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The evidence of Paul's epistles is that the Christian Church was already divided in the middle of the first century. There is no certainty that the early branch of Christianity that came down to us today was any earlier than others of the very early branches. True, the Catholic Church claims that the apostle Peter came to Rome to be the first bishop of Rome, but there is no proof that Peter even visited Rome. Without Peter, one of the central pillars to the claim of Catholic primacy is removed.

It appears that Gnostic Christianity competed with Catholic-Orthodox Christianity from the very earliest times. Some scholars date the mildly gnostic Gospel of Thomas to the middle of the first century, earlier than any of the New Testament gospels. In an attempt to establish a unified faith, Constantine set out, in the fourth century, to elimimate Gnostic Christianity, with partial success.

The 'Catholic-Orthodox' Church, that we now think of as Christianity, flourished and became dominant, especially after the time of Constantine. The Coptic Church of Alexandria broke away in 451 CE. In 1054, the Great Schism resulted in the separation of the Church into a Roman Catholic Church in the west and Orthodox Churches in the east.