Primacy of the Roman Pontiff
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The primacy of the Roman pontiff is the apostolic authority of the Pope (Bishop of Rome), from the Holy See, over the several churches that comprise the Catholic Church in the Latin and Eastern Rites. It is also termed "papal primacy", [1] "primacy of Peter", [2] or "Roman primacy"; [3] one might encounter "Peter in primacy over the universal Church," [4] "Successor of Peter", [5] and other related expressions. The present Eastern Orthodox churches consider that the Bishop of Rome has a mere primacy of honor. Most of them opt to give the primacy of honor to Constantinople's Patriarch instead.
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[edit] Hierarchical church in first centuries
The Didache, dating from A.D. 70 – 140 [6], [7], states "Appoint for yourselves therefore bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord" (§15). Saint Clement, Pope [8], d. A.D. 101, wrote about the order with which Jesus commanded the affairs of the Church be conducted. The liturgies are "to be celebrated, and not carelessly nor in disorder," and the selection of persons was also "by His supreme will determined" (see Letter of Clement to the Corinthians, ch. 40). Clement emphasized that the relationship between God, Jesus, the apostles, and the orders given to the apostles, are "made in an orderly way". Jurgens states that Clement cites Isaiah 60:17 which in some translations includes "I will make thy visitation peace, and thy overseers justice" (emphasis added). In chapter 43 of the cited "Letter" Clement refers to the way "rivalry ... concerning the priesthood" was resolved by or through Moses, and in chapter 44, that likewise, the apostles "gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry." St. Ignatius of Antioch [9], d. A.D. 107, spoke in "praise of unity" in a Letter to the Ephesians, saying "He, therefore, that does not assemble with the Church, has even by this manifested his pride, and condemned himself. For it is written, 'God resisteth the proud.' Let us be careful, then, not to set ourselves in opposition to the bishop, in order that we may be subject to God" (§5). Stressing the relationship between the Church initiated by Jesus and the hierarchy set in motion by the apostles, Ignatius writes: "we should look upon the bishop even as we would upon the Lord Himself" (§6). Ignatius stresses the hierarchical relationship between God and the bishop more strongly to the Magnesians urging them "to yield him all reverence, having respect to the power of God the Father, ... submitting to him, or rather not to him, but to the Father of Jesus Christ, the bishop of us all" (§3). In §6 he exhorts them to harmony, and in §13 urges them to "[s]tudy ... to be established in the doctrines of the Lord and the apostles, ... with your most admirable bishop...." Thus Ignatius emphasizes unity, obedience, and the hierarchical relationship among the faithful and between the bishop and God. Further elements of the hierarchical relationship are mentioned by St. Clement of Alexandria [10] d. A.D. 217, referring to advice in the "holy books: some for presbyters, some for bishops and deacons" (Jurgens §413), and writing treatises with titles "On the Unity and Excellence of the Church" and "On the Offices of Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons, and Widows." In his Stromateis Clement of Alexandria writes that "according to my opinion, the grades here in the Church, of bishops, presbyters, deacons, are imitations of the angelic glory, and of that economy which, the Scriptures say, awaits those who, following the footsteps of the apostles, have lived in perfection of righteousness according to the Gospel" (Ch. 13). Other references can be adduced to show that earliest belief held that the Church is hierarchical.
[edit] Church held to be hierarchical
Pope St. Cornelius [11] d. A.D. 253, gave a detailed accounting of the structure of the Church at the time he was pope, and enquired in a seemingly rhetorical way, "[He], then, did not know that there must be one bishop in the Catholic Church. Yet he was not unaware — how could he be? — that in it there are ..." and thence follows the accounting (Denziger §45, Jurgens §546a). This came about because Novatian had allegedly made himself antipope; Cornelius was emphasizing the perceived need for recognition of one bishop, one head of the Church. [12]
St. Cyprian of Carthage [13] d. A.D. 258 spoke of "one God and one Christ, and one Church, and one Chair founded on Peter by the word of the Lord.... Whoever has gathered elsewhere is scattering" (Jurgens §573). St. Optatus [14] d. A.D. 385, who opposed the Donatists, clearly believed in a "Chair of Peter", calling it a gift of the Church and saying, as summarized by Henry Wace, that "Parmenian must be aware that the episcopal chair was conferred from the beginning on Peter, the chief of the apostles, that unity might be preserved among the rest and no one apostle set up a rival." [15] "You cannot deny that you are aware that in the city of Rome the episcopal chair was given first to Peter; the chair in which Peter sat, the same who was head — that is why he is also called Cephas — of all the Apostles; the one chair in which unity is maintained by all. Neither do other Apostles proceed individually on their own; and anyone who would set up another chair in opposition to that single chair would, by that very fact, be a schismatic and a sinner" (Jurgens §1242). Other references can be adduced to show that earliest belief held that the Church is monarchical.
Unity of government in matters of faith. Unified government is an element of monarchical rule. St. Hegesippus [16] (d. ca. A.D. 180) traced the succession of bishops from St. Peter, stating that "in the case of every succession, and in every city, the state of affairs is in accordance with the teaching of the Law and of the Prophets and of the Lord..." [17], thus associating the succession of bishops with correct teaching. He went on to note that "Thebulis it was who, displeased because he was not made bishop, first began to corrupt her by stealth.... Each of these leaders in his own private and distinct capacity brought in his own private opinion. From these have come false Christs, false prophets, false apostles — men who have split up the one Church into parts through their corrupting doctrines, uttered in disparagement of God and of His Christ...." Very early belief associated succession with truth, rupture with non-succession, and error with both rupture and non-succession. St. Irenaeus of Lyons [18] d. A.D. 202 emphasizes the relationship between faith, government, and harmony, writing that "the Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although scattered throughout the whole world, yet, as if occupying but one house, carefully preserves it. She also believes these points [of doctrine] just as if she had but one soul, and one and the same heart, and she proclaims them, and teaches them, and hands them down, with perfect harmony, as if she possessed only one mouth." Against Heresies, Bk. I, Ch. 10, §2. He also emphasizes the use of the traditional understanding of the apostles to resolve conflicts: "Suppose there arise a dispute relative to some important question among us, should we not have recourse to the most ancient Churches with which the apostles held constant intercourse, and learn from them what is certain and clear in regard to the present question?" (ibid., Bk 3, Ch. 4, §1). Irenaeus warns that God "shall also judge those who give rise to schisms, ... and who look to their own special advantage rather than to the unity of the Church; ... [f]or no reformation of so great importance can be effected by them, as will compensate for the mischief arising from their schism." (ibid., Bk. 4, Ch. 33, §7). St. Cyprian of Carthage in A.D. 252 directly equated Pope St. "Cornelius, our colleague" with the Catholic Church: "...that I should forward to Cornelius, our colleague, a copy of your letter, so that he might ... know immediately that you are in communion with him, that is, with the Catholic Church" (Jurgens §574a).
[edit] Primacy of Peter the apostle
Early belief in the Church is that Jesus granted Peter jurisdiction over the Church. Focusing on an example of Peter's astuteness, St. Clement of Alexandria, [19] in "Who is the Rich man that is Saved", writes of "the blessed Peter, the chosen, the pre-eminent, the first of the disciples, for whom alone and Himself the Saviour paid tribute, [who] quickly seized and comprehended the saying" (Ch. 21), referring to Mk 10:28. Tertullian, [20] while examining Scriptural teachings, legal precedents, and dogma surrounding monogamy and marriage (post A.D. 213), says of Peter, "Monogamist I am led to presume him by consideration of the Church, which, built upon him..." ("On Monogamy", Ch. 8): his certainty that the Church is built especially upon Peter is such that he simply refers to it in the context of another discussion. In a slightly later text (A.D. 220) "On Modesty", Tertullian writes at length about the significance of Matthew 16:18-19, "On this rock I will build my Church" and similar, emphasizing the singular, not plural, right, and condemning "wholly changing the manifest intention of the Lord, conferring (as that intention did) this (gift) personally upon Peter" (Ch. 21). Origen (ca. A.D. 232) wrote also of "Peter, upon whom is built the Church of Christ" (Jurgens §479a). St. Cyprian of Carthage [21] prepared an essay discussing, inter alia, Mt. 16:18-19, titled "On the Unity of the Church" (A.D. 251) in which he strongly associates primacy, unity, the authority of Jesus, and Peter: "On him He builds the Church, and to him He gives the command to feed the sheep; and although He assigns a like power to all the Apostles, yet He founded a single chair, and He established by His own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity" (Jurgens §555-6). Jurgens gives Cyprian as an example of "Papal Primacy being 'implicit' in the early Church."
Insofar as the bishop of Rome was accorded any special status, it was more as a mediator than as a ruler. People appealed to the bishop of Rome to help mediate disputes arising over issues like Gnosticism, not to deliver a definitive statement of Christian orthodoxy.
[edit] Peter as bishop of Rome
In 42 A.D., Peter built a church in Rome while he was visiting Simon Magus. Dogma and traditions of the Catholic Church maintain that he served as the bishop of Rome for 25 years until 67 A.D. when he was martyred by Nero[1] (further information: Great Fire of Rome). Eamon Duffy points out in his book, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, that Jesus had essentially appointed Peter as the first pope.[2]
[edit] Role of Paul in the founding of the Church
Irenaeus of Lyons believed that Paul of Tarsus, in addition to Peter, had founded Christianity in Rome where they served as bishops and appointed successors. Though not the Bishop of Rome, Paul played a crucial role in the founding of Christianity. He was mainly responsible for bringing Christianity to other parts of the world after Jesus had died earlier in Palestine, namely Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Cyprus, and Crete, in addition to Rome, where Peter had established it. According to Duffy, Paul was an important figure of Christianity, but nonetheless was "not its founder".[2]
[edit] Irenaeus
Irenaeus compiled a list of apostolic succession, including the immediate successors of Peter and Paul: Linus, Anacleutus, Clement, Evaristus, Alexander, and Sixtus.[2] The Catholic Church currently considers these the successors of Peter, whom they consider the first pope, and through whom following popes would claim authority.[3]
In the second century (AD 189), the assertion of the primacy of the Church of Rome may be indicated in St. Irenaeus of Lyon's Against Heresies (3:3:2): "With [the Church of Rome], because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree... and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition." Although this may be the first clear instance of the church in Rome asserting its primacy (depending on how one reads this passage), there is no historical evidence to show that such a claim was ever accepted by the eastern churches, particularly since the seat of government of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople soon after the Eccumenical Council of Nicea.
[edit] Stephen I
The first bishop to claim primacy in writing was Pope Stephen I (254-257). The timing of the claim is significant, for it was made during the worst of the tumults of the third century. There were several persecutions during this century and they hit the Church of Rome hard. But then came the miracle of Constantine's conversion, and suddenly the church at Rome was saved.
[edit] Damasus I
Pope Damasus I (366-384) was first to claim that Rome's primacy rested solely on Peter, and was the first pope to refer to the Roman church as "the Apostolic See". The prestige of the city itself was no longer sufficient; but in the doctrine of apostolic succession the popes had an unassailable position.
[edit] Bishop of Rome becomes Rector of the whole Church
The power of the Bishop of Rome increased as the imperial power of the Emperor declined. Edicts of the Emperor Theodosius II and of Valentinian III proclaimed the Roman bishop "as Rector of the whole Church." The Emperor Justinian, who was living in the East in Constantinople, in the sixth century published a similar decree. These proclamations did not create the office of the Pope but from the sixth century onward the Bishop of Rome's power and prestige increased so dramatically that the title of "Pope" began to fit the Bishop of Rome best. [4]
[edit] Edict of Milan
After the Edict of Milan granted Christianity legal status, the church adopted the same governmental structure as the Empire: geographical provinces ruled by bishops. This bishops of important cities therefore rose in power.
[edit] First Council of Constantinople
The First Council of Constantinople (AD 381) suggested strongly that Roman primacy was already asserted. However, it should be noted that, because of the controversy of this claim, the Pope did not personally attend this ecumencial council that was held in the capital of the eastern empire, rather than at Rome. It was not until 440 that Leo the Great more clearly articulated the extension of papal authority as doctrine, promulgating in edicts and in councils his right to exert "the full range of apostolic powers that Jesus had first bestowed on the apostle Peter". It was at the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 that Leo I (through his emissaries) stated that he was "speaking with the voice of Peter". At this same Council, an attempt at compromise was made when the bishop of Constantinople was given a primacy of honour only second to that of the Bishop of Rome, because "Constantinople is the New Rome." Ironically, Roman papal authorities rejected this language since it did not clearly recognize Rome's claim to juridical authority over the other churches.[5]
[edit] Relationship with bishops of other cities
Rome was not the only city that could claim a special role in Christ's Church. Jerusalem had the prestige of being the city of Christ's death and resurrection, and an important church council was held there in the first century. Antioch was the place where Jesus' followers were first called "Christians" {7} and, with Alexandria, was an important early center of Christian thought. Constantinople became highly important after Constantine moved his capital there in 330 AD.
By the fifth century, however, the bishop of Rome began to claim his supremacy over all other bishops, and some church fathers also made this claim for him.
[edit] See also
- History of the Papacy
- Pontifex Maximus (Latin for Supreme Pontiff).
- Papal infallibility
- Papal supremacy
[edit] Further reading
Books
- Schatz, Klaus. Papal Primacy: From Its Origins to the Present. (ISBN 0-8146-5522-X)
Links
