Trinitarian Christianity in Europe 149it seems to indicate that, at least at this stage, sorne Popes were less
infallible than others!
In fact this decision illustrates how the boundaries of what con
stituted papal infallibility were only gradually defined over a pe
riod of time until they had been sufficiently formulated to be offi
cially accepted as being immutable and certain because, like 'Gos
pel Truth', they had reached a stage where it could be plausibly
argued that they had been determined not by man, but by God.
The Pauline Church, or rather, the Roman Catholic Church, as
it came to be known, gradually grew in size and power. This was
largely due to its associations with the Roman Emperors. The more
itcompromised itself with those in authority, the more identified it
became with them. During the eight centuries which followed the
first Council of Nicea, the Roman Catholic Church became firmly
established, with her headquarters not in [erusalem, but in Rome
where she acquired vast amounts of land and property both in and
around this city.These were known as the 'Gift of Constantine'.
It soon became very dangerous for anyone to differ from the
Roman Catholic Church, which came to have the support of the
imperial army, as well as its own power. After 325 AD, millions of
Christians were killed for not subscribing to the doctrines of the
Catholic Church. These were indeed dark ages for those who
wished or professed to follow Jesus, and few people in Europe
dared to openly affirm the Unity of God.
While the Catholic Church in Europe was busy eliminating any
dissenters, who were branded as 'heretics', the Muslims began to
make themselves known on the periphery of the Christian world.
Nearly all of the Unitarian followers of Jesus in the Holy Land and
in North Africa recognised Islam as a further message from their
Lord, which directly followed, confirrned and superseded the guid
ance by which they had been living. They naturally became Mus
lims -which is why there are so very few Unitarian Christians in
the Middle East and North Africa today. Thus from about the mid
dle of the 8th century AD onwards, only the Paulinian version of
'Christianity', which was pradised mainly in Europe, remained.
The leaders at the Vatican must have seen the marked similar
ity between the teachings of Islam and the Unitarianism preached
by Arius. Both believed in One God. Both accepted Jesus as a
Prophet who, nevertheless, was still a man. Both believed in the
Virgin Mary and in the immaculate conception of Jesus. Both ac