Lesson 7: Biblical
Ecclesiology
The Role of Saint Peter and the Papacy in the Church
I. Contexts: How, then, is the unity of the College of Bishops maintained?
II. The status and mission of Peter in the New Testament (recall from previous classes)
A. Spokesman for all of the Apostles (his name always listed first).
B. Power of the keys: Matthew 16:19
C. Strengthening the brethren: Luke 22:32
III. The Petrine Succession
A. Rejected by Protestantism on the basis of the principle of sola Scriptura
B. Obviously, however, the text of the New Testament is too early to chronicle the succession of Bishops
of Rome.
C. Even so, it highlights aspects of the Petrine ministry that must endure together with the Church herself:
1. A “foundation” (i.e., “Rock”) must last as long as the building stands.
2. We have already treated the reasons that the College of Bishops must be regarded as permanent
in the Church, and if so, it must always have a head.
IV. The Primacy of the Roman Church:
A. The Petrine ministry, then, is specifically that of the one who presides over the whole College of
Bishops, analogously to Peter’s role within the Apostolic College. But why is this role tied to the local
Church of Rome?
B. Though not recorded clearly in the Scriptures (perhaps hinted in 1 Peter 5:13; cf. Rev 18:2), Peter
eventually went to Rome, preached the Faith there in the early Roman Christian community, and
eventually was martyred there.
1. Many early literary witnesses to his presence there (e.g. Saint Ignatius of Antioch in his letter to
the Romans: “I do not order you, as Peter and Paul did ….”).
2. Early Christians preserved the memory of Peter’s martyrdom and final resting place on Vatican
Hill (excavated in the mid-20th century).
C. Accordingly, local churches everywhere had recourse to Rome as the place where their own local
ecclesial heritage could be authenticated as apostolically rooted by virtue of its conformity with Rome’s
own heritage.
D. But Rome’s primacy as a local Church can only be exercised in and through her Bishop. So it is
precisely the Bishop of Rome that has consistently been held universally among the Churches of East and
West to be the Successor of Saint Peter in Primacy over the whole Church (though there have sometimes
been disagreements, and are today, concerning the exact nature of that Primacy, as we will discuss in the
next lesson).
E. The Development of the Papacy and the Exercise of the Petrine Ministry in History
1. The settling of the controversy over the date of Easter: Pope Victor (189–199): St. Irenaeus
urges him not to break communion with the Churches of Syria over this issue (implicitly recognizing,
then, the importance of the various local Churches’ communion with Rome).
2. A key role that was played by the Roman Church in the formulation of the biblical canon:
a synod in Rome under Pope Damasus, in 382, is credited with the establishment of an official list
of biblical books to be accepted. Its decisions come down to us in a document traditionally
attributed to the later Pope Gelasius.
3. Whenever there was an Ecumenical Council (even when called by the Emperor), it was always
presided over by the Bishop or Rome, at least through his legates.
4. In order to be binding, the acts of Councils had to be approved by the Popes.
F. The primacy of the Popes was recognized by at least three Councils not recognized by the Eastern
Churches not in communion with Rome: Florence, Vatican I, and Vatican II.
1. Vatican I taught that a primacy of jurisdiction had been conferred upon Saint Peter directly (i.e.,
it was not simply conferred on him by the other Bishops).
2. This primacy was for the sake of the unity of the whole College of Bishops.
3. As supreme Pastor of the universal Church, he has jurisdiction over every member of the
Church, and can freely exercise it.
4. He is not bound by any other authority, though he is bound by the Word of God and morally
accountable to God for his actions.
5. Vatican II reaffirmed Papal Primacy in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen
Gentium.
6. More on the teaching office of the Roman Pontiff will be covered in a later lesson.
G. The relationship between the Pope’s powers and those of the Bishops:
1. The Pope is not the source of the Bishop’s authority within the local Church; he does not
bestow on the local Bishop the faculties to govern his local Church, since there pertains to him by
sacramental Ordination and his canonical mission “all the ordinary, proper, and immediate
authority which is required for the exercise of their pastoral office” (Second Vatican Council, The
Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops, Christus Dominus, n. 8).
2. Even so, the Roman Pontiff can reserve to himself either specific cases or specific exercises of
authority for the good of the universal Church (e.g., the power of appointing local Bishops, the
reservation of absolution of certain excommunications or other censures, the canonical
establishment of episcopal commissions transcending national boundaries).
H. While the question of the Roman Primacy is still one on which Eastern and Western Churches as well
as other non-Catholic ecclesial communities remain divided, the Primacy gives the Catholic Church a
powerful instrument for preserving unity among Catholics and seeking unity with those who remain
divided from us. More in the next lesson on tensions between the various Churches and ecclesial
communities in regard to the Papacy.
I. The tomb of Saint Peter in Rome
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Locate the key biblical passages related to Catholic doctrine on the “Petrine Ministry.”
2. Even given the importance of the role of Saint Peter as described in the New Testament, why is it reasonable
to hold that his unique ministry in some way continues in the Church after his death?
3. Why and in what sense is the Bishop of Rome the heir to the ministry of unity exercised by Saint Peter among
the Apostles?
4. How do we see the exercise of this ministry by Bishops of Rome in the early centuries of the Church’s history?
5. How is the Pope’s authority in the universal Church related to the Bishops’ authority in the various local
Churches?