What the Early Church Believed: The Authority of the Pope

Earlier tracts show that the Fathers recognized Peter as the rock, gave him a primacy, and knew he went to Rome and left successors there. This tract shows they understood that his successors shared his authority. It covers the Fathers up to A.D. 341.

The most significant evidence is how the popes acted: Clement I ordered the church of Corinth to reinstate its leaders, and Victor excommunicated the churches of Asia Minor; the other bishops urged Victor to reconsider but did not challenge his authority to do it.

The witness of the early Church

• Pope Clement I (80) told the Corinthians to end their sedition and reinstate their leaders, warning that disobeying what God said "through us" is no small danger.
• Ignatius of Antioch (110) addressed the Roman church as the one that "holds the presidency" and says it has taught others.
• Dionysius of Corinth (170) praised Pope Soter's charity and said his church reads the letters of Soter and Clement in its liturgy.
• The martyrs of Lyons (175) wrote to Pope Eleutherius for the peace of the churches and commended Irenaeus to him.
• Irenaeus (189): with the church of Rome, founded by Peter and Paul, "all the churches must agree" because of its superior origin.
• Eusebius records that Pope Victor (190) tried to cut off the churches of Asia Minor over the date of Easter; other bishops urged peace.
• Cyprian (251–253): Christ built the Church on Peter (Matthew 16:18-19; John 21:17), and a primacy is given to Peter; communion with Pope Cornelius is communion with the Catholic Church; Rome is "the chair of Peter" and "the principal church, in which sacerdotal unity has its source."
• Firmilian (253), though opposed to Pope Stephen, records that Stephen claimed succession from Peter, on whom the Church was founded (Matthew 16:18).
• Pope Julius I (341) rebuked those who judged Athanasius without writing first to Rome, as custom required, appealing to what was received from Peter.