How valid is the statement, “St. Paul was the effective founder of what would become the Roman Catholic Church”?

by dogsbesniffin

As someone who grew up in the catholic school system in the US, I was always told the church could trace the papacy and Church’s founding all the way back to the apostle peter, however, I recently discovered this claim may be more dubious than I even originally expected. Would it be more accurate from a secular perspective to say that St. Paul founded the church? Thanks.

ReasonedRedoubt

You may want to cross post this question to /r/AskBibleScholars or /r/AcademicBiblical , they may be able to assists with directing you towards historical materials regarding the early Christian communities.

I think there's a lot to be said though, and AskHistorians has its own unique community, so I hope for many answers on this sub too.