Ep. 30 Popes & the Vatican

This week I look at Popes and the Vatican and find out who the first pope was in addition to how they got that name. Come along for the ride this week as I ask, Popes & the Vatican, how did that happen? St. Peter is considered the first pope. He was one of the 12 apostles who walked with Jesus. The name pope wouldn’t be used for centuries but since he was the only apostle to actually oversee a church and being that he did it in Rome; this makes him the first pope in history. St. Peter died between 64-68 AD depending on who you ask. He was crucified upside down because when he was about to be crucified the regular way he said he wasn’t worthy of being crucified the same way as Jesus.  After St. Peter’s death, the next step towards the creation of popes comes in the form of the bishop of Rome. This position originates because all Christian towns at that time had bishops. St. Linus assumed the position of Bishop of Rome after St. Peter and for years, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd Century he wad considered the first pope.  Bishops were considered the most Christian man in the city.  And being that Rome was the home of early Christianity due to St. Peter. The bishop of Rome became the highest level. In 312 AD. Constantine who was the pagan commander of Rome’s western army declared war on the eastern side to see who would be the true emperor. During this time Constantine finds Jesus and decides to become a Christian. He was the first Christian emperor of Rome. One of his first official acts is to issue the edict of Milan. This makes Christianity legal. It asks that everyone treat Christians with benevolence rather than persecution. Which is important because at that time Christian’s were getting killed left and right just for believing in God. The edict of Milan  helped to make Christianity favorable among the people however it did not establish it as the state religion of Rome.  Constantine gives power in the towns to the bishops. They settle disputes and control the food supply.  He makes churches tax exempt as well and that is the reasons why taxes are still tax exempt today. There was infighting in the church so Constantine calls a conference to find a way to come together. They create the Nicaea creed which first occurs at the council of Nicaea in 325 AD. This lays out what it means to be a christian. Things like Jesus Christ divine and on the same level as God. All the bishops had to sign it or risk being excommunicated from the church. in 476 AD Odcacer who was considered a barbarian at the time, came with his group of soldiers and over threw child emperor Romulus Augustus. Naming himself the king of Italy. This is marked as the end of the Western Roman Empire. Its interesting to note that Odacer worked with the Eastern Roman Empire and was even said to have the roman senate on his side. The head of the church moves to Constantinople and begins to thrive there. Since the church is centered in Constantinople a lot of the language used changes from Latin to Greek. This has always interested me because I never understood why there are so many influential religious texts in both languages. They begin to call the bishop of Rome father, which in Greek translates to papas or pope. This happens around 600 AD. Since Rome was in such a bad way the Christian people really look to the bishop of Rome or pope to give them their food and water and help them survive in what was a bad time. This was a time when Christians in that space really had to band together again like in the older times because the ares was run by pagan barbarians. This also marks the beginning of the Greek Orthodox Church. This split happens when Pope Leo III crowns King Charlamagne of France the Holy Roman Empire. The eastern church didn’t like that very much. But we’re getting a little off the time line. The role of the pope was said to solidified, depending on who you ask,