The Papacy as an Ecclesiastical Institution in the history of Early Christianity: aspects in the study of the issue

This article is dedicated to the Institute of the Roman Episcopate. When studying this topic, it often takes on tendentiousness and ideological shades, which contradicts the principles of scientific objectivity. At the same time, the period in the history of the Roman episcopate before the ecclesiastical schism of 1054 often remains without due attention. Meanwhile, this period is very diverse and filled with the spiritual exploits and large-scale intellectual work of the Roman bishops, some of whom are revered as saints in both Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The most famous of them (but far from the only ones) are Leo I Great and Gregory I Dvoeslov. Let us emphasize that before the Edict of Milan in 313, almost all Roman bishops suffered martyrdom due to the persecution of Christians that unfolded in the Roman Empire in the first three centuries of our era. At the same time, the bishops of Rome, in addition to the issues of the physical survival of the community, had to resist heresies, schismatic tendencies, maintain the correctness of worship and promote the growth of the moral consciousness of Christians. There are very few written sources about the life of the Roman bishops in the history of early Christianity, which complicates the study of this topic and leaves many blank spots, nevertheless it gives a special flavor to this scientific study.