their inspiration as to the understanding of the Christian faith. Believe or don't, it doesn't matter...he is still the head of ALL CHRISTIANITY on Earth...
That is so not true. If he really thinks that, he's more deluded than he realizes, as is anyone who agrees with it.
He may be the head of all Catholics on Earth, but since Catholic does not by default equal Christian, he can lay NO claim to being the head of all Christians on Earth.
The head of the church is Jesus, not the pope.
Ephesians 5:23-32 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.