The Bishop of Rome and the threefold ministry

Overview

The emergence of bishop, presbyter and deacon, the claims made for Rome, and the disputed reading of Irenaeus.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What natural advantages gave the church at Rome its early prominence?

   Model answer

   Rome was the capital of the empire, its church was the largest and wealthiest in the West and it was generous in supporting others. Rome was also the place where Peter and Paul were believed to have died, which gave it a double apostolic foundation.

2. 2

   Which New Testament texts are used to support the primacy of Peter?

   Model answer

   Matthew records Jesus telling Peter that on this rock he will build his church and giving him the keys of the kingdom. Luke records Jesus telling Peter to strengthen his brothers, and John records the risen Christ telling him three times to feed his sheep.

3. 3

   How is the Petrine text disputed?

   Model answer

   Roman Catholic interpretation takes the rock to be Peter himself and the promise to attach to his successors in the Roman see. Others argue that the rock is Peter's confession of faith or Christ himself, that the text says nothing about successors, and that early writers applied it in several different ways.

4. 4

   How does Ignatius describe the Roman church?

   Model answer

   Ignatius addresses it as the church that presides in the territory of the Romans and says that it has taught others. Ignatius also names no bishop of Rome, which is striking in letters otherwise insistent on obedience to the bishop.

5. 5

   What does Irenaeus say about agreement with the church of Rome?

   Model answer

   Irenaeus writes that with this church, on account of its more powerful pre-eminence, every church must agree, and he sets out its succession of bishops from the apostles. The Latin phrase is notoriously hard to translate, and scholars dispute whether it asserts Rome's authority or points to the fact that believers from everywhere gathered there.

6. 6

   What happened in the Quartodeciman controversy, and what does it show?

   Model answer

   Victor of Rome attempted around AD 190 to cut off the churches of Asia from communion because they kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the month rather than on a Sunday. Irenaeus rebuked him for threatening to divide the church over a custom, so the episode shows both a Roman claim to act and a widespread refusal to accept it.

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