| The lineage of Bishops from St Peter is known as the apostolic succession. It's the bedrock of the Bishop of Rome's authority and papal power to this day. But in the third century, the Bishops were leaders of a religion on the margins. And that's why I'm heading to the outskirts of Rome, and the catacombs of San Callisto. Deep within its maze of underground corridors, there's something hard to find, and yet very important. Early evidence of how the Bishops of Rome got their unique title. This reads PP, which stands for Papa or Pope, and it's the first example we have of an inscription that refers to the Bishops of Rome by that title. At the time, a charismatic bishop anywhere in Christendom might have been known as Pope, but gradually, the Bishops of Rome came to be known by that name, though, surprisingly, it wasn't for almost 800 years, until the 11th century, that it became official. |
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