1. THE ORIGIN OF POPERY. When, in the course of time, the Christian church continued to expand, it became necessary for the larger congregations to engage more than one pastor. An immediate consequence was that one of them attained to higher eminence and was called the bishop by preference. Great deference was especially paid to the bishops of Rome, of Jerusalem, of Alexandria, of Antioch, and of Constantinople. The smaller congregations frequently sought their advice and requested their decision in difficult matters. But the power and the authority of the Roman bishops soon outstripped that of the rest. In consequence of this they assumed a haughty demeanor, exalted themselves above the other bishops, and, finally, arrogated to themselves the position of supreme judges in the Church of God, and grew very indignant if any one dared to dispute their authority. They now claimed that Peter had founded the congregation at Rome and had presided over it for some time as its bishop; that he had been the chief of the apostles, the authorized viceregent of Christ upon earth, and that his successors, the bishops of Rome, had inherited these powers from him. Although these arrogant claims were by no means generally admitted, yet the Roman bishop succeeded in enforcing his demands. He was pleased to have himself called "_Papa_," or "Pope." The Western bishops finally submitted and acknowledged him to be the supreme head of the church. In the East, however, the bishop of Constantinople was accorded the highest rank. Both bishops now fought for the supremacy in the church, and as neither would submit to the other a schism resulted. There arose the Roman Catholic and the Greek Catholic church, and this division remains to the present day.