[GeronL]

Paul was leader of the apostles he was never explicitly appointed head of a church.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Paul was an Apostle with the same kind of authority in the Church as the other Apostles and their successors, neither more nor less. He was the head of the local churches he "planted," and anybody who has read the Epistles knows that he is quite insistent on these churches acknowledging his authority as an Apostle like Peter, James, John and the rest--- it's the subject of quite a bit of assertion on his part.

This begins its development as Church structure at the level of deacons (diakonoi), priests (presbyteroi), and bishops (episcopoi) as you can see right in the pages of the New Testament, as these offices are passed on by the laying on of hands, to replacements and successors (Matthias, Timothy, Titus, etc.)

This authority derives from Jesus giving the keys (the symbol of authority), the power to "loose and to bind," to His Apostles; and His declaration that "whoever hears you, hears Me."

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