Was Peter really the first Pope?

Question

or did Jesus Christ appoint an earthly Head to His Church?

I found it reading the Holy Bible that the Lord Jesus Christ is the sole King and only Head of His Church and He never appointed any earthly Head of His Church.

My research mention in Matthew 16:18 "Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my church."

The rock on which the Church is founded is not Peter, but Peter's confession, "thou art the Christ" mention in Matthew 16:16.

And Paul explicitly states, "For other foundation can "NO MAN" lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ". (1 Cor. 3:11). To take Peter as the foundation flatly contradicts this passage.

Regarding the key of Peter? The keys were used by Peter in preaching to the Jews on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2); to the household of Cornelius (Acts 14:27 cf. Acts 10); and to the Gentiles (Acts 11:18).

Answer 1

You are correct.... that idea is the invention of The roman Catholics who's cult did not even get started untill 300 yrs after The One True Chruch was commisioned by Jesus The Christ.

Answer 2

However you wish to interpret it, in Matthew 16:18, Jesus is making a pun with the name "Peter". "Petros" is Greek for "rock". So Jesus declares that he intends to build his Church on Peter (or people such as Peter).



Does that make Peter pope? There is a long-standing tradition that Peter became the first bishop of Rome, and that Linus and Anacletus (people about whom we know virtually nothing) were his immediate successors. These facts are important to know but impossible to verify.



In the first two centuries of the Church, bishops represented and oversaw the administration of their Christian communities in various cities. The patriarchs of Jerusalem, Antioch, Byzantium, Alexandria, Rome, etc. were regarded as equals, more concerned with local issues than deep theological questions. But as the issues were raised, questions like what exactly Jesus' relationship with the Father was, these pastors found it necessary to confer and agree on these issues for the sake of Christian unity.



The term "pope" does not appear in history before 385 CE. The Latin term is "papa", which literally means "papa". The bishop of Rome was regarded as the Big Daddy bishop, the goto guy for quick action and snap decisions, at least among the Romans. (Well, he did live in the capital of the Empire.) Yet for the big policy decisions, councils were and are still held and all bishops were invited.



The question was, which happened when? It is doubtful that Peter foresaw a dynasty of ecclesiastical princes. He may have simply said, "Linus, hold down the fort until I get back." We just don't know. But there apparently was a Christian community in Rome and communities have leaders. Popes used to be referred to as the "vicar of Peter", which is a quite reasonable honorific. Then at some point, it became "vicar of Christ", which is more controversial.

Answer 3

I don't personally believe that Peter is the head of the church, nor do I believe he is the first pope or that popes should be the head of the church. In every respect, I believe Jesus is the head of the church.



Did you know, reading from the original Greek, that when Jesus talks to Peter about being the rock upon whom He'll build the church, He could have meant at least four different things?



1) He could have meant the traditional meaning taken by Catholics - "Peter...on this rock (meaning Peter) I will build my church."



2) He could have meant the view that I believe, that Peter, as a disciple of Christ, was representative of the church body.



3) He could have meant that the ground He was standing on was where the church would be - "Peter...on this rock (where the two were standing) I will build my church."



4) He could have been pointing at Himself - "Peter...on this rock (referring to Himself) I will build my church."

Answer 4

No, James the Just, the blood brother of Jesus was first Patriarch (Pope).



The first Bishop of Rome was Prince Linus of Britain, appointed by Paul of Tarsus himself, in direct defiance of James the Just and all the legitimate apostles.



Because of the actions of Paul of Tarsus forming christianity in defiance of the Nazarene beliefs of Jesus and the apostles, he was excommunicated by around 51/54 CE.



When around 62 CE, Paul of Tarsus had James murdered, Simon (Peter) a Zealot therefore a guerilla fighter because one of the key leaders of resistance in holding Jerusalem.



So how could he possibly have been the first Pope or Bishop of Rome?



The truth is well documented in the Supreme Bible of God

See:

http://one-faith-of-god.org/final_testament/bible_of_god.htm



The Vatican created the ficticious story about Peter being the first pope from around the 6th Century in its attempt to seize control of christianity over the other churches.



Why do you think the orthodox churches have never acknowledged the legitimacy of Rome?

Answer 5

Peter and not his declaration was the rock on which Christ founded His church,Peter is the earthly shepherd and no other Apostle was given this priviledge,to whom Peter passed the keys to by his authority as the Vicar of Christ they too inherit the Apostolic office.

What about the promise of Christ to Peter that whatever he bound on earth would be bound in Heaven,and whatever he loosed on earth would be loosed in Heaven too.

Go back to the original Latin Vulgate and this becomes clear and not the anti-Catholic Protestant versions of today.

Answer 6

No, Peter was never a pope of the catholic church. Mama only claims so in hopes of bring more people into its church. In fact, the catholic church wasn't even around in Peter's time. But base on what I was taught as a catholic, mama gave us the Bible. Therefore it should of been--but it wasn't. How do I know this, I started reading the Bible. Where do you find the word "church" in the OT?

Answer 7

Yes Jesus anointed Peter as it says. However, he was not any pope. Catholicism was not started until about 311 AD.

Peter was also married. Big NO-NO for Cath. priests.

Jesus made Peter the Apostle to the Jews, which is what the statement meant. And Paul was the Apostle of the Gentiles. The Catholic church insinuates that Peter did everything and that Mary is who should pray to. See some of my recent answers on Catholicism for more information.

And technically, Peter is translated pebble and Jesus as rock is really tranlated boulder.

Answer 8

Who was Jesus refering to when he says, "Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it"? -Matthew 16:13-23; Mark 8:27-33; and Luke 9:19-22



If one looks into the place at which Jesus and the disciples were standing they would know that it was Caesarea Philippi (C.P.). It is known in the time of Jesus that C.P. was a place full of idol worship from Ba'al in Tanakh times and Paneas in Hellenistic times (because the god Pan - fertility). It is a place full of Gentile worship or basically a place where orgies and idol worship existed. It is also known that the place from which the river flows out of the mountain (refer to links for pictures) is often called the 'gates of hades'. It is also known that many establishments have been built at this place, but at certain times water flows out of the 'gates of hades' and destroys everything in it's path. It is for this reason that so much idol worship takes place here.



Now Jesus must have known of the evil in this place. So why did he take his disciples to the top of the Gates of Hades? Jesus may have been talking about the idols below him. The gentile worship below him.



Think about this, despite all of the evil which is going on at the base of the mountain, the rock Jesus is standing on, the very place where all of this evil is taking place, is where He will build His church, and the Gates of Hades will not overpower it like it did to so many other establishments before it.



One should now ask this question, "Who is Jesus refering to when he says, "Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it?" Is the rock Peter or is the rock the literal rock Jesus is standing on? Is the church a place built on Peter or is it built on top of all evil, idols, demonic activity, sin, and through standing on all of that will withstand the Gates of Hades?

Answer 9

He also gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit and the power to bind or Loose sin, to facilitate forgiveness, Jesus left us the Church and the Sacraments to stay in the grace of God.



Peace!



P.S. Peter's faith was not always that strong, he denied Jesus 3 times... Why do you work so hard just to not be Catholic? It is really simple.



Peter IS given authority, Paul himself gives it to him by waiting at the tomb of Jesus for Peter to go in first even though Paul arrived first, that is a sign of obedience.

Answer 10

the roman catholic church sees peter as the first pope upon whom God had chosen to build his church



BUT the answer, according to scripture, is a clear and emphatic no. peter nowhere claims supremacy over the other apostles. nowhere is his writings did the apostle peter claim any special role, authority, or power over the church. nowhere in scripture does peter, or any other apostle, state that their apostolic authority would be passed on to successors



yes, peter was the “rock” that Christ predicted he would be - however, these truths about peter in no way give support to the concept that peter was the first pope, or that he was the “supreme leader” over the apostles, or that his authority would be passed on to the bishops of rome.

Answer 11

Actually Peter is the rock.



The Greek states "thou art KEPHA (rock) and upon this KEPHA (rock) I will build my Church."



Jesus is talking about Peter himself, not Peter's faith.



Peter was the first Pope, and yes Jesus did establish a Church on Earth. Jesus is the head of the Church and the pope is His vicar on Earth.



You might enjoy this website - it shows that Catholicism is the biblical faith. http://www.scripturecatholic.com



God bless.

Answer 12

Both Jesus's words in Holy Scripture and 2,000 years of billions of believers faithfully following those words show that Peter was the first Pope. And there have been over 200 successors to Peter.



John 21:15-17 states:



When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."



He then said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."



He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." (Jesus) said to him, "Feed my sheep.



Matthew 16:17-19 states:



Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."



The Catholic Church believes the Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.



The Pope is the senior pastor of 1.1 billion Catholics, the direct successor of Simon Peter.



The Pope’s main roles include teaching, sanctifying, and governing.



With love in Christ.

Answer 13

No, Peter was not the first Pope. Catholicism teaches this, although Peter was actually never in Rome.

Answer 14

Chuck Norris was.

Answer 15

Please read this before giving it thumbs down.

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In Catholic tradition, the foundation for the office of the pope is indeed found primarily in Matthew 16:13-20. Here, Jesus asked the question, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" The Apostles responded, "Some say John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Our Lord then turned to them and point-blank asked them, "And you, who do you say that I am?"



St. Peter, still officially known as Simon, replied, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Our Lord recognized that this answer was grace-motivated: "No mere man has revealed this to you, but My heavenly Father."



Because of this response, our Lord said to St. Peter, "You are 'Rock,' and on this rock I will build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The name change itself from Simon to Peter indicates the Apostle being called to a special role of leadership; recall how Abram's name was changed to Abraham, or Jacob's to Israel, or Saul's to Paul, when each of them was called to assume a special role of leadership among God's people.



The word "rock" also has special significance. On one hand, to be called "rock" was a Semitic expression designating the solid foundation upon which a community would be built. For instance, Abraham was considered "rock" because he was the father of the Jewish people (and we refer to him as our father in faith) and the one with whom the covenant was first made.



On the other hand, no one except God was called specifically "rock," nor was it ever used as a proper name except for God. To give the name "rock" to St. Peter indicates that our Lord entrusted to him a special authority. Some antipapal parties try to play linguistic games with the original Greek Gospel text, where the masculine-gender word "petros," meaning a small, moveable rock, refers to St. Peter while the feminine-gender word "petra," meaning a massive, immoveable rock, refers to the foundation of the Church. However, in the original Aramaic language, which is what Jesus spoke and which is believed to be the original language of St. Matthew's Gospel, the word "Kepha," meaning rock, would be used in both places without gender distinction or difference in meaning. The gender problem arises when translating from Aramaic to Greek and using the proper form to modify the masculine word "Peter" or feminine word "Church."



"The gates of hell" is also an interesting Semitic expression. The heaviest forces were positioned at gates; so this expression captures the greatest warmaking power of a nation. Here this expression refers to the powers opposed to what our Lord is establishing-the Church. (A similar expression is used in reference to our Lord in Acts 2:24: "God freed Him from the bitter pangs of hell, however, and raised Him up again, for it was impossible that death should keep its hold on Him.") Jesus associated St. Peter and his office so closely with Himself that He became a visible force protecting the Church and keeping back the power of hell.



Second, Jesus says, "I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." In the Old Testament, the "number two" person in the Kingdom literally held the keys. In Isaiah 22: 19-22 we find a reference to Eliakim, the master of the palace of King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:17ff) and keeper of the keys. As a sign of his position, the one who held the keys represented the king, acted with his authority and had to act in accord with the king's mind. Therefore, St. Peter and each of his successors represent our Lord on this earth as His Vicar and lead the faithful flock of the Church to the Kingdom of Heaven.



Finally, Jesus says, "Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven." This is rabbinic terminology. A rabbi could bind, declaring an act forbidden or excommunicating a person for serious sin; or a rabbi could loose, declaring an act permissible or reconciling an excommunicated sinner to the community.



Here, Christ entrusted a special authority to St. Peter to preserve, interpret and teach His truth. In all, this understanding of Matthew 16 was unchallenged until the Protestant leaders wanted to legitimize their rejection of papal authority and the office of the pope. Even the Orthodox Churches recognize the pope as the successor of St. Peter; however, they do not honor his binding jurisdiction over the whole Church but grant him a position of "first among equals."



St. Peter's role in the New Testament further substantiates the Catholic belief concerning the papacy and what Jesus said in Matthew 16. St. Peter held a preeminent position among the Apostles. He is always listed first (Mt. 10:14; Mk. 3:16-19; Lk. 6:14-1 5; Acts 1:13) and is sometimes the only one mentioned (Lk. 9:32). He speaks for the Apostles (Mt. 18:21; Mk. 8:28; Lk. 12:41; Jn. 6:69).



When our Lord selects a group of three for some special event, such as the Transfiguration, St. Peter is in the first position. Our Lord chose to teach from St. Peter's boat. At Pentecost St. Peter preached to the crowds and told of the mission of the Church (Acts 2;14-40). He performed the first miraculous healing (Acts 3:6-7). SL Peter also received the revelation that the Gentiles were to be baptized (Acts 10:9-48) and sided with St. Paul against the need for circumcision (Acts 15). At the end of his life, St. Peter was crucified, but in his humility asked to be crucified upside down.



As Catholics, we believe that the authority given to St. Peter did not end with his life but was handed on to his successors. The earliest writings attest to this belief. St. Irenaeus in his Adversus Haereses described how the Church at Rome was founded by St. Peter and St. Paul and traced the handing on of the office of St. Peter through Linus, Cletus (also called Anacletus), and so on, through 12 successors to his own present day, Pope Eleutherius. Tertullian in De Praescriptione Haereticorum asserted the same point as did Origen in his Commentaries on John, St. Cyprian of Carthage in his The Unity of the Catholic Church and many others.



Granted, the expression of papal authority becomes magnified after the legalization of Christianity and especially after the fall of the Roman Empire and the ensuing political chaos. Nevertheless, our Church boasts of an unbroken line of legitimate successors of St. Peter who stand in the stead of Christ We must always remember that one of the official titles of the pope, first taken by Pope Gregory the Great is "Servant of the Servants of God."