 According to these Reformers, even as early as the apostles a process of deviation from the true faith and corruption began and spread with the reign of Constantine the Great, and reached a crucial point of development when the Christian church was made the state church of the Roman Empire by Theodosius I.From this point on, compromise of the truth deepened over time until the church became thoroughly worldly and corrupt, so that the true faith was no longer openly taught but instead suppressed, and at times persecuted and cast out.The development of formal hierarchy within the Catholic Church and consolidation of power under papal rule, as opposed to local autonomy among Christian congregations, with levels of rank among the bishops, and a handful of patriarchs to supervise the bishops, is seen by some Protestants as conducive to imperial manipulation of the Church, susceptible to general control by capture of only a few seats of power.