The Roman Catholic Church claims to be the true Christian church founded by Peter, who it claims Christ chose to be the first Pope. Supposedly, as the Bishop of Rome, Peter established that city as the hub of Christianity. Headquartered there since its beginning, the Roman Catholic Church claims to have been the only valid Christian church throughout history. All other Christian churches are alleged to be false and (except for Eastern Orthodoxy) to have originated in the sixteenth century with the Protestant Reformation. History, however, says something else.*
In fact, there were millions of Christians who, for a thousand years before the Reformation, refused allegiance to the Church of Rome because of its pagan/occult practices and apostasy. These true followers of Christ were persecuted and killed by Rome. Tragically, the false accusations of heresy and immorality made by the Inquisition against these martyrs to justify their extermination are still the official view found in encyclopedias today.