ABSTRACT
It is important to note that, within the time span of three centuries, the small sect of the Christians, originating in a very localized, tribal, religious tradition, Judaism, developed into a fully fledged church. Moreover, it came to encompass the entire Roman Empire and was deemed so influential that the emperors not only adopted it but also sought to dominate it, showering it with land grants and exempting its priests from public service. Yet this very church, while accepting these privileges, for a long time shied away from the State, arguing that a true believer could not well serve two masters. On the other hand, the Christian Church soon adopted the organizational structure of the State, the Roman State, creating its own hierarchy of authorities culminating in the bishops, the patriarchs and the pope, as well as adopting the structure of the Roman public meeting place, the ‘basilica’, as the model for its churches. Indeed, as the institutions that sustained the empire grew weaker, the leaders of the Church often felt forced to step in where civic authorities failed to cope, offering protection and security to the people and, thus, assuming secular power as well.
