History of the papacy

Within Catholicism, the pope is head of the Catholic Church, a position which Catholics believe spans from the time of Saint Peter to the present day. In the first three centuries of the Christian era, many of Peter's successors as bishops of Rome are obscure figures, most suffering martyrdom along with members of their flock in periods of persecution. During the early Church, the bishops of Rome enjoyed no temporal power until the time of Constantine.

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