the twelve disciples of Jesus, and the term "bishop" was applied to those who were previously called apostles. A few years later, Clement, c. 96, while the Apostle John was still alive, stated that the other apostles left "instructions to the effect that after their death other proven men should succeed them in their ministry." The strongest argument to this effect is the historical records of St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who lived with the Apostles John and Peter, and who attested to the linear succession of bishops from the time of the apostles, soon after their death, in his church, and Smyrna. Soon after, Irenaeus in the second century highlighted the validity of a line of bishops from the time of St. Peter to his contemporary, Pope Victor I, enumerating them. The same argument is repeated by all the major ancient theologians and historians, such as Sixth Julius Africanus, Tertullian, Eusebius, and Jerome. Exercise of papal primacy The controversy about the papal history of this period stems from historians having different religious views; catholic, Protestant, atheist, or orthodox. Some historians, especially Protestants, claim, for example, that in early Christianity the local churches were governed independently by their own leaders, with the popes having no primacy over other particulate churches and the universal church, and "that the Roman primacy had its origin in papal ambition," having developed later, in the 4th and 5th centuries. Several facts, however, have suggested the existence of an early juridical union among the local churches, which attested to a prominent position of the Roman bishop. This can be seen in the use of the "letters and lists of communion", which date back to the end of the second century, possibly inspired by Paul's Epistle to Philemon. A faithful traveler was only admitted into the spiritual life of another local church, if he possessed a letter written by his bishop, proving that he is in union with his prelate. Then, there is the ascertainment of whether that bishop and the church he governs are orthodox, utilizing lists which various churches possess, and which are continually updated: The early popes did not assert their primacy and jurisdiction over the Church, although on many occasions they interfered in local communities, as Clement I, or tried to establish a doctrine binding the Universal Church like Victor I (over the Quartodecimanism controversy). Other bishops would also delineate on papal rights,