The fact that the bishops were successors to the apostles explains why the episcopate did not develop to its fullest inJerusalem. Although St James the Apostle was what we would consider bishop of Jerusalem, St Peter was possibly still alive in the year 66 when the Jewish rebellion broke out. Certainly, St John was still alive, and it is possible that other apostles also lived. Antioch, which had lost its apostles before Rome, was thus the earliest centre for the development of the episcopate known to us.

Monasticism owed much to the teachings of Christ and the example of the first Christians in Jerusalem. It appeared not only in Syria but also in Egypt. They were different establishments, but they eventually influenced one another.