From Pontifex to Pope: The Pagan Accusation and the Christian Transformation of Rome
By Chris M. Forte
1. Introduction: The Accusation that Never Dies
Few claims against the Catholic Church are as persistent—or as misunderstood—as the accusation that the papacy is “pagan.”
From Reformation polemics to modern internet memes, critics have alleged that the Pope is simply the successor to the Roman high priests, that the Vatican is the spiritual heir of Babylon, and that Catholic rituals are nothing more than “baptized idolatry.”
Alexander Hislop declared in The Two Babylons (1853):
“The Pope is, in fact, the lineal successor of the high priest of Babylon.”
Jack Chick’s 20th-century pamphlets echoed the same theme, calling the Mass “a sun-worship ceremony.”
Even the Ku Klux Klan, in its early anti-Catholic propaganda, claimed the Pope was “Caesar reborn.”
But as a Catholic—and as a student of history—I find the opposite to be true.
The papacy didn’t preserve paganism; it purified it.
What was once superstition became sacrament.
What was once imperial became spiritual.
And the journey from Pontifex Maximus to Pope is the story of how grace transforms culture rather than erasing it.
2. The Pagan Origins: The Pontifex Maximus of Ancient Rome
The title Pontifex Maximus—literally “greatest bridge-builder”—predates Christianity by centuries.
In the early Roman Republic (around the 3rd century BCE), the Pontifex Maximus was the chief priest of the Collegium Pontificum (College of Pontiffs), responsible for maintaining the pax deorum—“the peace of the gods.”
The pontifices were more than ritual specialists; they oversaw sacred law, public festivals, marriages, and the Roman calendar itself. As historian Mary Beard notes:
“To control the calendar was to control time itself—and with it, the rhythm of Roman life.” (SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome)
The Religious-Political Role
The Pontifex Maximus was both a priest and a statesman. He lived in the Domus Publica, near the Temple of Vesta, symbolizing his role in protecting Rome’s sacred hearth.
When Julius Caesar was elected Pontifex Maximus in 63 BCE, the title became political as well as religious. Caesar used it to legitimize his authority by divine sanction—a practice continued by Augustus and every emperor thereafter.
Historian H.H. Scullard wrote:
“In Caesar’s hands, the Pontifex Maximus was no longer a purely priestly title—it was a cornerstone of political legitimacy.”
Thus, by the time of Christ, the Roman emperor was both ruler and high priest, uniting temporal and spiritual power.
3. The Turning Point: From Pagan Empire to Christian Civilization
When Constantine legalized Christianity through the Edict of Milan (313 AD), the empire’s religious structure began to change—but not instantly.
Constantine and his successors still held the title Pontifex Maximus, even as they supported the Church.
As Peter Brown observed in The Rise of Western Christendom:
“Old forms could be emptied of their gods, yet still filled with meaning.”
By the late fourth century, Emperor Gratian (r. 367–383) renounced the title, declaring it incompatible with his Christian faith.
This moment—382 AD—marks the symbolic death of pagan priesthood and the birth of something new.
The spiritual leadership of Rome didn’t vanish—it shifted.
The bishop of Rome, once a local pastor, gradually became the moral and spiritual voice of the city, filling the vacuum left by the emperors.
4. The Birth of the Papacy
Peter and the Apostolic Foundation
The Catholic claim to papal authority begins not with Caesar, but with Christ.
In Matthew 16:18–19, Jesus says to Peter:
“You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church… I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”
This passage was understood from the earliest centuries as establishing a primacy of leadership among the apostles.
The First Epistle of Clement (c. 96 AD), written by the fourth bishop of Rome, shows that the Roman Church was already exercising authority in disputes far from its own city—evidence that the primacy of Rome was recognized from the start.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 180 AD) wrote in Against Heresies:
“For it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church [Rome], on account of its preeminent authority.”
Historical Growth of the Office
As the Roman Empire declined, the papacy evolved from a pastoral office into a guardian of civilization.
Pope Leo I (“the Great”) (440–461 AD) confronted Attila the Hun and articulated the theological foundation of papal supremacy, teaching that the Pope inherits not imperial power but Peter’s spiritual mission.
By the Middle Ages, popes like Gregory VII and Innocent III shaped the Church’s relationship with kings and empires.
They did not claim Caesar’s throne—they claimed his fallen world for Christ.
As historian Eamon Duffy writes:
“The Pope was not only Peter’s heir but Caesar’s too—but the empire he governed was of souls, not armies.” (Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes)
5. Protestant and Secular Critiques
The Reformation reignited the charge of paganism.
Martin Luther denounced the papacy as “the seat of the Antichrist.”
Alexander Hislop turned the old Roman title into a Protestant conspiracy theory.
And modern secular authors have claimed the papacy simply preserved the empire’s bureaucracy in religious form.
Charles Freeman, a secular historian, argued:
“The papacy did not inherit Rome’s spiritual mantle—it inherited its bureaucracy and its empire.” (The Closing of the Western Mind)
But this view misunderstands Catholic theology.
For Catholics, continuity is not corruption.
The Church does not destroy culture—it baptizes it.
6. Catholic Response: Continuity as Redemption
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (§1147) teaches:
“The visible realities of creation can become signs and instruments of the grace they signify.”
That’s the key.
The Church took the forms of the old world—the calendar, the architecture, the symbols—and filled them with new meaning.
What was once pagan became Christian not by imitation but by incarnation.
The title Pontifex Maximus itself now refers not to one who maintains “peace with the gods,” but to one who builds a bridge between humanity and the one true God through Christ.
Pope Benedict XVI said:
“The Pope is the bridge-builder because he is called to unite man with God, peoples with one another, and faith with reason.”
7. My Perspective as a Catholic
Part of the reason I remain Catholic is precisely because of this deep continuity.
Few institutions on earth can trace an unbroken line through empires, schisms, and revolutions.
The title Pontifex Maximus is not a relic—it’s a living symbol of the Church’s endurance.
When people call Catholicism “pagan,” I think of souls—not idolaters.
Ancient pagans were not all malicious; many were searching for the divine but without revelation. Their worship was like a fractured mirror: it reflected truth, but distorted.
Christianity didn’t erase that longing—it fulfilled it.
The “Unknown God” of the philosophers became known in Christ.
The myths of dying and rising gods found their truth in the Cross and Resurrection.
The pagan altar gave way to the altar of the Eucharist.
Where pagan temples burned offerings to false gods, Christian churches now offer the one true Sacrifice of the Lamb.
Where pagan art glorified emperors, Christian art glorifies Christ and His saints.
The symbols weren’t stolen—they were purified.
8. Paganism as Humanity’s Search for God
Pope Benedict XVI once wrote:
“The pagan religions are a search for God, a groping in the dark, a reaching out toward the unknown.” — Introduction to Christianity
Paganism guessed.
Christianity knows.
Paganism sought the divine in myth; Christianity reveals Him in flesh.
That’s the difference—and that’s the transformation.
The papacy stands as proof that grace builds on nature.
God didn’t obliterate the old order; He sanctified it.
9. From Pagan to Pilgrim
The word pagan began as a label for outsiders, then became an insult, and now stands as a reminder of humanity’s restless heart.
When critics accuse Catholics of “pagan rituals” because of candles, incense, or feast days, I smile.
Those things don’t make us pagan—they make us human.
They show that the senses, the body, and creation itself can glorify God.
The early pagans built temples of stone.
The early Christians built temples of souls.
And the Church today continues her mission—to take the fragments of broken worship and make them whole again in Christ.
“For what you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” — Acts 17:23
That’s Christianity’s answer to paganism—not condemnation, but revelation.
The unknown made known.
The fragmented made whole.
The search completed in the One who was, and is, and is to come.
10. Conclusion: The Bridge That Endured
For some, Pontifex Maximus proves the papacy’s pagan origin.
For me, it proves Christianity’s power to redeem history itself.
The line from Caesar’s Forum to St. Peter’s Basilica is not a story of idolatry—it’s a story of conversion.
The Church took the language, symbols, and structure of Rome and filled them with Christ.
That’s not pagan survival; that’s divine reclamation.
To me, that’s what faith looks like:
Not rejecting the past, but transfiguring it.
Not erasing history, but fulfilling it.
Not worshiping the ashes, but preserving the fire.
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