PAPACY, the name most commonly applied to the office and position of the bishop or pope of Rome, in respect both of the ecclesiastical and temporal authority claimed by him, i.e., as successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ, over the Catholic Church, and as sovereign of the former papal states. The word is formed from Lat. papa, pope, on the analogy of "abbacy." The present article is a general history in outline of the papacy itself. Special periods or aspects are dealt with in fuller detail elsewhere, e.g., in the biographical notices of the various popes, or in such articles as CHURCH HISTORY ; ROMAN CATHOLIC Primitive Roman Church.—The Christian community at Rome, founded, apparently, in the time of the emperor Claudius at once assumed great importance, as is clearly attested by the Epistle to the Romans (58). It received later the visit of Paul while a prisoner, and, according to a tradition which is now but little disputed, that of the apostle Peter. Peter died there, in 64, without doubt, among the Christians whom Nero had put to death as guilty of the burning of Rome. Paul's career was also terminated at Rome by martyrdom. Other places had been honoured by the presence and preaching of these great leaders of new-born Christianity; but it is at Rome that they had borne witness to the gospel by the shedding of their blood; there they were buried, and their tombs were known and honoured. These facts rendered the Roman Church in the highest degree sacred. About the time that Peter and Paul died in Rome the primitive centre of Christianity—that is to say, Jerusalem—was disappearing amidst the disaster of the war of the Roman empire with the Jews. Moreover, the Church of Jerusalem, narrowed by Jewish Christian particularism, was hardly qualified to remain the metropolis of Christianity, which was gradually gaining ground in the Graeco-Roman world. The true centre of this world was the capital of the empire ; the transference was consequently ac cepted as natural at an early date. The idea that the Roman Church is at the head of the other Churches, and has towards them certain duties consequent on this position, is expressed in various ways, with more or less clearness, in writings such as those of Clemens Romanus, Ignatius of Antioch and Hermas.
In the 2nd century all Christendom flocked to Rome ; there was a constant stream of people—bishops from distant parts, apologists or heresiarchs. All that was done or taught in Rome was im mediately echoed through all the other Churches; Irenaeus and Tertullian constantly lay stress upon the tradition of the Roman Church, which in those very early days was almost without rivals, save in Asia, where there were a number of flourishing churches, also apostolic in origin, forming a compact group and conscious of their dignity. The great reception given to Polycarp on his visit to Rome in A.D. 155 and the attitude of St. Irenaeus show that on the whole the traditions of Rome and of Asia harmonized quite well. They came into conflict, however (c. A.D. 190), on the question of the celebration of the festival of Easter. The bishop of Rome, Victor, desired his colleagues in the various parts of the Empire to form themselves into councils to inquire into this matter. The invitation was accepted by all; and, the con sultation resulting in favour of the Roman usage, Victor thought fit to exclude the recalcitrant Churches of Asia from the Catholic communion. His conduct in this dispute, though its severity may have been open to criticism' indicates a very definite conception on his part of his authority over the universal Church. In the 3rd century the same position was maintained, and the heads of the Roman Church continued to speak with the greatest authority. We find cases of their intervention in the ecclesiastical affairs of Alexandria, of the East, of Africa, Gaul and Spain. Though the manner in which they wielded their authority sometimes meets with criticism (Irenaeus, Cyprian, Firmilianus), the principle of it is never questioned. However, as time went on, certain Churches became powerful centres of Christianity, and even when they did not come into conflict with her, their very existence tended to diminish the prestige of the Roman Church.