THE PAPACY

Did Jesus give Peter an office?

The Catholic case for the papacy begins with a simple question: does the New Testament merely portray Peter as prominent, or does Christ entrust him with a unique, continuing role in His Church?

See the biblical case ↓ See the early Church ↓

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The Church That Jesus Christ Established

Jesus didn't simply leave behind a collection of teachings. He established His Church. This video explores why the Catholic Church is that same Church.

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Peter, the Rock, the Keys, and the Chair

Steve Ray walks through Matthew 16, its Jewish background, and the biblical case for seeing Peter’s role as more than a temporary honor.

STEVE RAY

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Where Is the Pope in the Bible?

Is the papacy a later Catholic invention, or does it have roots in Scripture? Joe Heschmeyer examines the biblical evidence for Peter's unique role among the apostles and the authority Christ entrusted to him.

JOE HESCHMEYER

If Christ established the papacy, everyone should be Catholic. If Christ did not establish the papacy, no one should be Catholic.

Scripture on the Church, Authority, and Unity

The Church Must Be Apostolic and Authoritative infographic

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION

Start with the Bible.

When Judas died, Peter said, “Let another take his office” (Acts 1:20), and Matthias replaced him. THE MAN DIED BUT HIS OFFICE CONTINUED.

Paul later told Timothy to take what he had received from Paul and “entrust [it] to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). The apostles clearly expected their teaching and ministry to continue through other men.

And that is exactly what the earliest Christians said happened. Around A.D. 96, Clement wrote that the apostles appointed ministers and provided that, when they died, “other approved men should succeed them in their ministry” (1 Clement 42–44). Around A.D. 180, Irenaeus pointed to the succession of bishops from the apostles as evidence of where authentic apostolic teaching could still be found (Against Heresies 3.3).

Now consider Peter. In Isaiah 22, the Davidic king gives his chief steward “the key of the house of David,” a position of authority that could pass from one man to another. Jesus, the Son of David, later tells Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16:19). He also tells Peter to “strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32) and later commands him three times to tend and feed His sheep (John 21:15–17).

CONSIDER THE CENTRAL QUESTION

“If the apostles established offices that continued after their deaths, why would Peter’s uniquely entrusted office be the one exception?”

And if Jesus gave Peter the keys and charged him to strengthen and shepherd the Church, where does Scripture say that this office ended when Peter died?

THE MAN DIED BUT HIS OFFICE CONTINUED.

THE NEW TESTAMENT PATTERN

Peter is not simply one name among twelve.

Across the Gospels and Acts, Peter is repeatedly singled out, speaks for the apostles, acts first, and receives commissions not given in the same form to the others.

If apostolic succession is valid, the Catholic Church is indeed the one true church.

Primacy of Peter chart listing New Testament passages concerning Peter's leadership among the apostles

SCRIPTURE

Four passages carry most of the weight.

Read them together rather than in isolation.

MATTHEW 16:18–19

Peter, the rock, and the keys

Jesus changes Simon’s name, speaks of building His Church, gives Peter the keys of the kingdom, and grants authority to bind and loose.

LUKE 22:31–32

Strengthen your brothers

Jesus prays specifically for Peter’s faith and tells him, once restored, to strengthen the others.

JOHN 21:15–17

Feed My sheep

The risen Christ gives Peter a threefold pastoral commission to feed and tend His flock.

ACTS 1–15

Peter repeatedly acts first

Peter leads in the replacement of Judas, Pentecost, the first major miracle, judgment of Ananias and Sapphira, and the admission of the Gentiles.

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The Biblical Case for the Papacy

Jimmy Akin examines the biblical foundations of the papacy, explaining how Christ entrusted Peter with a unique role in His Church and why that authority did not end with Peter's death.

JIMMY AKIN

THE EARLY CHURCH

Rome, Peter’s chair, and Christian unity.

The language becomes difficult to explain as mere respect for a prestigious local church.

Don't view the Church Fathers as authorities. Think of them as trustworthy historical witnesses.

They lived closest to the time of Jesus and the Apostles. Some knew the Apostles or were taught by those who did. Their testimony matters a lot.

If you wanted to know what really happened at an event, would you rather hear from someone who was there, or from people closest to those who were there, or from someone who only read about it many centuries later?

A.D. 180Irenaeus of Lyons

“It is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its preeminent authority.”

Against Heresies 3.3.2 · Read in context →

Irenaeus is speaking specifically about the Church of Rome, immediately after identifying it as founded by Peter and Paul and before listing its bishops in succession.

A.D. 252Cyprian of Carthage

“They dare to sail … to the chair of Peter and to the principal Church, whence sacerdotal unity has arisen.”

Letter 59 [54], 14, to Pope Cornelius

Cyprian calls Rome the “chair of Peter,” the “principal Church,” and the source of episcopal or priestly unity.

A.D. 367Optatus of Milevis

“In the city of Rome the episcopal chair was given first to Peter … the one chair in which unity is maintained by all.”

Against the Donatists 2.2

Optatus identifies Peter’s Roman chair as the visible standard of Christian unity and says that establishing a rival chair makes one a schismatic.

A.D. 376Jerome

“I communicate with none but your blessedness, that is, with the chair of Peter. For this … is the rock on which the Church is built!”

Letter 15, 2 · Read in context →

Writing to Pope Damasus during a schism in Antioch, Jerome asks Rome to determine with whom he should be in communion and identifies communion with Rome as communion with Peter’s chair.

A.D. 393Augustine

“Number the bishops from the very chair of Peter … That is the rock against which the gates of hell do not prevail.”

Psalm Against the Party of Donatus, 18

Augustine answers the Donatist schism by appealing to the continuing succession of bishops from Peter’s Roman chair as an identifiable point of ecclesial continuity.

COMMON OBJECTIONS

But wasn’t Peter just one apostle among equals?

“Christ, not Peter, is the Rock.”

Christ is unquestionably the ultimate foundation of the Church. But in Matthew 16 Jesus deliberately renames Simon “Peter,” speaks directly to him, and gives him the keys. Christ being the foundational Rock does not prevent Him from giving Peter a foundational role under Himself.

“All the apostles could bind and loose.”

Yes. Matthew 18 gives real authority to the apostolic body. Matthew 16 still singles Peter out personally and gives him the keys, language drawn from the chief steward in Isaiah 22. Shared apostolic authority does not erase Peter’s distinctive commission.

“Paul rebuked Peter.”

This doesn't weaken the Catholic case, it strengthens it! In Galatians 2:11 Paul writes that he "opposed him to his face." Would Paul use that language if he was writing about someone of equal authority? There wouldn't be anything special about that. Peter was behaving inconsistently and needed to be corrected. Catholic teaching has never claimed that a pope is sinless or cannot make bad decisions.

“Peter calls himself a fellow elder.”

In 1 Peter 5:1 Peter humbly identifies with other elders. That tells us something about how he exhorts fellow shepherds; it does not cancel Matthew 16, Luke 22, John 21, or Peter’s repeated leadership in Acts.

“James decided the Council of Jerusalem.”

James clearly has an important leadership role in Jerusalem and gives the council’s practical judgment. Catholics don’t need to deny that. But notice that Peter speaks on the disputed doctrinal question and reminds the assembly that God chose that the Gentiles should hear the Gospel through him. The chapter shows different roles without disproving Peter’s distinctive role.

AN EARLY WITNESS

Chief Apostle & Keeper of the Keys

The English translation in this video asks for Peter's heavenly intercession:

“The whole work of paving the diaconicon with mosaic was done by the zeal of Constantine, servant of Christ.

CHIEF OF THE APOSTLES AND HOLDER OF THE KEYS OF THE HEAVENLY SPHERES, intercede for him and for his children, George and Theophanos.”

THE QUESTION

Was Peter merely prominent, or was he given an office?

If Scripture gives Peter a unique pastoral authority and the early Church speaks of his Roman chair and succession as a standard of unity, that claim deserves to be examined on its own terms.

If Christ's Church needed an earthly leader at the time of the Ascension, when there were only 1,000 Christians, how much more is that earthly leader needed now, when there are over a BILLION?