Saint Peter the Rock, First Pope of Rome
Petrine Primacy in the Church Founded by Jesus Christ

This piece was originally part of a larger essay written for Protestants attracted to Eastern Orthodoxy. It has been adapted for a more general audience here. Footnote numbers appear in square brackets, for example: [1].

Servant of the Servants of God

Testimony of Scripture

The first witness to call, when treating the office of the papacy, is the Bible, because "dogma is by definition nothing other than an interpretation of Scripture."[1] This testimony cannot be ignored by any Christian. The question that must be asked of Scripture is whether or not Peter's role is in any way different from the rest of the Apostles.[2]

There can be no question, for the attentive reader of the New Testament, that in addition to what the Apostles had in common, something set Peter apart and made him unique. Discounting self-reference, e.g. Peter and Paul naming themselves in their own epistles, Peter's name[3] appears more times in the New Testament than any other Apostle, including Paul.[4] Peter is always named first in lists of the Apostles in the synoptic Gospels (Matt. 10:1-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:12-16; see also Acts 1:13), in spite of the fact that his brother Andrew was called before him (according to John 1:40-42). Matthew even uses the word "first"[5] to describe Peter in his list, without enumerating the rest. Sometimes the Apostles are simply referred to as "Simon/Peter and his companions" (Luke 9:32, Mark 1:36 & 16:7, Acts 2:14, 1 Cor. 15:5)! He frequently acted as their spokesman (Matt. 16:13-16 & 17:24, Mark 8:27-29, Luke 12:41, John 6:67-69), and because of this was the first to publicly proclaim the Gospel (Acts 2:14-40). God directly revealed to Peter Who Jesus Christ is (Matt. 16:17)[6] and the inclusion of the Gentiles (Acts 10:9-48). Clearly, scripture testifies, there is something different about Peter and his role in the Church.

It is Jesus Christ Himself Who gave Simon Bar-Jonah, the fisherman, this unique place among His twelve Apostles. The most obvious place to begin is Simon's name, which Jesus changed. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, "And I say to you [Simon], you are Peter [Petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." The unfailing Church of Jesus Christ, in other words, is built upon Simon the Rock - Peter. Like the Patriarchs Abram/Abraham (Gen. 17:5) and Jacob/Israel (Gen. 32:28), Simon/Peter received a new identity from the Lord.

Aha, Catholic opponents often say, here is a weakness! Petros (Petros, masculine) is not exactly the same word as petra (petra, feminine). The rock on which Jesus' Church is built is not Simon Peter, they claim, but Simon's confession of faith or perhaps Jesus Himself. The weakness of "the Petros/petra distinction argument" is that in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus, the same word, kepha, would be used in both places. But how can we know with certainty that Jesus was speaking Aramaic and not Greek when He renamed Simon? John confirms it: "You are Simon Bar-Jonah; you will be called Kefas [Kefas is Kepha in Greek letters]" (John 1:42). John then explains to his readers, "[Kefas] is translated Petros." Using the Aramaic term, Matthew 16:18 reads "you are Kepha, and upon this kepha I will build My Church." Catholics do not deny that Simon's confession and Jesus are truly and legitimately called "rock,"[7] but Simon Peter is the primary Rock Jesus is talking about in Matthew 16:18.

Although the reception of a new name is significant in itself, as we know from the stories of Abraham and Israel, Matthew 16:18 also promises that it is on Simon Peter that Jesus' Church will be built. Even though the Apostles in general have been called a "foundation" (Eph. 2:20), Jesus singled Simon Peter out as the "Rock." A similar thing occurs in 16:19: "I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." "Binding and loosing"[8] is a charism given to all the Apostles (Matt. 18:18), but Peter is singled out for "the keys." He is their sole recipient. Something is common to all Apostles, but something is particular to Peter.

Apologists who strictly equate Matthew 16:19 with 18:18[9] miss a rare but crucial biblical motif: "keys" equal authority. Consider the words of Jesus in Revelation 1:18: "Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and hell." What does Jesus mean when He says He holds "the keys"? In Peter's words, Jesus has authority or rights over death: "it was impossible for [Jesus] to be held by [death]" (Acts 2:24). Jesus holds "the keys" of death, death does not hold Jesus.

If "keys" represent authority, what kind of authority is Jesus conferring on Peter in Matthew 16:19? Jesus gives Peter "keys" to a Kingdom. What kind of King is Jesus? Jesus is a King in the line of David (Luke 1:32). So the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus mentions is nevertheless a truly Davidic Kingdom. Jesus possesses "the key" of David (Rev. 3:7), and it is within His authority as Davidic King to authorize Peter, which He does in Matthew 16:19. This is in keeping with the Old Testament practice of kings in the line of David. Jesus reigns through His ministers.

Like other kings in the ancient middle east, kings in the line of David kept what we would call a "cabinet of ministers (or stewards)."[10] One might oversee the treasury, another the military, another stores of food, for example. From among these, one would be authorized as the chief or prime minister (vizier, majordomo), to direct and coordinate the administration of other ministers in the name and service of the king. The Patriarch Joseph once served in a similar capacity in Egypt (Gen. 41:37-46). An example of this office in Jerusalem may be found in Isaiah 22. Shebna, an unworthy "master of the palace" (Isa. 22:15), was being replaced by Eliakim. Eliakim, as the new prime minister, was "father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah,"[11] holding "the key" of the House of David, and what he "opened and shut" remained so (Isa. 22:20-24). Only the king himself outranked his prime minister in authority (Gen. 41:40).

Those apologists who try to collapse "the keys" into the more general "binding and loosing" can only do so by ignoring the historical and biblical significance of "the keys of the kingdom." "Keys" were only given to one man at a time, giving him a particular authority, not simply honor, over the rest of the king's ministers. Jesus gives "the keys" of His Kingdom to Peter alone among the Apostles; "the keys" are not mentioned in passages like Matthew 18:18 and John 20:23. The Apostles, familiar with Isaiah and with Israel's history, would have understood the imagery Jesus evoked. It need not have been any more explicit.

Yet Jesus singled Peter out on other occasions as well. At the Last Supper, in the midst of foretelling Peter's betrayal, a very negative thing, Jesus gives Peter a particular positive mission. "Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you [plural] like wheat, but I have prayed that your [singular] own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you [singular] must strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32). As James informs his readers, the prayers of a righteous man like Jesus avail much (Jas. 5:16b), and though Peter unfortunately denied knowing the Lord three times, he did turn and strengthen his brothers. One might say he did this in a number of ways. For example, Peter decided that, according to Scripture, a successor to Judas' office must be appointed (Acts 1:15-22) so that the original number of Apostles would not be diminished (weakened). Peter was also the first to command the baptism of Gentiles (Acts 10:46-48), an action which increased the number of Christians by leaps and bounds. As mentioned above, he was considered the first witness to the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:5) and was the first to explain the outpouring of the Spirit and preach the Gospel publicly (Acts 2:14-40).

Peter is again singled out by Jesus in John 21:15-19. A few things make this passage interesting. Jesus asked Peter if Peter loved Him, in the agape (charity) sense. Peter responded that he loved Jesus in the philos (friendship) sense. This exchange is repeated. Finally, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him in the philos sense, and Peter said Jesus knew everything, and that he loved Him in the philos sense. On the one hand, one could say that Peter's distress or shame in verse 17 arises from the triple denial parallel, but it may have arisen from his inability to affirmatively answer the question that Jesus was actually asking (or some combination of the two). Regardless, Jesus gives Peter a particular charge each time, to govern[12] and feed Jesus' sheep. Peter's personal failures in faithfulness, clearly emphasized in this passage, do not seem to have any effect on Jesus' choice: He still wants to entrust Peter with His flock, and only Peter is given this direct instruction.[13] Jesus' last "Follow me" statements (apparently to the cross) are directed to Peter alone.[14]

Of the Twelve, only Simon Peter received a new identity from the Lord, only Simon Peter was the "Rock" on which Jesus promised to build His Church, only Peter received the "keys" of prime ministerial authority from Jesus, only Peter was charged by Jesus to strengthen his brothers, and only Peter was given the threefold charge of governing and feeding Jesus' sheep. The language of Peter's primacy, in Scripture, is no mere "primacy of honor." Peter is given crucial duties and responsibilities and authorized to carry them out.[15] Jesus clearly makes Peter a servant, leader, and unifier to all His Apostles and disciples. This is the testimony of Scripture.

Testimony of Sacred Tradition

The scriptural testimony to Petrine primacy is both substantial and entirely trustworthy, but it is not alone. Sacred Tradition is a second reliable witness to the authentic Christian faith. The historical practice of the Church and the writings of the Fathers, with the Bible, testify that Peter was truly one of the Twelve but also more. Petrine primacy is not an invention of the 9th century, or the 11th, or the 19th. Understanding and expression of the office have grown like a mustard tree from its seed (Matt. 13:31-32), but the office of the papacy has been with us since its institution by Jesus Christ.[16]

Why do we need a second testimony? A second testimony is important because even heretics appeal to Scripture to defend their doctrines.[17] "The devil himself has quoted Scripture texts," said St. Jerome, "we could all, while preserving the letter of Scripture, read into it some novel doctrine."[18] To show that we are not such Bible-quoting heretics, Catholics appeal to the Church's Sacred Tradition.

Patristic testimony supporting Petrine primacy (of authority, not merely honor) is plentiful. Most important are the sources which predate the East/West Schism, and among those, the Eastern Fathers. Here are some samples of things said about Peter and his successors at Rome (emphasis added):

Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea
[Peter] that powerful and great one of the Apostles, who, on account of his excellence, was leader of all the rest.
The very head of the Apostles.
Set above all the rest.[19]

Ephraim of Syria
[As if spoken by Jesus:] Simon my follower, I have made you the foundation of My holy Church. I betimes called you Peter, because you will support all its buildings. You are the inspector of all who will build on earth a Church for Me. If they should wish to build what is false, you, the foundation, will condemn them. You are the head of the fountain from which My teaching flows, you are the chief of My disciples. Through you I will give drink to all peoples. Yours is the life-giving sweetness which I dispense. I have chosen you to be, as it were, the first-born in My institution, and so that, as the heir, you may be the executor of all My treasures. I have given you the keys of My Kingdom. Behold, I have given you authority over all My treasures!
To whom, O Lord, didst Thou entrust that most precious pledge of the heavenly keys? To Bar Jonas, the Prince of the Apostles, with whom, I implore Thee, may I share Thy bridal chamber...
Our Lord chose Simon Peter and appointed him chief of the Apostles, foundation of the holy Church and guardian of His establishment. He appointed him head of the Apostles and commanded him to feed His flock and teach it laws for preserving the purity of its beliefs.[20]
Peter deservedly received the Vicariate [of Christ] over His people.[21]

Bishop Gregory of Nazianzen (the younger)
Seest thou that of the disciples of Christ, all of whom were great and deserving of the choice, one is called a Rock and is entrusted with the Foundations of the Church...[22]

Bishop Gregory of Nyssa
The memory of Peter, the Head of the Apostles, is celebrated; and magnified indeed with him are the other members of the Church; but [upon him] is the Church of God firmly established. For he is, agreeably to the gift conferred upon him by the Lord, that unbroken and most firm Rock upon which the Lord built His Church.[23]

Bishop Basil the Great
And when he, the instrument of such and so great a judgment; he the minister of the so great wrath of God upon a sinner; that blessed Peter, who was preferred before all the other disciples; who alone received a greater testimony and blessing than the rest; he to whom were entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, &c.[24]

Archbishop Epiphanius of Salamis
[On the Father's revelation to Peter] This was befitting in that First of the Apostles, that firm Rock upon which the Church of God is built, and "the gates of hell will not prevail against it." "The gates of hell" are heretics and heresiarchs. For in every way was the faith confirmed in him who received the keys of Heaven; who looses on earth and binds in heaven. For in him are found all the subtle questions of faith....to him was entrusted the flock; he leads the way admirably in the power of his own Master.[25]

Bishop John Chrysostom
Peter, that Leader of the Choir, that Mouth of the rest of the Apostles, that Head of the Brotherhood, that one set over the entire universe, that Foundation of the Church.[26]
Peter, the Leader of the Choir, the Mouth of all the Apostles, the Head of that Tribe, the Ruler of the whole world, the Foundation of the Church, the ardent lover of Christ....It is not I who say these things, but the beloved Lord. "If thou lovest Me," He says, "feed my sheep." Let us see whether he has the primacy of a shepherd.[26]
Peter so washed away [his] denial so as to be even made the first Apostle, and to have the whole world committed to him.[27]
And should any one say, "Why then did James [instead of Peter] receive the throne of Jerusalem?": this is my answer: that He [Jesus] appointed this man [Peter] not teacher of that throne, but of the habitable globe.[28]

Maximos the Confessor
The extremities of the earth, and everyone in every part of it who purely and rightly confesses the Lord, look directly towards the most holy Roman Church and her confession and faith, as to a sun of unfailing light, awaiting from her the brilliant radiance of the sacred dogmas of our Fathers, according to that which the inspired and holy Councils have stainlessly and piously decreed. For, from the descent of the Incarnate Word among us, all the churches in every part of the world have held that greatest Church alone to be their base and foundation, seeing that according to the promise of Christ our Savior, the gates of hell never prevail against her, that she has the keys of orthodox confession and right faith in Him, that she opens the true and exclusive religion to such men as approach with piety, and she shuts up and locks every heretical mouth which speaks against the Most High.[29]

John of Damascus
It is to [Peter], as to the most faithful servant, that Jesus entrusted the rudder of all the Church, this Church which He acquired with His blood.[30]

This list of quotes is not exhaustive. In addition to the words of the Fathers, one must consider their actions - the docility shown to the papacy, the requests for approval and aid, and the like. I recommend Jurgens' Faith of the Early Fathers vols. 1-3; Jesus, Peter, & the Keys; Cardinal Newman's An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine; and other such resources to the interested.

Many Eastern Orthodox apologists, knowing the strength of the Patristic testimony in favor of Petrine primacy, argue that when the Fathers (especially those of the East) used this language, they meant it only as an honor to Peter. In other words, they were only trying to say "Peter is a great saint, and his successors hold a position of esteem among us. We like him a lot." Certainly, Eastern Orthodox apologists assure us, they did not mean Peter or his successors had a unique duty to or authority in the Church.

Not only does this argument fail to account for the actual language of the Fathers,[31] it ultimately accuses those monumental Doctors and Saints of the basest insincere flattery. If the Fathers did not really mean what they said about Peter and his successors when they praised them, they never should have said it.[32]

On the contrary, the Fathers meant what they said; their praises were not empty but directed towards a reality. The Fathers really believed that Peter (though sharing a common office with the other Apostles) was also charged by Jesus with a sacred office and duty particular to him and his successors, given the right (authority) to carry out his mission, and given the blessings and grace necessary to serve. This is what the Church is supposed to esteem and what the Fathers did esteem: service.

Conclusion

A point of clarification is long overdue. Many people in modernity equate the word "authority" with "arbitrary power" and "power" with mere "brute force." To most moderns, might makes right. This is not what the Catholic Church means by authority. When we speak of the pope's authority we mean, rather, that the pope has been given the right, by the Lord, to maintain unity in the Church in the Lord's order of faith and morals. He has this right, with or without "might," because he was given the responsibility or the dictate of service: to serve the Lord by being Servant to the Lord's ministers and faithful. The only "power" he has, really, is the power of God's grace which enables him to serve. Like Jesus, Peter truly "leads" and "rules" by self-sacrificial service.

The Petrine office was, as Scripture and Sacred Tradition (even in the East prior to the Schism) both faithfully testify, established by Jesus Christ for the service and benefit of His Church and all her members. Though the papacy was not born full grown, like Athena from Zeus' head, it is certainly not a late breaking Western innovation by any stretch of the imagination.

Footnotes

For further reading

Jesus, Peter, and the Keys: A Scriptural Handbook on the Papacy by Butler, Dahlgren, and Hess (Queenship) - a biblical and patristic source book
Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church by Stephen K. Ray, former Baptist (Ignatius) - source book and apologetic; fewer sources but more readable
The Russian Church & the Papacy by Vladimir Soloviev (Catholic Answers) - an abridgment of Russia & the Universal Church by the great Eastern Christian philosophical genius
An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine by John Henry Cardinal Newman, former Anglican (University of Notre Dame) - longer than most "essays" but valuable for understanding Christian history
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (Basilica Press) - short answers to the most common objections

Related links

Papacy Links - Dave Armstrong's extensive library of links
The Papacy: God's Gift to the Church - no extensive sources, introductory thoughts
An Exegesis of Matthew 16:18-19 - Bob Sungenis, former Protestant, wrote this for Our Sunday Visitor's The Catholic Answer magazine
Peter (and His Successors) in Rome - Catholic Answers' sample of ancient evidence
Apostolic Succession - Catholic Answers' sample of ancient evidence
Petrine Succession - Catholic Answers' sample of ancient evidence
List of Popes - popes good and bad, a chronological list from Peter to John Paul II
Peter Is the Rock - Catholic Answers' sample of ancient evidence
Joseph Georg (Josip Juraj) Strossmayer - a Catholic Encyclopedia article; many anti-Catholics (from fundamentalist Bart Brewer to Eastern Orthodox Fr. Alexey Young) like to cite a forgery attributed to this Catholic bishop
Pope Fiction - an article from Envoy magazine by Pat Madrid
The Eastern Church Defends Petrine Primacy - quotes from the Eastern Fathers, but weak on citation
An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - by John Henry Cardinal Newman