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 ↓

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).

CONFRONT 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 both apostolic and Petrine succession are valid, the Catholic Church is indeed the one true church.” —Matthew W. Bassford [1]

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.

WATCH

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

THE EARLY CHURCH

Rome, Peter’s chair, and Christian unity.

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

c. 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

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.

c. 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.

c. 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

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.

c. 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.

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.