an appeal that was not always accepted (as Rome had no authority to demand it) in addition to all the times bishops were named without even asking or refering to the bishop of Rome, and with no appeal from the bishop in Rome either
until after Constantine joined the church and the state, and after which the power of his sword was used to enforce any “appeal” from Rome be accepted as an edict
and wouldn’t the Roman church of today just love to have the secular emperors’ power again
thank the Lord those who believe in him will never again permit it
>>Church and state were not united until Theodosius I made Christianity the religion of the the Empire, an empire at that point was divided into East and West.
After Constantine, his heirs persecuted the Church.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/16027c.htm
The Western Emperor was largely powerless following the year 400 as the Western Roman Empire disintegrated under the barbarian invasions.
While the Eastern Emperor exercised control over the hierarchy of what is now the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for the following millenium.
The point here is that the Roman Empire had little to do with papal authority in the West because Roman secular authority disintegrated within a century of St. Constantine’s conversion.
