The
history of the Catholic Church begins with the teachings of
Jesus Christ, who lived and preached in the 1st century AD in the province of
Judea of the
Roman Empire. The contemporary
Catholic Church says that it is the continuation of the early
Christian community established by Jesus. Its bishops are the
successors to the
Apostles of Jesus, and the
Bishop of Rome, also known as the Pope, is the sole successor to
Saint Peter, who was appointed by
Jesus Christ to be the head of the church in the
New Testament who ministered in Rome. By the end of the 2nd century, bishops began congregating in regional
synods to resolve doctrinal and policy issues. By the 3rd century, the bishop of Rome began to act as a court of appeals for problems that other bishops could not resolve.