Pagan priests NEVER just converted to Catholicism. That is a Protestant thing. ONLY a bishop can give holy orders for priesthood. The record keeping was just fine prior to Constantine - that is why we have the bible today along with many other non-biblical documents and papal letters.
You tell 'em.
This is what happens when pop culture meets Christianity.
This is what happens when the Discovery Channel or the History Channel attempts to interpret Christianity. People walk away badly misinformed, but thinking they've learned a lot. Bad information is more dangerous than no information at all!
Google: Didache. Sort of a handbook the early Christians used to standardize practices.
Better yet, if you are really serious about early church history, go ask an Orthodox Christian priest for more information.
They have a saying in the OC: "How many Orthodox priests does it take to change a light bulb." "CHANGE?!" I learned more about Christianity than I suspected I would when I made the (small) step from being an evangelical protestant to an orthodox christian. It's like...Christianity Lite versus Christianity. And I never knew.
I was a member of an apologetics group that investigated humanism, Islam, Wicca, Buddhism, New Age, etc., ad nauseam, and by chance we made contact with an Orthodox priest. Long story, that.
Suffice it say my intention was never to do anything other than "kick the tires."
And you know this how?
ONLY a bishop can give holy orders for priesthood.
And on what day did that first Bishop do that? The Apostolic Succession is a wonderful thing. To claim one knows exactly how it came about is a bit far-fetched. I would imagine that the earliest assistants of the Apostles as named in the NT were the first bishops ... but then again I imagine.
The record keeping was just fine prior to Constantine - that is why we have the bible today along with many other non-biblical documents and papal letters.
Miraculously indeed we have the New Testament, but the official version of today took a while to develop. But to claim that Church records of the first 3 centuries "are fine" is simply preposterous. Surely, there are some records, perhaps even enough to give a fairly accurate chronology of the papacy, but let's not push our luck!
BTW, scholars of church history have plenty of differences of opinion about these matters, none of which are matters of dogma.
Show me that from the Bible.