Did the Early Church Have a Pope - Part IV - The Later Witnesses

In the previous note I began showing testimony to the role of the successors of Peter in early antiquity.  Today I wanted to conclude with a survey of some witnesses in later antiquity.

Let’s dive in.

Instructions from Sardica: Present-Day Bulgaria, 344AD

In the mid 300’s there was a council called in Sardica (modern day Sofia, Bulgaria) to address the ongoing problem of the Arian heresy. 

While the Council failed after the departure of some Bishops, it did publish a number of decrees which contain valuable information about the role of the Papacy in the early Church.  Specifically, it points to the Bishop of Rome as an arbiter of disputes between bishops:

"If in any province a bishop has some matter against his fellow bishop, neither of the two should call in as arbiters bishops from another province. But if perchance sentence is given against a bishop in any matter and he supposes his case is good, in order that the question may be reopened, let us honor the memory of Peter the Apostle. Let those who gave judgment write to Julius, the bishop of Rome, so that, if necessary, the case may be retried by the bishops of the neighboring provinces - and let him appoint the arbiters." - Council of Sardica, Canon 3, 344 AD

Saint Jerome Addresses the Fisherman:  Syria, 375AD

Saint Jerome is widely considered the greatest scholar of Scripture the Christian world has ever produced. 

   

In 375AD, he was traveling through Syria and was troubled by the conflict among Christians present there.  He wanted to ask some theological questions and didn’t know who to trust in the region.  His solution was to send a letter back to Rome and ask Pope Damasus. 

That letter contains Jerome’s understanding of the role the Bishop of Rome plays in the worldwide Church: 

“Since the East, shattered as it is by the long-standing feuds, is bit by bit tearing into shreds the seamless vest of the Lord, I think it my duty to consult the chair of Peter, and to turn to a church whose faith has been praised by Paul. […] My words are spoken to the successor of the fisherman, to the disciple of the cross. As I follow no leader save Christ, so I communicate with none but your blessedness, that is with the chair of Peter. For this, I know, is the rock on which the church is built. This is the house where alone the paschal lamb can be rightly eaten. This is the ark of Noah, and he who is not found in it shall perish when the flood prevails.”  - Epistle to Pope Damasus (Epistle 15), Sections 1-2 , 375 AD.

Saint Augustine Appeals to His Standard: North Africa, 400AD

Saint Augustine is widely received as the preeminent Christian theologian.  His work is considered, by Catholics and other Christians, to be the gold standard to which we should all look.

In the year 400, Augustine was given a letter by his friend Generosus.  Generosus had received a letter from a priest of the Donatist heresy, which was meant to persuade him to join him among the schismatics. 

Generosus forwarded the letter to Augustine, asking how to respond.  Augustine assured him that he was right to reject the offer.  He noted that the Donatists’ beliefs were not the teaching of the Apostles.  To prove this, Augustine appeals to the succession of Popes, saying that Peter was a figure of the whole Church and that the fidelity of his line of succession was more certain than others:

“For if the lineal succession of bishops is to be taken into account.  And with how much more certainty and benefit to the Church do we reckon back till we reach Peter himself, to whom, as bearing in a figure the whole Church, the Lord said: ‘Upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!’

The successor of Peter was Linus, and his successors in unbroken continuity were these: Clement, Anacletus, […this list goes on at some length…], Damasus, and Siricius, whose successor is the present Bishop Anastasius. In this order of succession no Donatist bishop is found.”– Letter to Generosus (Epistle 53), Chapter 1, Section 2, 400AD

Lastly, I thought it appropriate to end with a quote from a letter of Saint Augustine which wraps up everything I’ve been trying to say in this note series.

The relevant passage is found in the beginning of his letter to the Manichaen heretics, in which the great saint explains which Church he belongs to and why:

“The consent of peoples and nations keeps me in the Church; so does her authority, inaugurated by miracles, nourished by hope, enlarged by love, established by age. The succession of priests keeps me, beginning from the very seat of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, gave it in charge to feed His sheep, down to the present episcopate. And so, lastly, does the name itself of ‘Catholic’, which amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained.” - Against the Fundamental Epistle of Manichaeus, 4

Disposable Men, Indispensable Office:

There is far more I could have included, but chose not to for the sake of length. This was meant to be a sketch – a thorough and persuasive sketch - but a sketch nonetheless. 

Based on what I have presented, I think one can comfortably say the following:  Jesus gave Peter a unique role in the governing and teaching of the Church.  That role was handed on to successors, who saw themselves as inheriting Peter’s ministry.  The rest of the Christian world looked to Peter’s successors in Rome to be the last word in disputes. 

In other words:  The early church – Christianity closest to its founding - had a Pope.

Thank you for joining me.

ADDENDUM:

A citation in which Augustine mentions the primacy of Peter

"Here is a passage in which Cyprian records what we also learn in holy Scripture, that the Apostle Peter, in whom the primacy of the apostles shines with such exceeding grace, was corrected by the later Apostle Paul, when he adopted a custom in the matter of circumcision at variance with the demands of truth."  - On Baptism, Book 2, Chapter 1, Section 2