gomer tree:
Since he’s such a history buff, when you are done with your discussion on the Pope, you may want to point him to Jurgens’ book on the Early Fathers.
More specifically, “Faith of the Early Fathers” edited by Jergens. An excellent resourse.
It is important to keep the time frame of these writings in perspective. Jesus died around A. D. 30. The writings of the early Church for the next 30 to 40 years are those contained in the New Testament; with the possible exception of John’s writings. This brings us up to around A. D. 60 to 70. By this time, the Apostles had already spread the Faith into distant lands. Peter died somewhere around 64 to 67. The Church had already encountered and corrected some errors which had arisen, as is demonstrated by the writings of Paul. The Apostle John lived until around the year 100 so he would certainly have corrected any erroneous teaching which arose during his life. Many Christians were dying rather than deny even one aspect of their faith in horrible persecutions which lasted around two-hundred and fifty years. These Christians left us writings testifying what they believed; many of them are quoted by the authors of the essays in Armstrong’s Roman Catholicism. These Christians, and also many who escaped death, did not tolerate any erroneous teachings which arose within the Church. This brings us up to around the year 300. The writings from this period include many which correct heresy. The following Church writings from this period of time demonstrate that the Apostles taught their followers to accept that the successor of Peter in Rome is also the successor of his primacy over Christ’s Church.
In the year 96, while John the Apostle was still alive, Pope St. Clement of Rome1 warns certain disturbers among the Corinthians not to disobey what Christ had commanded through him, thus claiming clearly the authority of Vicar of Christ, and the right to command the whole Church as the successor of St. Peter. Not only did the Corinthians not object to his claiming the authority to make such commands, there is no record of John doing so. Clement was responding to requests from the Church at Corinth to settle a dispute they were having. Since John was still alive, why did they not make the request to him? The answer is that, even though John was one of the chosen Apostles, Clement was the head of the Church as the successor of Peter.
St. Ignatius the Martyr (died in A. D. 110), writing to the Church in Rome, wrote “…to the Church beloved and enlightened after the love of Jesus Christ, our God, by the will of Him that has willed everything which is; to the Church also which holds the presidency in the place 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 of love, named after Christ and named after the Father: her therefore do I salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father.” He wrote to other Churches as well but did not give them the kind of praise he gives here to the Church in Rome. He does not declare any of the others to hold a place of presidency.
St. Irenaeus wrote Against Heresies (around A. D 180-199), in which he stated, “But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the successions 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. For with this Church, because of its superior origin, all 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.” Irenaeus not only points out that authority within each Church (diocese) is entrusted to its bishop based on apostolic succession but that the Church in Rome is the head of the whole Church.
Pope St. Victor (189-198) commanded the bishops of Asia to celebrate Easter on the same day as the Church of Rome, threatening them with excommunication if they refused obedience. The bishops of Asia appealed to Victor showing that their custom of celebrating Easter on the fourteenth of Nissan originated with the Apostle NAME, who founded their Church. Victor accepted their appeal. The date on which Easter is celebrated is not a matter of doctrine. This shows both that the Pope claimed to have authority over the other Churches, even in non-doctrinal matters, and that those Churches accepted that authority.
