Monday, September 24, 2012
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| Pope Linus (reigned after St Peter: 67 AD – 79 AD) |
The Myth: The papacy is a medieval Roman invention. The early Church knew nothing of a “supreme pontiff.” Other bishops didn't regard the bishop of Rome (Pope) as having special authority to operate the way modern popes do.
The earliest account we have of a bishop of Rome exercising authority in another diocese comes from Pope St. Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthians. It was written by Clement, bishop of Rome, around the year A.D. 80. In it he responds to the Corinthians’ plea for his intervention. In the letter, he says: “But if any disobey the words spoken by Him [Christ] through us, let them know that they will involve themselves in sin and no small danger” – clearly showing that he believed he had a special authority and demanded obedience.
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| Pope Clement I (reigned: 88 AD – 99 AD) |
Pope Victor I (reigned 189-199) worked to settle a dispute among the bishops of the East and West over when to celebrate Easter – known as the Quartodeciman controversy. The other bishops recognized his unique authority when they followed his directive to convene local and regional synods to deliberate on the issue. Most of the bishops decided to adopt his proposal that the whole Church celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after Passover. Those who didn’t, he threatened with excommunication. The fact that no bishop in the world — not a single one — disputed his authority as bishop of Rome to carry out such an excommunication is a powerful piece of evidence that the early Church recognized the unique authority of the bishop of Rome.
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| Pope Vicor I |
St Irenaeus in the first century wrote of the Church in Rome: “For with this church, because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree; that is, all the faithful in the whole world, for in her the apostolic tradition has always been preserved for the benefit of the faithful everywhere”.
