ANSWERS: 15
  • Peter, the apostle of Christ whom was called "Rock" was the first Pope of the Catholic Church. (He is called "Rock" because on the foundation of a rock, he began the Church)
  • St. Peter was the first pope. In Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus states: " And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Jesus is calling Peter the rock on which he will build his church. We know this because, first of all, that is how the sentence structure reads. Second, Peter comes from the Greek word petros, which when the gospel was written was the masculine form of the word petra, meaning rock. Therefore, it can be read that Jesus is saying : "And I say to you that you are a rock, and on this rock I will build My church..." Also, it is clear that Peter is given special power as the leader of the church, for he states that Peter will be given the gates of heaven, and that his actions will have effect in heaven. The Catholic Church believes that the Pope is the successor as head of the Church to St. Peter. It was at the point of Christ's ascension into heaven that the Catholic Church was founded, with St. Peter at its head. This does not mean that the Church at that time took the exact form of the Church as it does today, but this was a new church, which took some time to fully develop. The first written mention of the term "Catholic Church" was in 107 A.D. by St. Ignatius in Antioch. St. Peter died around 64 A.D., so it was about 40-50 years after his death that the church began to call itself catholic. This is not that important, as the word catholic means universal and all-welcoming, so the Church choosing that name means very little, since it already existed. "Catholic" was just a new way of describing the Church, which was already in existence. Responding to Peter being married, many of the Popes have been married.
  • A very well written answer.HOWEVER.... From my research, the Catholic Church was started in 895 AD . The first church was started long before that. The first church consisted of Jesus, Peter, and the other apostles.In Matt 16:18 the wording you quote is not quite correct. "...Thou art Peter,and upon THIS rock I will build MY church" That tells me it was Jesus' church and the context of the verse leads me to believe that THIS rock meant Jesus was speaking of himself. Matt 16:15 "...But whom you say that I am?" Matt 16:16" and Simon Peter answered "Thou art the Christ the son of the living God." Matt 16:17 "Blessed art thou Simon Barona, for flesh and blood.." Jesus was, and still is the one and only head of the true church.See Deut 32:4, "He is the rock, His work is perfect, for all his ways are judgement. A God of truth and without inequity, just and right is he." I am sorry to tell you that that description cannot be referring to Peter, as Peter was like all other humans, a sinner, and forgiven and discipled by Jesus Christ, the head of the church. Even in the Old Testament the rock ofthe church is described as a God, and far beyond the capabilities of any man.
  • St. Peter didn't use nor did he invent the title Pope of the Catholic Church. Neither was the Church hierarchical at his time. The monarchical authority of the bishop of Rome in the western part of the Roman Empire was established in the 3rd century A.D. based on the notion of apostolic succession, which cannot be traced in the new testament. Moreover the notion of apostolic succession seems to have been drawn from secular notions of authority found in roman public law. The title Pope of Rome was first introduced by Pope Marcellinus (d. 304). So Pope Marcellinus was the first Pope of the Church of Rome. Marcellinus was not Pope of the Catholic Church as we know it today, because at his time, the One, Catholic and Apostolic Church was indeed the Undivided One, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and perhaps some other Churches of our days as well can according to eucharistic ecclesiology each regard themselves as being the One, Catholic and Apostolic Church but simultaneously they all suffer from the severe traumata of the many Schisms that amputated the Body and Bride of Christ so that the term One, Catholic and Apostolic Church can only refer to the Mysterium that in each of these sister Churches and their "divisions" there still subsists the One, Catholic and Apostolic Church in a sense. But they cannot be the One, Catholic and Apostolic Church (the Universal Church) in the full sense of the word on their own since the One, Catholic and Apostolic Church can not be divided. Full communion between all of the sister Churches is the prerequisite for the One, Catholic and Apostolic Church to exist.
  • God bless you all. May everyone who reads from this site accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Sounds to me using the discernment the Lord has given that wfbrad is right-on. Jesus even says that he is the rock and that any man that does not have Him is like a man building his house on a foundation of sand. I'll tell you this...when the storm comes...we'll find out if the Catholic Church is built on the Rock. Remember, it's not the Church you go to that saves you, it's your faith and works combined. Catholic, Baptist, Protestant; are you being obediant to God? Are you lukewarm? Pray and ask God to make you hot for Him. Anything you ask accounding to His will, you will receive, in Jesus name. Amen?
  • Strangely enough, history does not prove that Peter was the first Pope of the Catholic Church... no matter how loudly the Catholic Church proclaims it so.
  • 895 AD? That is when you first found evidence of the founding of the Catholic Church? How long did you research this? What books did you use Boettner's 'Roman Catholicism'? The word catholic in conjunction with the Church was first used by Ignatius of Antioch, a follower of the beloved Apostle John. In his writings, Ignatius taught many of the key doctrines of the Catholic Church today, the real presence of the Eucharist, Baptism for the remission of sins, priestly authority, etc. Irenaeus of Lyon spoke of Apostolic succession and the primacy of the Church in Rome, as a result of it being founded by the Apostle Peter, in his writings in the middle of the second century. In the fourth century Eusebius wrote a history of the Catholic Church, which you can buy today. I am sure you would recognize it as thoroughly Catholic as it speaks of Apostolic Succession, The Eucharist, and other distinctly Catholic things. You can find this book at any large bookstore. The fact is that there is no logical basis for the argument that the Catholic Church started in 895 AD. Just as Eve was born from the side of her spouse Adam, the Church, the bride of Christ, was born from His side, while He hung on the cross. When the spear was thrust into his side and water and blood poured forth, symbolizing the two most important sacraments of the Church, baptism and holy eucharist. Christ had picked his prime minister on earth, Peter nearly a year before. As we can clearly see in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter led the Church in its infancy.
  • The word pope comes from the latin term Pontifex Maximus or Supreme Priest. It was a title held by the Emperor of Rome. It was adopted as the title for the Chief Bishop of Rome. Peter although he did not take this title, for to do so whould be a crime of treason in the empire. But when the Empire adopted Christianity as a state religion the Archbishop of Rome took that title as his own. So, to answer the question until the third century AD the leader of the Church was not called pope but, through the line of succession leading from Peter to Benedict today. Peter is and was considered the first pope and is considered so legitimately. He is the first leader of the Church appointed by Christ. These leaders are called pope. Therefore, if he were alive today he would have this title. Peter is the first pope.
  • The queston asked was whether Peter was the first pope. If you would like to ask another question, more pertinent to your concern, by all means do so. The question here has been answered.
  • Boniface III made first Pope A.D. 607
  • Peter was NEVER REFERRED TO AS the "ROCK" UNLIKE CHRIST (that the catholics often quote translating it erroneously in this passage)who was Known as "The Cornerstone" the Builders threw away & in fact Peter WARNS AGAINST CHURCH BISHOPS & LEADERS making so much about their "Status" in 1 Peter 5:3!!! In fact Papa was first applied to the Western Bishops at about 500A.D. & the catholic "List of Papas" includes the Bishops of Rome from the first century onward, but for at least 500 years, the "Bishops of Rome" were NOT POPES!!! The catholic "Tradition" that O'l Pete was the "First Papa" is FICTION PURE & SIMPLE!!! There is NO NEW TESTAMENT HINT OR HISTORICAL EVIDENCE WHATEVER THAT PETE WAS AT ANY TIME A BISHOP OF ROME and in fact he NEVER CLAIMED SUCH AUTHORITY FOR HIMSELF AS HIS SUCCESSORS DID again having a seemingly "DIVINE FOREBODING", WARNING HIS SUCCESSORS ABOUT "Lording it over God's Flock, rather than showing themselves Examples to the Flock." 1 Peter 5:3!!! The reference to "Rock" is in the same context again as when Christ said (Referring to His Physical Body)that v.19 'Jesus answered and said to them "Destroy this Temple and in three days I will Raise it Up."' John 2:19 Catholic wasn't even "Defined" back then & as said in another "Comment" O'l Pete was a Messianic Jewish follower of Christ!!! John
  • 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 Catholic Christians, the direct successor of Simon Peter. The Pope’s main roles include teaching, sanctifying, and governing. For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 880-882: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p4.htm#880 With love in Christ.
  • I don't think it was Peter for the simple reason that the Apostles did not seem to regard him as one. They disagreed with him and among themselves a lot - hence the various councils, letters etc....
  • according to catholics? well, it could be either peter if we say that the title "pope" is synonym to "bishop of rome". the other option could be linus, if you use "pope" as synonym to "successor of peter" (one of the many titles given to the pope.. some such titles that are worthy of note are some of the above mentioned, which are inherited from the roman pagan church which is the origin of the roman catholic church.. as well as, quite interestingly enough, "vicar of Christ".. the word "vicar" of course means "one who takes the place of". in greek, which is the language of the new testament, the prefix for "in place of" is "anti" (in latin, however, "anti" means "against") and if we say "vicar of Christ" in greek, we get "anti Christ".. "the one who takes the place of Christ".. crazy huh? quite telling i'd say.) however, historically, the first pope, ie, the first head of the roman catholic church would be the emperor constantine, who changed the state religion from pagan to "christian", thus forcing all the pagans that were used to persecuting christians to now "accept" this christianity or be persecuted (which is anti-biblical of course) making himself the head, or "pontifex maximus", of this new religion (tho he already had that title, since the roman emperor was also the "pontifex maximus" of the pagan church) so, take your pick: peter, linus or constantine

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