Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome REV The rigid hierarchy that governed the Roman Empire -- in which a Roman Emperor like Tiberius would have imperial governors like Pontius Pilate stationed locally in subject provinces -- is reflected to this day in the "rigidly hierarchical structure" of the Roman Catholic Church, which has a Pope in Rome who has Cardinals, Bishops and Archbishops that oversee smaller geographical regions (Babcock 142). This social structure is no accident: historically speaking as the Roman empire declined, the early Christian church grew in influence and reach. To some extent, then, the early Church would take over the functions of the Empire, if only to fill the vacuum. It is important...

(The Romans did not take much interest in Ireland, Scotland, or Scandinavia, nor did they venture eastward into Russia or India.) As Christianity was spread throughout communities of the Roman Empire, this made it possible -- after the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the empire in 313 -- for Christians to come from all corners of this vast territory. This was the case with three of the most important early church fathers: Augustine was from North Africa, Jerome was…