2. The anti-Petrine view, taken by most Protestants, asserts that Jesus left no Church organisation; that he did not appoint Peter as his successor; that whatever leadership Peter had, came from his temperament and natural ability; that there is no positive proof of Peter's being in Rome, consequently he could not have founded the Church there and named a successor; that therefore the Roman Catholic Church is not the only true Church, and that abundant proof of this position can be supplied.
It may be well now to examine the proof offered in support of the Petrine theory under the four following heads:
1. Peter's primacy. Jesus said to Peter, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; . . . And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."[78:1] No such words were addressed to any other Apostle, hence Peter is the foundation-stone of the Church. Just as God changed Abram's name to Abraham, when he called him to be the father of a mighty nation, so Jesus gave Peter a new name.[78:2] Peter was chosen to be present with James and John on important occasions, like the healing of the daughter of Jairus[78:3]; the glorification of Jesus[78:4]; the struggle in Gethsemane[78:5]; and on all these occasions Peter is named first in the record. He likewise was the first to whom the risen Christ appeared.[78:6] Before His ascension Jesus gave Peter charge over His whole fold—laity, priests, and bishops,—when He commanded, "Feed my sheep," and twice repeated, "Feed my lambs."[78:7] These facts are sufficient, it is believed, to warrant the belief that Jesus appointed Peter to be the head of His Church.
2. Peter's exercise of his primacy. Next to Jesus, he stands head and shoulders above all the other Apostles in his activity. The first twelve chapters of Acts are devoted to him. His name always comes first in the lists of Apostles, and Judas Iscariot's last.[79:1] He performed the first recorded miracle,[79:2] and was the first to address the Jews in Jerusalem, while the other Apostles stood around to see three thousand converted.[79:3] He was first to win converts from both the Jews[79:4] and from the Gentiles,—Cornelius and his friends.[79:5] He was the first to inflict ecclesiastical punishment on offenders.[79:6] He fought the first heretic in the Christian Church.[79:7] He made the earliest apostolic visitation of the churches.[79:8] When a successor to Judas was chosen, Peter alone spoke, and the other Apostles silently acted on his advice.[79:9] In the council of Jerusalem Peter first spoke, when the disputes ceased and "all the multitude kept silence"; even James obeyed.[79:10] James was beheaded by Herod, but no tumult resulted. Peter was imprisoned about the same time, and the whole Church was aroused about it.[79:11] St. Paul himself plainly admitted Peter's pre-eminence.[79:12] These deeds clearly indicate, it is contended, that Peter consciously exercised the primacy bestowed upon him, and that his fellow Apostles recognised it.
3. Peter's visit to Rome, and martyrdom there. Peter's First Epistle, addressed from "Babylon,"
naturally interpreted, proves that he wrote it in Rome.[80:1] Clement of Rome (96 A.D.) said, "Let us set before our eyes the good Apostles,—Peter, who endured many labours, and having borne his witness, went to the appointed place of glory," etc.[80:2] Ignatius of Antioch (115), in a letter to the Romans, mentions Peter as having exhorted them. Papias (130) interpreted 1 Peter v., 13 to mean Rome.[80:3] Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth (170), wrote Soter, Bishop of Rome, about the common activity of Peter and Paul in Italy.[80:4] Irenæus (190) wrote, "Matthew . . . published his Gospel while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and founding the Church there."[80:5] Clement of Alexandria (200) said that Peter, "the elect, the chosen one, the first of the disciples," preached at Rome.[80:6] Tertullian (200) positively asserted Peter's presence in Rome, and is the first to describe the manner of his death, in Nero's reign.[80:7] Origen (250) declared that Peter was the great foundation of the Church, and that "at last, having arrived in Rome, he was crucified, head downward, having himself requested that he might so suffer."[80:8] Commodion (250) named Peter and Paul as Neronian martyrs; and Caius, a Roman presbyter (250), makes a like assertion.[80:9] Cyprian (d. 258) was the first to call Rome the locum Petri, while Hippolytus
recorded Peter's conflict with Simon Magnus at Rome.[81:1] The Muratorian Canon referred to the "passion of Peter" in close connection with Paul's journey to Rome.[81:2] Peter of Alexandria (306) believed Peter was crucified there, and Lactantius accepted it as undoubted.[81:3] "The Doctrine of Addai" (fourth century) of the Syriac Church mentioned the "Epistles of Paul which Simon Peter sent us from the City of Rome."[81:4] Eusebius, using all previous testimony, made the most complete and convincing statement, which caps the climax of the overwhelming proof.[81:5] The "Deposito Martyrum" gave the report of the removal of the two Apostles' bodies in 258 to the catacombs. Jerome (d. 420) added the information that Peter laboured twenty-five years in Rome before his martyrdom.[81:6]
4. Peter as the first Pope in Rome. With the establishment of Peter's primacy and his presence in Rome, it is certainly warrantable to conclude that he perfected the organisation of the Church there and served as its head until his death, when he appointed a successor. Clement (96) and Ignatius (115), Dionysius (170) and Irenæus (190), Commodion (250) and Lactantius (d. 330), all in speaking of Peter and Paul as founders of the Roman Church, always name Peter first. Ignatius spoke of the "presidency" of the Roman Church under Peter, and Tertullian (b. 160) asserted that Jesus gave the keys to Peter, the "Bishop
of Bishops" at Rome, and through him to the Church. Origen (d. 254) called Peter "the Prince of the Apostles" and "the great foundation of the Church." All the earliest lists of Popes began with Peter and indicate the transmission of his power.[82:1] Cyprian (d. 258) gave the complete statement of the primacy of the Roman bishop and the unity of the Church through Peter and Jesus.[82:2]
This sums up, essentially, all the proofs offered in support of the Petrine theory, and constitutes, it must be confessed, a powerful and consistent case.