What authority does the bishop of Rome hold over the whole Church?
a passage states it a passage rules it out
Common ground
These are affirmed by more than one position, so a passage saying only this counts for none of them.
- Peter was a leading apostle, named first in the lists
- Peter and Paul taught and died in Rome; Rome is an apostolic church
- Rome is an important church whose faith is praised
- Communion between churches, including with Rome, matters
- Bishops succeed the apostles in their sees
No special authority
Reformed Baptist Lutheran AnglicanChrist sends forth His disciples on an equality, without any distinctionTreatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, 9 (1537)
What sets it apart: The passage says the apostles or bishops are all equal and that none, including Rome's, holds a God-given rank or authority over others.
Formally defined: Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (1537); Thirty-Nine Articles (1563/1571)
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Primacy of honour among equals
OrthodoxIn the first millennium of church history, the primacy of honour used to belong to the chair of Rome.Moscow Patriarchate, Position on the problem of primacy in the Universal Church (2013)
What sets it apart: The passage gives Rome first rank or precedence while denying it jurisdiction over other churches, or grounds its rank in councils or the city rather than in Christ's grant to Peter.
Formally defined: Councils of Constantinople (381, canon 3) and Chalcedon (451, canon 28) on the order of sees; Moscow Patriarchate statement (2013)
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Primacy of jurisdiction by divine right
CatholicTherefore whoever succeeds to the chair of Peter obtains by the institution of Christ himself, the primacy of Peter over the whole church.First Vatican Council, Pastor Aeternus, ch. 2 (1870)
What sets it apart: The passage says Rome's bishop, as Peter's successor, has authority (not only honour) over all churches, such as to judge, depose or bind other bishops, by Christ's grant.
Formally defined: Council of Florence (1439); First Vatican Council (1870)
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Infallibility of solemn papal definitions
Catholicwhen the Roman pontiff speaks EX CATHEDRA, that is, when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole church, he possesses ... that infallibility which the divine Redeemer willed his church to enjoyFirst Vatican Council, Pastor Aeternus, ch. 4 (1870)
What sets it apart: The passage says a Roman bishop's doctrinal decision cannot be in error, or is final in itself without needing a council's or the churches' acceptance.
Formally defined: First Vatican Council, Pastor Aeternus, ch. 4 (1870)
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Every deciding passage, earliest first
- No early passage decides between these positions yet.