Early Popes

  • Thread starter Thread starter aball1035
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

aball1035

Guest
How did the Papacy ‘evolve’ (if it ever did) to the point it is today? A better question may be, what did the early church think the rules or boundaries of the pope were? What were his services?

A few quotes from the ancients would be appreciated please :rolleyes:
 
aball1035 said:
How did the Papacy ‘evolve’ (if it ever did) to the point it is today? A better question may be, what did the early church think the rules or boundaries of the pope were? What were his services?

A few quotes from the ancients would be appreciated please :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
What do you mean exactly, what were his services? The early Church deferred to the Bishop of Rome on religious matters since the earliest days of the Church. If there was a problem, his decision would be binding. This was due to the fact that Rome had the largest and richest Church, Rome was the capital of the empire and Rome was considered holy as both St. Paul and St. Peter among countless others had been martyred there. The Eastern Churches tended to see the Pope as the first Bishop among Bishops but all were substantially equal in their eyes.

As far as rules and boundaries, again you’ll have to be a bit more specific
 
I mean, could you give me examples of where St. Peter or another early pope bound a doctrine worthy of belief or undisputedly settled some matter.

Maybe a website would help or do you have a few quotes?
 
aball1035 said:
I mean, could you give me examples of where St. Peter or another early pope bound a doctrine worthy of belief or undisputedly settled some matter.

Maybe a website would help or do you have a few quotes?
Click to expand...
Given that the sources are few, I would venture that St Clements letter to the Corinthian Chuch may have been one of the first acts that can be attributed directly to the Pope. I believe that was in the 70’s or 80’s. The Council of Jerusalem’s action on the Ebionite situation preceded that letter by about thrity years I think, but since that was a Church Council and not an independent action by the Pope I’m not sure that is what you are looking for.

I am intrigued though at what exactly you are looking for. You must realize that there is precious little evidence of much of anything regarding the very early Church so what you are looking for may very well not be available. The sources become more available as time goes by, but if you are looking at the first 100-years or so of the Church there really isn’t a whole lot to go on.
 
When my Protestant friends tell me that the papacy as it is today is very different from the early church, I need some ammunition to show that the Church and belief in the papacy hasn’t veered off onto another path.
 
aball1035 said:
When my Protestant friends tell me that the papacy as it is today is very different from the early church, I need some ammunition to show that the Church and belief in the papacy hasn’t veered off onto another path.
Click to expand...
I would suggest instead of getting defensive, ask them to prove their case first. Listen to what they say, and you will see the direction they are headed. See where they are coming from. Usually these people have a set agenda that they don’t veer off of very much if at all. Ever.

They are very good, have lots of quotations, scriptural usually although not always and are dedicated to ripping you away from the Church. So unless you know the faith very, very well, don’t engage them directly because that is exactly what they want. They know which buttons to push, as they have with you already. You need to know where they are coming from before you can even start to out maneuver them. They actually get trained in this sort of thing. Heck they have entire ministries devoted to it. And believe me, the agenda is clear. Most of these people have no qualms about trying to rip you away from the Church and join them in their spiritless little communities. Their view of ecumenism is much different than ours, believe me. These type of people want nothing less than the destruction of the Church.

DON’T FALL INTO THE TRAP THEY ARE SETTING FOR YOU
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top