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Medieval Europe

Foundations of Papal Authority

In the Bible, there are passages in which Jesus gives some very specific instructions to Peter. Roman Catholic teaching always placed St. Peter as the first Bishop of Rome. Roman tradition also had Peter pass on his authority to his successor, and medieval popes claimed to be in this direct line of inheritance from the Christ himself.

The Biblical passages are worth quoting. Perhaps the most important is in Matthew 16: 18-19; it is the reply of Jesus to Peter when Peter acknowledged him as the Christ:

And I say to thee, thou art Peter (petrus) and upon this rock (petra) I will build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth it shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth it shall be loosed in Heaven.

Jesus gave a kind of guarantee given to Peter, and hence to all the popes, in Luke 22:32. Christ says to Peter: "I have prayed for thee that thy faith may not fail."

Another charge frequently quoted was in John 21: 15-17, where Christ gave Peter the threefold command: "Feed my lambs. . . . Feed my lambs. . . . Feed my sheep." For many, this sort of evidence meant clearly, that the popes were the custodians of the church. Not all believed this, by any means; most especially not Rome's rivals in Constantinople and Antioch. But they lacked the association with Peter, and over time this proved decisive.

It is worth remembering that "the Church" (audio gifecclesia) was understood to be the body of all believers. That is, the Church was not merely the formal administration and government of bishops and priests, but the entire society of Christians. If the traditional of apostolic succession (the inheritance of power and authority directly from the apostles) were taken seriously, the popes could claim vast powers.