Papal Supremacy Is Proven By The Bible And Early Church
Table of Contents
Papal Supremacy Is Denied By Heretics And Schismatics
Papal supremacy is denied by Eastern Heterodox and Protestant-Heretics.
Regarding the Eastern Heterodox:
They believe that Christ didn’t give the keys only to Peter, but rather to all the Apostles equally.
Thus, they argue that all bishops, as successors of the Apostles, are equal to the other bishops in authority.
They acknowledge the Pope to be the “first amongst equals” of all bishops but deny his universal authority.
Therefore, they deny the Pope’s jurisdiction over them and rationalize the separation of being in communion with Rome.
Regarding the Protestant-Heretics:
The beliefs vary, depending on the “denomination” but the common theme is that they reject papal supremacy.
On the other hand, Catholics believe in Papal Supremacy, as dogmatically defined in the First Vatican Council.
Obviously, the Eastern Heterodox and Protestant-Heretics don’t assent to that council.
Then how else can we prove that us Catholics are correct and the Eastern Heterodox and Protestant-Heretics are not?
Both Sacred Scripture and the Early Church documents confirm our interpretation, as I will prove below.
The Bible Proves Papal Supremacy
Firstly, Scripture affirms that the Pope (sometimes referred to as “Peter”) has supremacy over the Church.
There are certainly several passages in the Bible that affirm St. Peter is the leader of the Church after Christ’s Ascension.
For instance, read the Book of Acts, which follows the 4 Gospels.
Certainly, it is quite obvious that St. Peter is the leader of the 12 Apostles.
Even St. Paul defers to St. Peter on matters of the Faith (even though rebuking him in Galatians 2).
And what was St. Peter when he died? St. Peter was the Bishop of Rome. He was the first Pope.
Moreover, St. Peter’s name generally comes before the rest of the Apostles when listed.
The Bible even mentions St. Peter more often than all the other disciples put together!
I will therefore focus on a select few passages of the Bible below.
Also, I will show that the great Eastern Doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, affirms the Catholic understanding.
Matthew 16:18-19
Christ says that He is giving St. Peter supreme authority over the Church:
And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.
Matthew 16:18-19
According to St. John “Golden Mouth” Chrysostom, Eastern Church Father, this means:
When the Lord enquires concerning the opinion of the multitudes…Peter as the mouth and head of the Apostles answers for all… Christ then proceeds to show that many would hereafter believe what Peter had now confessed, whence He adds, “And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter,”. That is, On this faith and confession I will build my Church. Herein showing that many should believe what Peter had confessed, and raising his understanding, and making him His shepherd. Then He speaks of another honour of Peter, when He adds, “And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven;” as much as to say, As the Father hath given thee to know Me, I also will give something unto thee, namely, the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
St. John Chrysostom on Matthew 16:19
John 21:15-17
Christ asks St. Peter to feed His sheep:
When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter: Simon son of John, lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs. He saith to him again: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs. He said to him the third time: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he had said to him the third time: Lovest thou me? And he said to him: Lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee. He said to him: Feed my sheep.
John 21:15-17
According to St. John “Golden Mouth” Chrysostom, Eastern Church Father, this means:
Our Lord passing by the rest, addresses this command to Peter: he being the chief of the Apostles, the mouth of the disciples, and head of the college. Our Lord remembers no more his sin in denying Him, or brings that as a charge against him, but commits to him at once the superintendence over his brethren. If you love Me, have rule over your brethren, show forth that love which you have evidenced throughout, and that life which you said you would lay down for Me, lay down for the sheep. A third time He asks the same question, and gives the same command; to show of what importance He esteems the superintendence of His own sheep, and how He regards it as the greatest proof of love to Him.
St. John Chrysostom on John 21:15-17
Acts of the Apostles 1:15
St. Peter leads the Christians after the Ascension of Christ:
In those days Peter rising up in the midst of the brethren, said: (now the number of persons together was about an hundred and twenty:)
Acts of Apostles 1:15
According to St. John “Golden Mouth” Chrysostom, Eastern Church Father, this means:
Peter, having been put in trust by Christ with the flock, and as having precedence in honor, he always begins the discourse.
St. John Chrysostom on Acts of Apostles 1:15
And like I mentioned before, virtually all of the rest of the Book of Acts shows St. Peter in charge.
Again, St. Peter gave the speech to the disciples before Pentecost (Acts of Apostles 1:15-22).
He was also the one that gave the speech to the people of Jerusalem after Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41).
St. Peter was also the one who clarified that the Apostles should baptize gentiles (Acts 11:5-17).
Moreover, St. Peter gave the final word condemning Judaizers in the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:7-11).
In conclusion, it is clear that Christ handed over the keys of His Church to St. Peter, who lead the Church after the Ascension.
The Church Fathers Prove Papal Supremacy
Secondly, the Church Fathers, even the eastern non-Roman ones (like St. John Chrysostom), accepted papal supremacy.
So the Eastern Heterodox and Protestant-Heretics should have enough humility to accept that there isn’t precedence for denying papal supremacy.
Moreover, all the Christians of the Early Church accepted papal supremacy, so the Protestant-Heretics have no basis for their claim against Roman Catholicism.
Below are the Early Church writings, in chronological order, regarding papal supremacy.
Note: Many of these writings existed before Emperor Constantine.
For whatever reason, some Protestant-Heretics believe that Constantine created the Catholic Church.
Constantine wasn’t even a Catholic – He was part of the heretical Arian sect, which denied Christ’s divinity.
(Although a clergy member did baptize Constantine on his deathbed, and he made Christianity a legal religion in the Roman Empire, leading many Christians to venerate him as a Saint).
And this heretical Arian sect was against Catholicism, which is why Constantine called the Council of Nicaea.
But there are several writings before Constantine called the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD
And since these writings mention papal supremacy, this refutes the weird anti-Catholic claim that Constantine created Catholicism.
Pope St. Clement I, d. 99 AD
Owing to the sudden and repeated calamities and misfortunes which have befallen us, we must acknowledge that we have been somewhat tardy in turning our attention to the matters in dispute among you, beloved; and especially that abominable and unholy sedition, alien and foreign to the elect of God, which a few rash and self-willed persons have inflamed to such madness that your venerable and illustrious name, worthy to be loved by all men, has been greatly defamed. . . . Accept our counsel and you will have nothing to regret. . . . If anyone disobey the things which have been said by him [God] through us [i.e., that you must reinstate your leaders], let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression and in no small danger. . . . You will afford us joy and gladness if being obedient to the things which we have written through the Holy Spirit, you will root out the wicked passion of jealousy.
Letter to the Corinthians 1, 58–59, 63 [A.D. 80]
St. Ignatius of Antioch, d. c. 108/140 AD
Ignatius . . . to the church also which holds the presidency, in the location of the country of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honor, worthy of blessing, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy of sanctification, and, because you hold the presidency in love, named after Christ and named after the Father.
Letter to the Romans 1:1 [A.D. 110]
You [the church at Rome] have envied no one, but others you have taught. I desire only that what you have enjoined in your instructions may remain in force.
ibid., 3:1
St. Dionysius of Corinth, d. c. 199 AD
For from the beginning it has been your custom to do good to all the brethren in various ways and to send contributions to all the churches in every city. . . . This custom your blessed Bishop Soter has not only preserved, but is augmenting, by furnishing an abundance of supplies to the saints and by urging with consoling words, as a loving father his children, the brethren who are journeying.
Letter to Pope Soter in Eusebius, Church History 4:23:9 [A.D. 170]
Today we have observed the Lord’s holy day, in which we have read your letter [Pope Soter]. Whenever we do read it [in church], we shall be able to profit thereby, as also we do when we read the earlier letter written to us by Clement.
ibid., 4:23:11
St. Irenaeus, d. c. 202 AD
But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the succession of all the churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles. With that church, because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world, and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition.
Against Heresies 3:3:2 [A.D. 189]
Clement of Alexandria, d. c. 215 AD
[T]he blessed Peter, the chosen, the preeminent, the first among the disciples, for whom alone with himself the Savior paid the tribute [Matt. 17:27], quickly grasped and understood their meaning. And what does he say? ‘Behold, we have left all and have followed you’ [Matt. 19:27; Mark 10:28].
Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 21:3–5 [A.D. 200]
Tertullian, d. c. 220 AD
For though you think that heaven is still shut up, remember that the Lord left the keys of it to Peter here, and through him to the Church, which keys everyone will carry with him if he has been questioned and made a confession [of faith].
Antidote Against the Scorpion 10 [A.D. 211]
[T]he Lord said to Peter, ‘On this rock I will build my Church, I have given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven [and] whatever you shall have bound or loosed on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven’ [Matt. 16:18–19]. . . . Upon you, he says, I will build my Church; and I will give to you the keys, not to the Church.
Modesty 21:9–10 [A.D. 220]
Origen, d. c. 253 AD
[I]f we were to attend carefully to the Gospels, we should also find, in relation to those things which seem to be common to Peter . . . a great difference and a preeminence in the things [Jesus] said to Peter, compared with the second class [of apostles]. For it is no small difference that Peter received the keys not of one heaven but of more, and in order that whatsoever things he binds on earth may be bound not in one heaven but in them all, as compared with the many who bind on earth and loose on earth, so that these things are bound and loosed not in [all] the heavens, as in the case of Peter, but in one only; for they do not reach so high a stage with power as Peter to bind and loose in all the heavens.
Commentary on Matthew 13:31 [A.D. 248]
St. Cyprian, d. September 14, 258 AD
On [Peter] [Christ] builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep, and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were also what Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?
The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; 1st edition [A.D. 251]
Cyprian to [Pope] Cornelius, his brother. Greeting. . . . We decided to send and are sending a letter to you from all throughout the province [where I am] so that all our colleagues might give their decided approval and support to you and to your communion, that is, to both the unity and the charity of the Catholic Church.
Letters 48:1, 3 [A.D. 253]
Cyprian to Antonian, his brother. Greeting … You wrote … that I should forward a copy of the same letter to our colleague [Pope] Cornelius, so that, laying aside all anxiety, he might at once know that you held communion with him, that is, with the Catholic Church.
ibid., 55[52]:1
With a false bishop appointed for themselves by heretics, they dare even to set sail and carry letters from schismatics and blasphemers to the chair of Peter and to the principal church [at Rome], in which sacerdotal unity has its source.
ibid., 59:14
Firmilian, d. c. 269 AD
[Pope] Stephen … boasts of the place of his episcopate, and contends that he holds the succession from Peter, on whom the foundations of the Church were laid [Matt. 16:18]. … Stephen … announces that he holds by succession the throne of Peter.
collected in Cyprian’s Letters 74[75]:17 [A.D. 253]
Eusebius of Caesarea, d. 30 May 339 AD
And when a dissension arose about these said people [the Montanists], the brethren in Gaul once more . . . [sent letters] to the brethren in Asia and Phrygia and, moreover to Eleutherius, who was then [A.D. 175] bishop of the Romans, negotiating for the peace of the churches.
Church History 5:3:4 [A.D. 312]
And the same martyrs too commended Irenaeus, already at that time [A.D. 175] a presbyter of the community of Lyons, to the said bishop of Rome, rendering abundant testimony to the man, as the following expressions show: ‘Once more and always we pray that you may rejoice in God, Pope Eleutherius. This letter we have charged our brother and companion Irenaeus to convey to you, and we beg you to receive him as zealous for the covenant of Christ’.
ibid., 5:4:1–2
[Regarding the Pascha (Easter) controversy of 190 AD] Thereupon [Pope] Victor, who presided over the church at Rome, immediately attempted to cut off from the community the parishes of all Asia [Minor], with the churches that agreed with them, as heterodox. And he wrote letters and declared all the brethren there wholly excommunicate. But this did not please all the bishops, and they besought him to consider the things of peace and of neighborly unity and love. . . . [Irenaeus] fittingly admonishes Victor that he should not cut off whole churches of God which observed the tradition of an ancient custom.
ibid., 5:23:1–24:11
Thus then did Irenaeus entreat and negotiate [with Pope Victor] on behalf of the peace of the churches—[Irenaeus being] a man well-named, for he was a peacemaker both in name and character. And he corresponded by letter not only with Victor, but also with very many and various rulers of churches.
ibid., 24:18
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, d. 386 AD
The Lord is loving toward men, swift to pardon but slow to punish. Let no man despair of his own salvation. Peter, the first and foremost of the apostles, denied the Lord three times before a little servant girl, but he repented and wept bitterly
Catechetical Lectures 2:19 [A.D. 350]
[Simon Magus] so deceived the city of Rome that Claudius erected a statue of him. . . . While the error was extending itself, Peter and Paul arrived, a noble pair and the rulers of the Church, and they set the error aright. . . . [T]hey launched the weapon of their like-mindedness in prayer against the Magus, and struck him down to earth. It was marvelous enough, and yet no marvel at all, for Peter was there—he that carries about the keys of heaven [Matt. 16:19].
ibid., 6:14
In the power of the same Holy Spirit, Peter, both the chief of the apostles and the keeper of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, in the name of Christ healed Aeneas the paralytic at Lydda, which is now called Diospolis [Acts 9:32–34].
ibid., 17:27
St. Ephrem the Syrian, d. 373 AD
[Jesus said:] Simon, my follower, I have made you the foundation of the holy Church. I betimes called you Peter, because you will support all its buildings. You are the inspector of those who will build on Earth a Church for me. If they should wish to build what is false, you, the foundation, will condemn them. You are the head of the fountain from which my teaching flows; you are the chief of my disciples. Through you I will give drink to all peoples. Yours is that life-giving sweetness which I dispense. I have chosen you to be, as it were, the firstborn in my institution so that, as the heir, you may be executor of my treasures. I have given you the keys of my kingdom. Behold, I have given you authority over all my treasures.
Homilies 4:1 [A.D. 351]
St. Athanasius of Alexandria, d. 2 May 373 AD
If any bishop loses the judgment in some case [decided by his fellow bishops] and still believes that he has not a bad but a good case, in order that the case may be judged anew…let us honor the memory of the Apostle Peter by having those who have given the judgment write to Julius, Bishop of Rome, so that if it seem proper he may himself send arbiters and the judgment may be made again by the bishops of a neighboring province.
Council of Sardica, Canon 3, [A.D. 342]
When I left Alexandria, I did not go to your brother’s headquarters, or to any other persons, but only to Rome; and having laid my case before the Church (for this was my only concern), I spent my time in public worship.
Defence before Constantius 4, NPNF 2, Vol. IV, 239 [A.D. 356]
Rome is called “the Apostolic throne.”
Athanasius, Hist. Arian, ad Monach. n. 35 [A.D. 362]
Pope St. Damasus I, d. 11 December 384 AD
Likewise it is decreed . . . that it ought to be announced that . . . the holy Roman Church has been placed at the forefront not by the conciliar decisions of other churches, but has received the primacy by the evangelic voice of our Lord and Savior, who says: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it; and I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven . . . ’ [Matt. 16:18–19]. The first see, therefore, is that of Peter the apostle, that of the Roman Church, which has neither stain nor blemish nor anything like it.
Decree of Damasus 3 [A.D. 382]
St. Jerome, d. 30 September 420 AD
‘But,’ you [Jovinian] will say, ‘it was on Peter that the Church was founded’ [Matt. 16:18]. Well . . . one among the twelve is chosen to be their head in order to remove any occasion for division.
Against Jovinian 1:26 [A.D. 393]
Pope St. Innocent I, d. 12 March 417 AD
In seeking the things of God . . . you have acknowledged that judgment is to be referred to us [the pope], and have shown that you know that is owed to the Apostolic See [Rome], if all of us placed in this position are to desire to follow the apostle himself [Peter] from whom the episcopate itself and the total authority of this name have emerged.
Letters 29:1 [A.D. 408]
St. Augustine. d. 28 August 430 AD
Among these [apostles] Peter alone almost everywhere deserved to represent the whole Church. Because of that representation of the Church, which only he bore, he deserved to hear ‘I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven’.
Sermons 295:2 [A.D. 411]
Some things are said which seem to relate especially to the apostle Peter, and yet are not clear in their meaning unless referred to the Church, which he is acknowledged to have represented in a figure on account of the primacy which he bore among the disciples. Such is ‘I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,’ and other similar passages.
Commentary on Psalm 108 1 [A.D. 415]
Who is ignorant that the first of the apostles is the most blessed Peter?
Commentary on John 56:1 [A.D. 416]
Council of Ephesus, 431 AD
Philip, presbyter and legate of [Pope Celestine I] said: ‘We offer our thanks to the holy and venerable synod, that when the writings of our holy and blessed pope had been read to you . . . you joined yourselves to the holy head also by your holy acclamations. For your blessedness is not ignorant that the head of the whole faith, the head of the apostles, is blessed Peter the apostle’.
Acts of the Council, session 2 [A.D. 431]
Philip, the presbyter and legate of the Apostolic See [Rome] said: ‘There is no doubt, and in fact it has been known in all ages, that the holy and most blessed Peter, prince and head of the apostles, pillar of the faith, and foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the human race, and that to him was given the power of loosing and binding sins: who down even to today and forever both lives and judges in his successors’.
ibid., session 3
Pope St. Leo the Great, d. 10 November 461 AD
Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . has placed the principal charge on the blessed Peter, chief of all the apostles, and from him as from the head wishes his gifts to flow to all the body, so that anyone who dares to secede from Peter’s solid rock may understand that he has no part or lot in the divine mystery. He wished him who had been received into partnership in his undivided unity to be named what he himself was, when he said: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church’ [Matt. 16:18].
Letters 10:1 [A.D. 445]
Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . established the worship belonging to the divine [Christian] religion. . . . But the Lord desired that the sacrament of this gift should pertain to all the apostles in such a way that it might be found principally in the most blessed Peter, the highest of all the apostles. And he wanted his gifts to flow into the entire body from Peter himself, as if from the head, in such a way that anyone who had dared to separate himself from the solidarity of Peter would realize that he was himself no longer a sharer in the divine mystery.
ibid., 10:2–3
Although bishops have a common dignity, they are not all of the same rank. Even among the most blessed apostles, though they were alike in honor, there was a certain distinction of power. All were equal in being chosen, but it was given to one to be preeminent over the others. . . . [So today through the bishops] the care of the universal Church would converge in the one See of Peter, and nothing should ever be at odds with this head.
ibid., 14:11
Pope St. Hormisdas, d. 6 August 523 AD
The Formula of Hormisdas settled the first schism between East and West in 519 AD, and was signed by the Patriarch of Constantinople:
The first condition of salvation is to keep the norm of the true faith and in no way to deviate from the established doctrine of the Fathers.
For it is impossible that the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church,” [Matthew 16:18], should not be verified. And their truth has been proved by the course of history, for in the Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always been kept unsullied.
…[Condemns heretics]…
Following, as we have said before, the Apostolic See in all things and proclaiming all its decisions, we endorse and approve all the letters which Pope St Leo wrote concerning the Christian religion. And so I hope I may deserve to be associated with you in the one communion which the Apostolic See proclaims, in which the whole, true, and perfect security of the Christian religion resides.
I promise that from now on those who are separated from the communion of the Catholic Church, that is, who are not in agreement with the Apostolic See, will not have their names read during the sacred mysteries. But if I attempt even the least deviation from my profession, I admit that, according to my own declaration, I am an accomplice to those whom I have condemned. I have signed this, my profession, with my own hand, and I have directed it to you, Hormisdas, the holy and venerable pope of Rome.
Formula of Hormisdas
Pope St. Agatho, d. January 681 AD
Peter was pronounced blessed by the Lord of all things, was revealed by the Father of heaven, for he received from the Redeemer of all himself, by three commendations, the duty of feeding the spiritual sheep of the Church; under whose protecting shield, this Apostolic Church of his has never turned away from the path of truth in any direction of error, whose authority, as that of the Prince of all the Apostles, the whole Catholic Church, and the Ecumenical Synods have faithfully embraced, and followed in all things; and all the venerable Fathers have embraced its Apostolic doctrine…
This is the living tradition of the Apostles of Christ, which his Church holds everywhere…
For this is the rule of the true faith, which this spiritual mother of your most tranquil empire, the Apostolic Church of Christ, has both in prosperity and in adversity always held and defended with energy; which, it will be proved, by the grace of Almighty God, has never erred from the path of the apostolic tradition, nor has she been depraved by yielding to heretical innovations, but from the beginning she has received the Christian faith from her founders, the princes of the Apostles of Christ, and remains undefiled unto the end…
Consequently, therefore, according to the rule of the holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, she [Rome] also confesses and preaches that there are in him two natural wills and two natural operations.
Epistle of St. Agatho to the Council of Constantinople III
Pope Adrian I, d. 25 December 795
If you persevere in that orthodox Faith in which you have begun…and [exalt] the holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church your spiritual mother, and with the other orthodox Emperors venerated it as the head of all Churches, so will your Clemency, that is protected of God, receive the name of another Constantine…
But the more, if following the traditions of the orthodox Faith, you embrace the judgment of the Church of blessed Peter, chief of the Apostles, and, as of old your predecessors the holy Emperors acted, so you, too, venerating it with honour, love with all your heart his Vicar, and if your sacred majesty follow by preference their orthodox Faith, according to our holy Roman Church. May the chief of the Apostles himself, to whom the power was given by our Lord God to bind and remit sins in heaven and earth…
For let sacred authority lay open the marks of his dignity, and how great veneration ought to be shown to his, the highest See, by all the faithful in the world. For the Lord set him who bears the keys of the kingdom of heaven as chief over all, and by Him is he honoured with this privilege, by which the keys of the kingdom of heaven are entrusted to him…
For the blessed Peter himself, the chief of the Apostles, who first sat in the Apostolic See, left the chiefship of his Apostolate, and pastoral care, to his successors, who are to sit in his most holy seat forever. And that power of authority, which he received from the Lord God our Saviour, he too bestowed and delivered by divine command to the Pontiffs, his successors.
Epistle of Pope Hadrian to The Council of Nicaea II
Papal Supremacy Is Essential To Christianity
In conclusion, it is pretty obvious that papal supremacy is essential to Christianity.
Firstly, Christ founded a Church (not the Bible), and gave the keys to St. Peter.
Secondly, St. Peter was inarguably the leader of this church after Christ’s Ascension.
Thirdly, all the Early Christians affirmed the view that the Pope was the head of the Church.
Thus, it is certain that only heretics and schismatics can deny this truth that Christians have always believed.
Moreover, to deny this truth given by Christ, means to deny Him, as He is the Truth (John 14:6).
And to deny this Truth means He will deny you before the Father (Matthew 10:33).
So if you deny papal supremacy, repent, and convert to Catholicism!
Assent to papal supremacy, and we will welcome you as Brothers of Christ!
