That was the original hoped for ideal, I'd think. And then collegiality, one family, all of brethren (and sistern? lol) among themselves.
It's too bad that 'popa' word crept in to the mix, and people began to take that word too seriously, even as it was for a time (many centuries) widely applied to most any bishop.
One group, took off running with it? ... or was it more like slithering with it..?
It’s a fallen world, BD. History and cultures do what they do in that fallen world. The hope is that we can all so die to the self that we can fulfill our created purpose to become like God. That’s why God became man. If we even come close to that purpose/state, fallen creation around us changes. In the Christian East, most especially in monasteries, there are examples of this even in today’s evil times.