Petrine Doctrine

What is the Petrine Doctrine?

The "Primacy of Peter" asserts that Apostle Peter was given special authority by Christ to function as the sole custodians of true Christian teaching— an authority that has since passed on to each Pope. Pope Benedict asserted, "This primacy is for all time."

Peter is considered as the first Bishop of Rome and the founder of the Roman Catholic Church. The doctrine asserts that Peter was given special authority by Jesus Christ to lead the church and that this authority was passed down to subsequent popes, who are considered to be Peter's successors.

Supporters of this doctrine point to one key passage of scripture, in which Jesus said, "you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church… I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven" (Matthew 16:18–19). A careful study of this passage and other scriptures, however, reveals something very different from what Benedict has in mind.

In his remarks, he urged, "Let us pray, so that the primacy of Peter… will be increasingly recognized in its true meaning by brothers not yet in communion with us" (Zenit News Agency, June 7, 2006). Benedict was proclaiming that all who call themselves Christians should acknowledge the Roman pontiff as the unique and singular head of the Christian world.

The Greek word for "Peter" is petros (meaning a small stone), and the Greek word for "rock" is petra (a huge rock or mountain). The Bible clearly shows that Jesus Christ is the Rock (see 1 Corinthians 10:4; 1 Peter 2:4; see also Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 28:16). He was referring to Himself as the petra, and to His disciple Peter as the petros.

Scripture also shows that the Church was not founded on Peter alone, but was "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20).

Jesus described His petros—Peter—as a foundation stone of the Church, along with the other apostles and prophets. However, Jesus Christ and His teachings would remain the true foundation of the Church. This is the true meaning of Matthew 16:18–19. Attempts to twist this verse into a statement of Peter's exclusive authority are simply not biblical. This is why the Roman claim for power based on Peter's supposed primacy has never been accepted by the Eastern Orthodox churches, and why it was rejected by the Protestant reformers (see Civilization Past & Present, Wallbank, p. 133).

As scholar Hans Küng states: "Catholic theologians concede that there is no reliable evidence that Peter was ever in charge of the church in Rome as supreme head or bishop" (The Catholic Church, Küng, p. 20). Professor Küng also mentions that "there could be no question of a legal primacy—or even of a pre-eminence based on the Bible—of the Roman community or even of the Bishop of Rome in the first centuries" (ibid., p. 49). The New Testament does not link Peter with Rome, and it mentions no successor to Peter. The apostles urged Christians to look to Jerusalem and the churches in Judea—not to Rome—as their models (Galatians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 2:14).

The Petrine theory holds that Peter's successors are to decide doctrinal matters for the Church. Yet, at the Council of Nicaea in 325ad, records show that the Roman bishop, Sylvester I, did not attend and exercised no primacy when the date of Easter was set as a replacement for the biblical Passover, and when Sunday worship officially replaced the seventh-day Sabbath. The Council of Nicaea was called and presided over not by a Roman bishop, but by the Emperor Constantine.

As emperor, Constantine held the title of Pontifex Maximus in the pagan Roman religion—a title that Roman bishop Leo I would adopt a century later when arguing for the Petrine primacy over all other bishops. In 451ad, however, the Council of Chalcedon rebuffed Leo, and decreed that the bishops of Rome and Constantinople had equal authority. By 1200ad, Pope Innocent III was claiming to be the "Vicar of Christ," and the Supreme Sovereign of the Church and the world (Halley's Bible Handbook, p. 776). For about 600 years during the Middle Ages, Roman bishops pointed to the "Donation of Constantine" as evidence of their right to preside over all the other bishops, but the document was later proven to be a fraud (Kung, p. 50).

Scripture and history both show that the early Church did not recognize the Roman theory of Petrine primacy. Rather, it was ambitious Roman bishops who developed the doctrine to gain power over other bishops and their churches.

Jesus Christ warned that at the end of the age, many would be deceived by false teachers claiming to represent Him (Matthew 24:3–5). Paul warned that in the latter times hypocritical teachers would spread lies (1 Timothy 4:1–3) and would delude people into believing ancient heresies and unbiblical traditions (2 Thessalonians 2:1–15).

The Rightful Heir to the Church of Christ

The Deception of the Nicene Creed

Nicene Creed

Resources

https://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2006/september-october/the-petrine-deception