The Papacy
Tract: The
Early Church Fathers & The Papacy
The belief of papal primacy is
well founded not only on a solid Scriptural basis, but on a
patristic one as well. The evidence of the primacy of St. Peter
among the early Christian leaders is overwhelming. The citations
listed below are only a sample.
- St. Irenaeus: "Polycarp,
however, was instructed not only by the Apostles, and
conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also
appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna...I saw him in
my early youth; for he tarried a long time, and when
quite old he departed this life in a glorious martyrdom.
He always taught those things which he had learned from
the Apostles, and which the Church had handed down, and
which are true." (St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies,
3,3,4, 180 A.D.) Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna,
and he was the direct pupil of St. John, the Apostle. St.
Irenaeus, in turn, was the pupil of
Polycarp.
- St. Irenaeus: "Since,
however, it would be very tedious, in such a volume as
this, to reckon up the successions of all the Churches,
we do put to confusion all those who, in whatever manner,
whether by an evil self-pleasing, by vainglory, or by
blindness and perverse opinion, assemble in unauthorized
meetings; [we do this, I say, ] by indicating that
tradition derived from the apostles, of the very great,
the very ancient, and universally known Church founded
and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles,
Peter and Paul; as also [by pointing out] the faith
preached to men, which comes down to our time by means of
the successions of the bishops. For it is a matter of
necessity that EVERY CHURCH SHOULD AGREE WITH THIS
CHURCH, on account of its pre- eminent authority, that
is, the faithful everywhere, inasmuch as the apostolical
tradition has been preserved continuously by those
[faithful men] who exist everywhere." (St. Irenaeus,
Against Heresies, (3,3,2), 180 A.D.)
- St. Clement of Alexandria:
"The blessed Peter, the chosen, the pre-eminent, the
first among the disciples, for whom alone with himself
the Saviour paid the tribute (Matt 17:27), quickly
grasped and understood their meaning. And what does he
say? 'Behold, we have left all and have followed
you.'" [Matt 19:27; Mark 10:28] (St. Clement of
Alexandria,'Who is the rich man that is saved?' 21:3-5,
190 A.D.)
- Tertullian: "I now
inquire into your opinion, to see whence you usurp this
right for the Church. Do you presume, because the Lord
said to Peter, 'On this rock I will build my Church, I
have given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.'
(Matthew 16:18-19a) or 'whatever you shall have bound or
loosed on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven.'
(Matthew 16:19b) that the power of binding and loosing
has thereby been handed onto you, that is to every church
akin to Peter? What kind of man are you, subverting and
changing what was the manifest intent of the Lord when he
conferred this personally upon Peter?" (Tertullian,
On Modesty 21:9-10, 200 A.D.)
- Tertullian: "Moreover,
if there be any [heresies] bold enough to plant
themselves in the midst of the apostolic age, so that
they might seem to have been handed down by the Apostles
because they were from the time of the Apostles, we can
say to them: let them show the origins of their Churches,
let them unroll the order of their bishops, running down
in succession from the beginning, so that their first
bishop shall have for author and predecessor some of one
of the Apostles or of the apostolic men who continued
steadfast with the Apostles. For this is the way in which
the apostolic Churches transmit their lists: like the
Church of the Smyrnaeans, which records that Polycarp was
placed there by John; like the Church of the Romans where
Clement was ordained by Peter. In just the same way the
other Churches display those whom they have as sprouts
from the apostolic seed, having been established in the
episcopate by the Apostles" (Tertullian, The
Demurrer Against the Heretics,32,1, 200 A.D.).
- Hippolytus: "Peter, the
Rock of the faith, whom Christ our Lord called blessed,
the teacher of the Church, the first disciple, he who has
the keys of the kingdom." (Hippolytus, Exfabrico.
n.9, 225 A.D.)
- Origen: "Peter likewise,
on whom the Church was founded by the good pleasure of
the Lord, lays it down in his epistle…"
(Origen, De Bono Patient, p.484, 230 A.D.)
- St. Cyprian: "The Lord
says to Peter: 'I say to you,' He says, 'that you are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the
gates of hell will not overcome it. And to you I will
give the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever
things you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth, they shall be loosed
also in heaven.' (Matthew 16:18-19) And again He says to
him after His resurrection: 'Feed my sheep.' (John 21:17)
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
intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were
that also which Peter was; but a primacy is given to
Peter, where by it is made clear that there is but one
Church and one Chair. So too, all are shepherds, and the
flock is shown to be one, fed by all the Apostles in
single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to
this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds
the faith? If he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the
Church was built, can still be confident that he is in
the Church?"(St. Cyprian, On the unity of the
Catholic Church, 4, 246 A.D.)
- St. Cyprian: "They alone
have remained outside [the Church] who, were they within,
would have to be ejected…There [in John 6:68-69]
speaks Peter, upon whom the Church would be built,
teaching in the name of the Church and showing that even
if a stubborn and proud multitude withdraws because it
does not wish to obey, yet the Church does not withdraw
from Christ. The people joined to the priest, the flock
clinging to their shepherd in the Church. You ought to
know, then, that the bishop is in the Church and the
Church in the bishops, and if someone is not with the
bishop, he is not in the Church. They vainly flatter
themselves who creep up, not having peace with the priest
of God, believing that they are secretly in communion
with certain individuals. The Church, which is one and
Catholic is not split or divided, but is indeed united
and joined by the cement of priests who adhere to one
another." (St. Cyprian of Cathage, Letters 66 (67):
8, 254 A.D.)
- St. Peter, Bishop of
Alexandria: "Peter, set above the Apostles."
(Peter of Alexandria, Canon.ix.Galland, iv.p.98, 306
A.D.)
- Eusebius: "That powerful
and great one of the Apostles, who, on account of his
excellence, was the leader of all the rest."
(Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. Lib ii. C. 14, 325 A.D.)
- St. Ephraim: "Simon, my
follower, I have you the foundation of the holy
Church…You are the inspector of those 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…I have given you the
keys of the kingdom. Behold, I have given you authority
over all my treasures." (St. Ephraim, Homilies 4:1,
338 A.D.)
- St. Cyril of Jerusalem:
"The Lord is loving toward men, swift to pardon but
slow to punish. Let no man despair of his own salvation.
Peter, the first and foremost of the Apostles, denied the
Lord three times before a little servant girl, but he
repented and wept bitterly. Weeping is demonstrative of
repentance from the depth of the heart, which is why he
not only received the forgiveness of his denial, but also
kept his apostolic dignity without forfeit." (Cyril
of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 2:19, 350 A.D.)
- St. John Cassian: "O
Peter, Prince of Apostles, it is just that you should
teach us, since you were yourself taught by the Lord; and
also that you should open to us the gate of which you
have received the Key (singular). Keep out all those who
are undermining the heavenly House; turn away those who
are trying to enter through false caverns and unlawful
gates since it is certain that no one can enter in at the
gate of the Kingdom except the one unto whom the Key
(singular), placed by you in the churches, shall open
it."(St. John Cassian, Book III, Chap 12, Against
the Nestorians on the Incarnation, 362 A.D.)
- Opatatus: "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 [Rock]—of all the
Apostles, the one chair is which unity is maintained by
all. Neither do the Apostles proceed individually on
their own, and anyone who would presume to set up another
chair in opposition to that single chair would, by that
very fact, be a schismatic and a sinner….Recall then
the origins of your chair, those of you who wish to claim
for yourselves the title of holy Church."
(Opatatus,The Schism of the Donatists, 2:2, 367 A.D.)
- St. 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." (Ephraem, Homilies, 4:1, 350 A.D.)
- St. 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..." (T.i. or. xxii. n.18,
370 A.D.)
- St. 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." (alt. Or. De
S. Steph. Galland. t. vi., 371 A.D.)
- St. 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."
(T. ii. p.1. Procem. de Judic. Dei, n. 7, p.221, 371
A.D.)
- "Although all the
Catholic churches spread abroad throughout the world
comprise but one bridal chamber of Christ, nevertheless,
the holy Roman church has been placed at the forefront
not by the conciliar decisions of the churches, but has
received the primacy by the evangelic voice of our Lord
and Savior, Who says: "You are Peter ...(Matt
16:18-19)." In addition to this, there is also the
companionship of the vessel of election, the most blessed
Apostle Paul who, along with Peter in the city of Rome in
the time of Caesar Nero, equally consecrated the
above-mentioned holy Roman church to Christ the Lord; and
by their own presence and by their venerable triumph,
they set it at the forefront over the others of all the
cities of the world. The first see, therefore, is that of
Peter the Apostle, that of the Roman church, which has
neither stain nor blemish, nor anything like that. The
second see is that of Alexandria, consecrated on behalf
of the blessed Peter by Mark, his disciple and an
Evangelist, who was sent to Egypt by the Apostle Peter,
where he preached the word of truth and finished his
glorious martyrdom. The third see is that of Antioch,
which belonged to the most blessed Peter, where first he
dwelled before he came to Rome, and where the name
"Christians" was first applied, as to a new
people." (Decree of Damasus # 3, 382 A.D.)
- St. Epiphanius of Salamis:
Holy men are therefore called the temple of God, because
the Holy Spirit dwells in them; as that Chief of the
Apostles testifies, he that was found to be blessed by
the Lord, because the Father had revealed unto him. To
him then did the Father reveal His true Son; and the same
(Peter) furthermore reveals the Holy Spirit. This was
befitting in the First of the Apostles, that firm Rock
upon which the Church of God is built, and the gates of
hell shall 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 subtle questions of faith. He was aided by the Father
so as to be (or lay) the Foundation of the security
(firmness) of the faith. He (Peter) heard from the same
God, 'feed my lambs'; to him He entrusted the flock; he
leads the way admirably in the power of his own Master.
(Epiphanius, T. ii. in Anchor, 385 A.D.).
- St. John Chrysostom:
"And why, then, passing by the others, does He
converse with Peter on these things? (John 21:15). He was
the chosen one of the Apostles, and the mouth of the
disciples, and the leader of the choir. On this account,
Paul also went up on a time to see him rather than the
others (Galatians 1:18). And withal, to show him that he
must thence forward have confidence, as the denial was
done away with, He puts into his hands the presidency
over the brethren...And if one should say, 'How then did
James receive the throne of Jerusalem?',this I would
answer that He appointed this man (Peter) teacher, not of
that throne, but of the whole world." (St.
Chrysostom,,In Joan. Hom. lxxxviii. n. 1, tom. viii, 387
A.D.)
- St. Ambrose: "It is to
Peter that he says, 'You are Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my Church [Matt 16:18]. Where Peter is, there
is the Church. And where the Church, no death is there,
but life eternal." (St. Ambrose, On Twelve Psalms
40:30, 394 A.D.)
- St. Jerome: "I follow no
leader but Christ and join in communion with none but
your blessedness [Pope Damasus I], that is, with the
chair of Peter. I know of that this is the rock on which
Christ has been built. Whosover eats the Lamb outside
this house is profane. Anyone who is not in the ark on
Noah will perish when the flood prevails."(St.
Jerome, Letters, 15:2, 396 A.D.)
- St. Augustine: "There
are many other things which rightly keep me in the bosom
of the Catholic Church. The consent of the people and
nations keeps me, her authority keeps me, inaugurated by
miracles, nourished in hope, enlarged by love, and
established by age. The succession of priests keeps me,
from the very seat of the apostle Peter (to whom the Lord
after his Resurrection gave charge to feed his sheep)
down to the present Episcopate [of Pope Siricius]."
(St. Augustine, Against the Letter of Mani Called
"The Foundation", 5, 397 A.D.)
- St. Peter Chrysologus:
"We exhort you in every respect, honorable brother,
to heed obediently what has been written by the most
blessed pope in the city of Rome, for blessed Peter, who
lives and presides in his own see, provides the truth
faith to those who seek it. For we, by reason of our
pursuit of peace and faith, cannot try cases on the faith
without the consent of the bishop of Rome." (St.
Peter Chrysologus, Letters 25:2, 449 A.D.)
- Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus in
Syria: "I therefore beseech your holiness to
persuade the most holy and blessed bishop (Pope Leo) to
use his Apostolic power, and to order me to hasten to
your Council. For that most holy throne (Rome) has the
sovereignty over the churches throughout the universe on
many grounds."(Theodoret, Tom. iv. Epist. cxvi.
Renato, p. 1197, 450 A.D.). If Paul, the herald of the
truth, the trumpet of the Holy Spirit, hastened to the
great Peter, to convey from him the solution to those in
Antioch, who were at issue about living under the law,
how much more do we, poor and humble, run to the
Apostolic Throne (Rome) to receive from you (Pope Leo)
healing for wounds of the the Churches. For it pertains
to you to have primacy in all things; for your throne is
adorned with many prerogatives. (Theodoret Ibid, Epistle
Leoni, 450 A.D.)
John Pacheco
The Catholic Legate
March 1, 2002
www.catholic-legate.com