Roman Bishop Authority

[Damo73]

Why did the council of Nicea decide that the Bishop of Alexandria should administer the churches in the east and the Roman Bishop the west, if the Roman Bishop already had superiority, what right would the council have to make this decision.

 

[Ron_Conte]

Councils act with and under the authority of the Pope. And a Councils decisions are only valid if approved by the Pope. The Pope has the authority to make such a temporal decision, and later Popes have the authority to change that decision.

There is also a precedent in Scripture, where Peter decided that he would preach primarily to the Jews and Paul primarily to the Gentiles.

Ron

 

[Damo73]

The pope did not preside over the council of Nicea and was not incharge of the ordination of Bishops at that time.

Cyprian says in his fourth letter to Cornelius:Accordingly, as regards the divine observance and apostolic practice, you must diligently keep and practice what is also observed among us and in almost all the provinces, that for celebrating ordination properly, whatsoever bishops of the same province live nearest should come together with the people for whom a pastor is being appointed, and the bishop should be chosen in the presence of the people, who most fully know the life of each one, which we also have seen done among us at the ordination of our colleague Sabinus, that by the suffrage of the entire brotherhood, and by the judgment of the bishops who had assembled in their presence, the episcopate was conferred and hands laid on him.

 

[SPH1]

Why did the council of Nicea decide that the Bishop of Alexandria should administer the churches in the east and the Roman Bishop the west, if the Roman Bishop already had superiority, what right would the council have to make this decision.

Post a link and quote so I can see what you’re referring to.

 

[Mystophilus]

Why did the council of Nicea decide that the Bishop of Alexandria should administer the churches in the east and the Roman Bishop the west, if the Roman Bishop already had superiority, what right would the council have to make this decision.

New thread just posted:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=113909

Really bad timing on my part; I’m sorry.

The short answer is that the Greek churches never believed that the bishop of Rome had authority over them. Note also that Alexandria was not granted authority over all of the east, but only over the Greek-speaking parts of northern Africa.

 

[Damo73]

Then the Authority of the Pope was not recognized by the early church as a whole.
That would lead to the question why?
If the apostles excepted the Authority of Peter being given to him by christ, how could they Question it?
Could it be that Paul did not reconise Peters authority over him?
Gal 2:6 But those who seemed to be the leaders—I say this because it makes no difference to me what they were; God does not judge by outward appearances—those leaders, I say, made no new suggestions to me.
Gal 2:7 On the contrary, they saw that God had given me the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the task of preaching the gospel to the Jews.
Gal 2:8 For by God’s power I was made an apostle to the Gentiles, just as Peter was made an apostle to the Jews.
Gal 2:9 James, Peter, and John, who seemed to be the leaders, recognized that God had given me this special task; so they shook hands with Barnabas and me, as a sign that we were all partners. We agreed that Barnabas and I would work among the Gentiles and they among the Jews.

Or maybe as Christ himself said:Luk 22:24 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest.
Luk 22:25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the pagans have power over their people, and the rulers claim the title ‘Friends of the People.’
Luk 22:26 But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant.
Luk 22:27 Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves

 

[NotWorthy]

It seems the Eastern Church was very fickle in their acceptance of the Primacy of the Pope. In various local disputes, they would take their problems to the Pope. But if and when he ruled against them, then they would denounce his right to rule them.

Then, on the other hand, when they read the letter from the Pope at the Council of Chalcedon, they all stood and said, “This is the voice fo Peter” and they followed the Pope’s wishes, even though the Pope disagreed with the stance of most of the eastern Church. I believe the issue was regarding Jesus Christ, - True God, True Man.