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I don’t think the church petered out, or shrunk in authority, I simply don’t think the church is what Catholics think it is. They seem to think that it is an earthly organization that was founded by Christ through Peter, whereas I think it is a spiritual organization founded by Christ through the Holy Spirit. I know that Catholics at least acknowledge the spiritual church, but they act as if the earthly one has more importance, when just the opposite is true: the earthly church is just a shadow of the heavenly body of all believers.

Jesus mentioned the word "church" only twice in the Gospels, both times in Matthew: in Matt 16:18 when He "builds" it upon the rock of Peter; and in Matt. 18:17 when He says that if you have a dispute with your brother who has sinned against you, you should take it to the Church.

How does a purely invisible church adjudicate between two earthly people who have a dispute?

And at times in history, there have been really big disputes about really big things, such as: what is the list of books which we must regard as the Bible (Sacred Scripture)? How, when and where did an invisible church give a binding ruling on that?

I repeat: how, when, and where?