"The concept of John the baptist is not as damaging to the Jews or Romans as the concept of Christ. So that fact that there are current records of John the baptist and not Christ isn't proof that Christ didn't exist."
John the Baptist was killed by Rome. He baptised Jesus and started him on his ministry. Jesus didn't really do too much of anything until after John the Baptist died, certainly not until after John baptized him.
(Matthew 3)
[16] And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
(Matthew 11)
[11] Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
[12] And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
(Matthew 14)
[2] And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
(Matthew 16)
[13] When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
[14] And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
[15] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
[16] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
[17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
[19] And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
[20] Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
[21] From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
[22] Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
[23] But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
[24] Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
[25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
[26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
[27] For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
[28] Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom
(Matthew 17)
[7] And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
[8] And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
[9] And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
...
[12] But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
[13] Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
...
[16] And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
[17] Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
[18] And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
[19] Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
[20] And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
[21] Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
[22] And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:
[23] And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_the_Evangelist, for more info on Matthew)
(Mark 1)
[1] The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
[2] As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
[3] The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
[4] John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
...
[9] And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
[10] And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
(Mark 6)
[2] And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
[3] Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
[4] But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
[5] And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
[6] And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
[7] And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
[8] And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
[9] But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
[10] And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
[11] And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
[12] And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
[13] And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
[14] And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
[15] Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.
[16] But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
...
[24] And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
[25] And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
[26] And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
[27] And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
[28] And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.
[29] And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
[30] And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.
[31] And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
[32] And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
[33] And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.
[34] And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
(Mark 8)
[27] And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?
[28] And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.
[29] And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
[30] And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
[31] And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
[32] And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
[33] But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_the_Evangelist, for more info on Mark)
(Luke 1)
[13] But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
[14] And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
[15] For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
[16] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
[17] And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
...
[60] And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
[61] And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
[62] And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
[63] And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
[64] And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
[65] And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
[66] And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
[67] And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
[68] Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
[69] And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
[70] As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
[71] That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
[72] To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
[73] The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
[74] That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
[75] In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
[76] And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
[77] To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
[78] Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
[79] To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
[80] And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel
(Luke 3)
[21] Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
[22] And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
[23] And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
...
[38] Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
(Luke 7)
[19] And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
[20] When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
[21] And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
[22] Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
[23] And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
[24] And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
[25] But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.
[26] But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
[27] This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
[28] For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
[29] And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
[30] But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
[31] And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?
[32] They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.
[33] For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
[34] The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
[35] But wisdom is justified of all her children.
(Luke 9)
[18] And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?
[19] They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.
[20] He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
[21] And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;
[22] Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
[23] And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
[24] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
[25] For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
[26] For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
[27] But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_the_Evangelist, for more info on Luke)
(john 1)
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
[4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
[5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
[7] The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
(John 4)
[1] When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
[2] (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
[3] He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
[4] And he must needs go through Samaria.
[5] Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
[6] Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
[7] There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
[8] (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
[9] Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
[10] Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
[11] The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
[12] Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
[13] Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
[14] But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
[15] The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
[16] Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
[17] The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
[18] For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
[19] The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
[20] Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
[21] Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
[22] Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
[23] But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
[24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
[25] The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
[26] Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
[27] And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
[28] The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
[29] Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
[30] Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
[31] In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
[32] But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
[33] Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
[34] Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
[35] Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
[36] And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
[37] And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
[38] I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
[39] And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
[40] So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
[41] And many more believed because of his own word;
[42] And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
[43] Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.
[44] For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_the_Evangelist, for more info on John)
"Maybe the stories existed and that is what the gospels were derived from, or maybe the story was passed orally until the writers of the gospels wrote it down."
"stories", it's amazing how no matter what it's terribly difficult to refer to them as anything else, isn't it.
"The history of many Pagan societies is almost non-existent, except for a few references here and there, because most of the records were destroyed by the christians. And most of the references that do exist are biased references made by the christians who were trying to take over, and these references were not references of their history, but only references of them right before they were "converted" to christianity. And some of the references are true and some lies depending on what supported the christians desire to take over."
You mean the same Christians who wrote and upheld the very Bible that happens to be the only proof that Jesus the Christ existed?
The people who used the Jewish holy book as the preface to their own holy book even though the Jews refused to acknowledge their Messiah?
The same people who managed to replace the Roman empire with the Catholic Church?
The people who convieniently get to be called Babylon unless you're talking about them in reference to the origins of Rastafari when they get to be refered to as the followers of Jesus the Christ, those Christians?
Or do you mean the deciples of Jesus the Christ who became the founders of the Catholic Church? The patron saints? The Evangelists? The people who wrote the Bible.
Which Christians Ark I? I don't want to misquote my Bredren whom I love and respect, so please explain to me the difference between these Christians and the followers of Jesus the Christ who can be trusted to speak truth.
Cause me to understand Bredren.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_ancient_Rome)
Changes under the Roman Empire
Under the Empire religion in Rome evolved in many ways. Numerous foreign cults grew popular, such as the worship of the Egyptian Isis and the Persian Mithras. The importance of the imperial cult grew steadily, reaching its peak during the Crisis of the Third Century. Also, Christianity began to spread in the Empire, gaining momentum in the second century. Despite persecutions, it steadily gained converts. It became an officially supported religion in the Roman state under Constantine I. All cults except Christianity were prohibited in 391 by an edict of Emperor Theodosius I. However, even in the fourth and fifth century Roman paganism kept its vitality. Temples were still frequently visited, ancient beliefs and practices continued.
Imperial cult
The divinity of the emperor and the cult surrounding him were a very important part of religion in the Roman Empire. In an effort to enhance political loyalty among the populace, they called subjects to participate in the cult and revere the emperors as gods. The emperors Augustus, Claudius, Vespasian, and Titus were deified, and after the reign of Marcus Cocceius Nerva, few emperors failed to receive this distinction.
The Roman religion in the empire tended more and more to center on the imperial house. Especially in the eastern half of the empire imperial cults grew very popular, and the cult complex became one of the focal points of life in the Roman cities. As such it was one of the major agents of romanization. The central elements of the cult complex were next to a temple; a theatre or amphitheatre for gladiator displays and other games and a public bath complex. Sometimes the imperial cult was added to the cults of an existing temple or celebrated in a special hall in the bath complex.
Evidence for the importance of the imperial cult include the "Achievements of the Divine Augustus" (Res Gestae Divi Augusti), written upon two large bronze pillars once located in Rome, Roman coins where the Emperor is portrayed with a halo or nimbus, and temple inscriptions such as "Divine Augustus Caesar, son of a god, imperator of land and sea..." (Roman Temple Inscription in Myra, Lycia).
Absorption of foreign cults
As the Roman Empire expanded, and included people from a variety of cultures, more and more gods were incorporated into the Roman religion. The legions brought home cults originating from Egypt, Britain, Iberia, Germany, India and Persia. The cults of Cybele, Isis, Mithras, and Sol Invictus were particularly important. Some of those were initiatory religions of intense personal significance, similar to Christianity in those respects.
Spread of Christianity
Christian missionaries traveled across the empire, steadily winning converts and establishing Christian communities. After the Great Fire of Rome in July 19, 64, Emperor Nero (56-68) accused the Christians as convenient scapegoats who were later persecuted and martyred. From that point on, Roman official policy towards Christianity was disdainful at best. The Roman authorities suspected Christians of disloyalty to the Emperor and of committing various foul crimes against humanity and nature (although most of these rumors were based off of paranoia rather than fact). Persecution recurred especially at times of civic tensions and reach their worst under Diocletian (284 to 305). Constantine I (324-337) ended the persecutions by establishing religious freedom through the Edict of Milan in 313. He later convened the historic Council of Nicea in 325, a year after ending the civil war of 324 and emerging as the victor in the war of succession. Catholic Christianity, as opposed to Arianism and other heretical and schismatic groups, became the official state religion of the Roman empire on February 27, 380 through an edict issued by Emperor Theodosius I in Thessalonica and published in Constantinople . All cults save Christianity were prohibited in 391 by another edict of Theodosius I. Destruction of temples began immediately. When the Western Roman Empire ended with the abdication of Emperor Romulus Augustus in 476, Christianity survived it, with the Bishop of Rome as the dominant religious figure.
End of paganism
When Constantine became the sole Roman Emperor in 323, Catholicism became the leading religion of the empire. After the death of Constantine in 337, two of his sons, Constantius II and Constans took over the leadership of the empire. Constans, ruler of the western provinces, was, like his father, a Christian. In 341, he decreed that all pagan worship and sacrifice should cease; warning those who still persisted in the practice of paganism with the threat of the death penalty.
Lay Christians took advantage of new anti-pagan laws by destroying and plundering the temples. Temples that survived were converted into Christian churches: the Pantheon is the most notable example, having once been a temple to all the gods and later becoming a church in honor of all the saints. Many of the buildings in the Roman Forum were similarly converted, preserving the structures if not their original intent.
Later on, the emperor Julian the Apostate tried to eradicate Christianity and bring back paganism, but his ultimate failure only led to the strengthening of Christianity rather than its decline.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome)
Fall of the Empire and rise of the Papacy
With the rise of early Christianity, the Bishop of Rome gained religious as well as political importance, eventually becoming known as the Pope and establishing Rome as the centre of the Catholic Church. After the Sack of Rome (410) by Alaric I and the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, Rome alternated between Byzantine rule and plundering by Germanic barbarians. Its population declined to a mere 20,000 during the Early Middle Ages, reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins and vegetation. Rome remained nominally part of the Byzantine Empire until 751 when the Lombards finally abolished the Exarchate of Ravenna. In 756, Pepin the Short gave the pope temporal jurisdiction over Rome and surrounding areas, thus creating the Papal States.
Rome remained the capital of the Papal States until its annexation into the Kingdom of Italy in 1870; the city became a major pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages and the focus of struggles between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire starting with Charlemagne, who was crowned its first emperor in Rome on Christmas of 800 by Pope Leo III. Apart from brief periods as an independent city during the Middle Ages, Rome kept its status of Papal capital and "holy city" for centuries, even when the Pope briefly relocated to Avignon (1309–1337). While no longer politically powerful, as tragically shown by the brutal sack of 1527, the city flourished as a hub of cultural and artistic activity during the Renaissance, under the patronage of the Papal court. Population rose again and reached 100,000 during the 17th century, but Rome ultimately lagged behind the rest of the European capitals over the subsequent centuries, being largely busy in the Counter-Reformation process.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicism)
As a Christian ecclesiastical term, Catholic - from the Greek adjective ?????????, meaning "general" or "universal"[1] - is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as follows:
~Church, (originally) whole body of Christians; ~, belonging to or in accord with (a) this, (b) the church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or Western, (c) the Latin Church after that separation, (d) the part of the Latin Church that remained under the Roman obedience after the Reformation, (e) any church (as the Anglican) claiming continuity with (b)." [1]
Leaving aside the historical meanings indicated under (b) and (c) above, the Oxford English Dictionary thus associates present-day Catholicism with:
(a) "the whole body of Christians". The actual extension of Catholicism in this sense varies with the different understandings of what it means to be a Christian.
(d) "the part of the Latin Church that remained under the Roman obedience after the Reformation", i.e. the Catholic or Roman Catholic Church. This definition of Catholicism should be expanded to cover the Eastern particular Churches that are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, and that the Church in question sees as no less part of Catholicism than the Latin particular Church.
(e) "any church (as the Anglican) claiming continuity with the church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or Western". Churches that make this claim of continuity include not only those of the Anglican Communion, but, among others, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Assyrian Church of the East. The claim of continuity may be based on apostolic succession, especially in conjunction with adherence to the Nicene Creed. Some interpret Catholicism as adherence to the traditional beliefs that Protestant Reformers denied (see, for example, the Oxford Movement).
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The early Catholic Church came to be organized under the three patriarchs of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch, to which later were added the patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem. The Bishop of Rome was at that time recognized as first among them, as is stated, for instance, in canon 3 of the First Council of Constantinople (381) - many interpret "first" as meaning here first among equals - and doctrinal or procedural disputes were often referred to Rome, as when, on appeal by St Athanasius against the decision of the Council of Tyre (335), Pope Julius I, who spoke of such appeals as customary, annulled the action of that council and restored Athanasius and Marcellus of Ancyra to their sees. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils. When the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Rome's influence was sometimes challenged. Nonetheless, Rome claimed special authority because of its connection to Saint Peter[3] and Saint Paul, who, all agreed, were martyred and buried in Rome, and because the bishop of Rome saw himself the direct successor of Saint Peter.]
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