Bishop of Rome

From Conservapedia

The Bishop of Rome is one of the titles of the Pope, since he rules the Catholic Church from Rome and that is considered to be the heart of the Church.

The term was used frequently in the early Church and has a different meaning in the Orthodox Church than in the Catholic. In Orthodox theology there were, and are, a number of different Bishops, such as the Bishop of Antioch, and each of these bishops were co-equal in their position of Church leadership. The Bishop of Rome was one of these co-equal religious authorities. Pope Leo the Great in the mid 400s received an edict from the Roman Emperor acknowledging the leadership of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, over all others. This was never accepted by the Orthodox Church. The Catholic Church believes that the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) was set up as the leader of Christendom through the promise and line of Saint Peter and the Emperor's edict was merely putting a stamp of approval upon what already was. The Orthodox Church believes the Bishop of Rome tried to elevate himself above them and sought imperial authority to do so.

The title Bishop of Rome is not heavily used today as it had been in ancient times, with the term Pope receiving more common usage.