As the Roman political and cultural elite converted to the locally held form of Christianity, they started exercising their authority and resources to influence the theology of other communities throughout the Roman Empire, sometimes by force. Bauer cites the First Epistle of Clement as an early example of the bishop of Rome interfering with the church of Corinth to impose its own proto-orthodox doctrine of apostolic succession, and to favour a certain group of local church leaders over another.
The Roman political and cultural elite, after adopting locally held Christianity, began leveraging their authority and resources to mold the theological beliefs of other communities within the Roman Empire. Bauer provides an example from the First Epistle of Clement, where the bishop of Rome exerted influence on the Corinthian church to promote its proto-orthodox doctrine of apostolic succession and favored certain local leaders.