I have to disagree that it is clear that all the apostles had equal authority. I think the best example to show St. Peter’s primacy comes from Matthew 16:19 the OP mentions. There are numerous other ways to demonstrate St. Peter’s primacy through scripture, however, when one looks at this verse and what the ramifications of it meant for the Davidic Kingdom and further for the Church it then becomes clear what a momentous exchange occurred between our Lord and St. Peter.First of all- the word “apostle” means simply “one who has been sent.” So in the most general of ways, all who are believers, by virtue of their duty to be witnesses of Christ and of God’s glory, are considered to be “apostles.”
All who are missionaries and are sent out into the field by their local fellowships, are likewise considered to be “apostles.” We are all called to be the light of the world, and a city set on a hill- for all to see, as we testify of God’s goodness in Jesus Christ the Lord- (Mat. 5). Therefore upon the grounds of the great commission (Mark 16:15)- each and every born again child of God is in some sense- an apostle.
When salvation comes to a weary soul, and deliverance has been experienced, the natural and inevitable response of the one saved, is to publish the good news abroad. Observe how Jesus, during the course of his earthly ministry, would send those whom he had delivered, out into their respective communities to tell of the goodness of God: Mk. 5:18-20 ect.
However, with that being said, we must also observe that the aspect of this title as it was applied to Peter as well as Paul- in say- Galatians 2:7, was something altogether different, having been a special and particular office within the Church, originally designated for, and occupied by, the twelve (Jn 6:70; Matt 10:2; 1 Cor. 12:20).
The office of Apostle then, was the highest possible calling within the entire Church, and was an authority that was equally shared among those who held it. This is made perfectly clear in that when giving the order of primacy respecting the offices of the Church (beginning with the very highest) –Paul writes the following: “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers . . .” (1 Cor. 12:28).
We notice here that Paul wishes to make it very plain that the highest possible office one could have been called to within the Church, was the office of Apostle. And what is more –according to this passage, is that there were no levels of superiority among the Apostles- for the text says, “first Apostle(s)” in the plural form.
Thus Paul- along with Peter himself had in fact occupied the highest possible office within the Church: the office of an Apostle of Jesus Christ. For more scriptural support on the equality of the Apostles see Mk. 9:33-35; Mat. 20:25-28; Gal. 2:6-9; 2 Cor. 11:5; 2 Cor. 12:11.
“And he came to Capernaum : and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” (Mark 9:33-35)
“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)
“But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, just as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillar(s), perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.” (Galatians 2:6-9)
“For I suppose I am not a whit behind the very chiefest apostle(s)” (2 Corinthians 11:5)
“I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostle(s) though I be nothing.” (2 Corinthians 12:11)
Clearly then- ALL apostles had equal authority- and this cannot be disputed by Scripture. Though many will come up with examples of Jesus’ interaction with Peter in a special way- these examples - though they speak of Jesus’ love for Peter, and for Peter’s competence in leadership- do not and cannot overthrough the explicit force of the passages given above. For one could just as easily make a case equally as strong and convincing - if not stronger and more convincing- for the primacy of Paul.
I think what is being suggested by the OP is that Luke 22:24 would seem to indicate that the disciples did not view Matthew 16:18-19 as appointing Peter as head of the Church. If it did, why, on the night of His betrayal, would they still be discussing who was to be the greatest.
William A. Jurgens, The Faith of Our Early Fathers 3,3,2, #210). (Beginning Apologetics I, Fr. F. Chacon & Jim Burnham).How true it is! You just proved it
other ten. Which would therefore include St. Peter.
Actually at the footwashing, He washes all their feet, even Judas’ and tells them to do the same.
So momentous that the disciples still have to ask, a few chapters later, who is the greatest.
The danger of playing this numbers game is that the lion share of these 191 times is connected with his denial of the Lord.
Actually, the letter is dated to 95, when St. John was in exile on Patmos. Btw, St. Clement wasn’t bishop (pope is an anachronism) of Rome in 80.
This is the classic proof text, wretched out of its context. St. Iranaeus is talking against the gnostics’ “hidden wisdom.” St. Iranaeus states that all wisdom has been given to the Apostles, who gave it to their successors, the bishops throughout the world. He then goes to show how these multiple witnesses assure the Truth, as each can trace his line to the Apostles, he then states that it would be tedious to go through all the lines in all the sees, but as an example he then goes on to the section you quote.St Irenaeus, who was taught by St. Polycarp ( a disciple of St. John the Apostle), stresses that Christians must be united to the church of Rome in order to maintain the Apostolic Tradition. He then lists all of the Bishops of Rome up to his time (12 in all). '…by pointing out here the the succession 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 faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the Apostles. For with this Church, because of it’s superior origin, all the 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.
And yet the Orthodox have manages for almost least a millenium (since you claim we began in 1054) without a singular authorized representative of Christ, and yet not to end up as tens of thousands of different denominations (something the Patriarchate of the West hasn’t managed) each with their own unique interpretation,
I don’t see the connection between papacy and greatness. If a Pope were the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven, then all the 250 plus popes over the centuries would be equal contenders for the spot! Greatness depends not on your position of authority on earth but upon your soul. No one could argue that Peter is greater than Mary for example. Even if Peter is the pope, if Matthew was more faithful than Peter, Matthew’s reward in heaven would be greater. It is faithfulness that God requires. Earthly position doesn’t merit greatness, but your faithfulness to that position (or job) as a disciple does.
That assumes, of course that Matthew 16:19 has anything to do with the papacy.
The thing is, I don’t have a problem with the Apostles being described as “equals”. After all, we call the Pope the “First Among Equals”.
To simply choose one title of your pope, and ignore the rest is to give a portion - and disregard the whole. If the pope is called “the first among equals” then great! Nice title.
This pretty much does it for me about Petrine Primacy, that is, that other Apostles were still alive, but, they went out of their way to go to the Petrine Papacy to settle a dispute…it shows that clearly, Peter’s Chair has something the others cannot and do not have.Please note the early Church always accepted the Bishop of Rome as head of the Church. Around 80 AD, the Church of Corinth deposed it’s lawful leaders. The fourth Bishop of Rome, Pope Clement I, was called to settle the matter even though St. John the Apostle was still alive and much closer to Corinth than was Rome.
St Irenaeus, who was taught by St. Polycarp ( a disciple of St. John the Apostle), stresses that Christians must be united to the church of Rome in order to maintain the Apostolic Tradition. He then lists all of the Bishops of Rome up to his time (12 in all). '…by pointing out here the the succession 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 faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the Apostles. For with this Church, because of it’s superior origin, all the 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.
Without Jesus appointing a singular, qualified and authorized representative to continue His work here on earth,we would end up with tens of thousands of different denominations, each with their own unique, yet incorrect interpretation of Jesus’ message.
There can only be one perfect Truth.
Mark
The disciples were not fully aware of much of anything that the Lord spoke to them about until after Pentecost. The revelation of the Trinity had not yet been dogmatically defined and would not be for some time after. The hypostatic union of our Lord as the God-man was not completely understood as we believe today. Just because the disicples asked that question does not take away the significance of the occurence for the Church.