ABSTRACT
It is important to note that, within three centuries, a sect, Christianity, originating in a very localized tribal religious tradition, Judaism, had developed into a full-fledged Church, and, moreover, one that encompassed the entire Roman Empire and was by now deemed of such importance that the emperors sought to take it over, showering it with land grants and exempting its priests from public service. Yet this Church, while accepting these privileges, for a long time shied away from the state, maintaining that a true believer could not serve two masters. On the other hand, the Church soon adopted the organizational structure of the empire, with its hierarchy of authorities culminating in the bishops. Moreover, as the structures of the empire grew weaker, the leaders of the Church often felt forced to step in where civic authorities could not cope anymore.
