The Pentarchy
By the 5th century, the ecclesiastical had evolved a hierarchical "pentarchy" or system of five sees (patriarchates), with a settled order of precedence. Rome, as the ancient center and largest city of the empire, was understandably given the presidency or primacy of honor within the pentarchy into which Christendom was now divided. Plainly, this system of patriarchs and metropolitans was exclusively the result of ecclesiastical legislation; there was nothing inherently divine in its origin. None of the five sees, in short, possessed its authority by divine right. Though it was and still held that the patriarch of Rome was the first among equals. The original Pentarchy of the ancient Roman Empire: East and West.
- Rome (Sts. Peter and Paul), i.e. the Pope, the only Pentarch in the Western Roman Empire.
- Constantinople (St. Andrew), currently in Turkey
- Alexandria (St. Mark), currently in Egypt
- Antioch (St. Peter), currently in Turkey
- Jerusalem (St. James), currently in Israel
It is important to note that two Patriarchs are noted to have been founded by St Peter, the Patriarch of Rome and the Patriarch of Antioch. The Eastern Churches accept Antioch as the church founded by St Peter (see the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, Syriac Orthodox Church).
Read more about this topic: History Of The Orthodox Church