THE CHURCH:the Series

Part IIa: Its Constitution, Hierarchy and Primacy

The Constitution of the Church Hierarchical Constitution

(Gk hierarchía rule or power of the high priest: 1. A system of persons or things arranged in a graded order; 2. body of persons in holy orders organized into graded ranks.)

Divine Origin of the Hierarchy Christ gave His Church a hierarchical constitution. (De fide)

The hierarchical magisterial powers of the Church embrace the teaching power, the pastoral power (legislative, juridical and punitive power), and the sacerdotal power. They correspond to the three-fold office laid on Christ as man for the purpose of the Redemption of mankind; the office of prophet or the teaching office, the pastoral or royal office and the priestly office. Christ transferred this three-fold office, with the corresponding powers, to His Apostles.

The 16th Century Reformers rejected the special priesthood and with it the hierarchy and recognized the general priesthood only of all the faithful.

Council of Trent (1545-1563)There exists in the Catholic Church a hierarchy instituted by Divine ordinance. (D 966)

Pius VI (1717-1799)Rejected the heretical teaching that the power of the Church was transferred immediately to the Church, that is, to the totality of the faithful, and from the Church to her pastors. (D 1502) According to the teaching of the Church, Christ gave the spiritual power to the Apostles immediately.

Pius X (1835-1914)Condemned the proposition that the Church hierarchy is the result of a general historical development. (D 2054) Pius XII (1943)Rejected the distinction between “a Church shaped by charity,” and “a Church consisting of juridical elements,” for such a distinction postulates that the Church founded by Christ was originally merely one kept together by the invisible bond of charity, a religious society endowed with charisma, which only gradually, under the influence of external conditions, developed into a legally organized society with an hierarchical constitution (juridical Church). (Encyclical Mystici Corporis)

Proof of a Hierarchical Structure from Sacred Scripture

Christ delegated to the Apostles the mission which He, as man, received from the Father.

John 20:21Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (Jesus) said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Christ's mission embraces His three-fold office of Redeemer.

• He gave them the mandate to proclaim His Gospel through the whole world.

Mathew 28:19Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

Mark 16:15He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

• endowed them with His authority

Luke 10:16 Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.

Matthew 10:40

Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

• promised them a wide power of binding and loosing

Matthew 18:18Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in

heaven.

• and transferred to them the sacerdotal powers of baptism

Matthew 28:19Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit;

• of celebrating the Eucharist

Luke 22:19Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this

in memory of me.” • of forgiving sins

John 20:23Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you

retain are retained.

According to St. Paul’s testimony, • the Apostles considered themselves delegates of Christ

Romans 1:5. . . by whom we have received grace and apostleship for

obedience to the faith in all nations, for His name.

• as “ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God”

1 Corinthians 4:1Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

• as “ambassadors for Christ, God, (as it were) exhorting for us”

2 Corinthians 5:20So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing

through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

• They made use of the powers transferred to them: “But they going forth preached everywhere”

Mark 16:20But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord

worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. • They gave to the faithful laws and injunctions

Acts 15:28It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities;

1 Corinthians 11:34

If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that your meetings may not result in judgment. The other matters I shall set in order

when I come.

• held court and imposed punishments

1 Corinthians 4:21 Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a gentle spirit?

• celebrated the Eucharist

Acts 2:42, 46Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the

temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, . . . They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers. Acts 20:7

On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread, Paul spoke to them because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on speaking until midnight.

• and transferred Church offices by the imposition of hands

Acts 6:6They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid

hands on them.

Acts14:22They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo

many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” They appointed presbyters for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith.

1 Timothy 4:14Until I arrive, attend to the reading, exhortation, and teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate.

2 Timothy 1:6For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.

Titus 1:5For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I

directed you; • as promulgators of the “word of reconciliation” and bearers “of the ministry of reconciliation”

2 Corinthians 5:18And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their

trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

In the Ancient Church, side by side with the Apostles, there appear presbyters, who, according to their function, are also called “bishops” (episcopos, over- seers).

Acts 20:I7, 28From Miletus he had the presbyters of the church at Ephesus

summoned. . . . Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood.

1 Peter 5:1-2So I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst,

(overseeing) not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly.

The presbyters of the community anoint the sick in the name of the Lord and guarantee forgiveness of sins

James 5:I4 Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord;

These co-operators with the Apostles were elected by the community, but received their office and their power, not from the community, but from the Apostles.

Acts 6:6 (installation of the first seven deacons) They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid

hands on them.

Acts 14:22 (installation of the presbyters) They appointed presbyters for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put

their faith.

Titus 1:5-7For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I

directed you, on condition that a man be blameless, married only once, with believing children who are not accused of licentiousness or rebellious. For a bishop as God’s steward must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain,

and deacons as incumbents of Church offices with hierarchical powers. Philip the Deacon preaches and baptizes

Acts 8:5, 38Thus Philip went down to (the) city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. . . . Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized him.

The presbyters of Jerusalem decide conjointly with the Apostles the problems raised for the Christian Community by the obligations of the Old Testament Law

Acts 15:22Then the apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and to send them to

Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers.

The presbyters of the community anoint the sick in the name of the Lord and guarantee forgiveness of sins

James 5:I4Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick

person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Perpetuation of the Hierarchy

The powers bestowed on the Apostles have descended to the bishops. (De fide)

Council of Trent (1545-1563))“The bishops who succeeded in the place of the Apostles belong by excellence to the hierarchical order, and are appointed by the Holy Spirit to rule the Church of God.” (D 960)

Vatican Council I (1869-1970)“Just as He (Christ) sent the Apostles whom He had elected for Himself from the world, as He Himself was sent by the Father (John 20, 21), so He wishes that there should be pastors and teachers in His Church to the end of time.” (D 182I)

“These pastors and teachers are the bishops, the successors of the Apostles.” (D 1828)

The perpetuation of the hierarchical powers follows necessarily on the Church desired by Christ. The promise of His aid given to the Apostles “even to the consummation of the world.”

Matthew 28:20 And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.

The Apostles, following the will of Christ, handed over their powers to others, for example, St. Paul to Timothy and Titus.

2 Timothy 4:2-5For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will

accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.

Titus 2:1 (teaching power)As for yourself, you must say what is consistent with sound doctrine;

1 Timothy 5:19-21Do not accept an accusation against a presbyter unless it is

supported by two or three witnesses. Reprimand publicly those who do sin, so that the rest also will be afraid. I charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to keep these rules without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism.

Titus 2:15 (pastoral power)Say these things. Exhort and correct with all authority. Let no one look down on you.

1 Timothy 5:2

The aim of this instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

Titus 1:5 (sacerdotal power) For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I

directed you;

In the position of the two disciples of the Apostles (Titus and Timothy), the episcopate, into which apostolic office finally evolves, appears clearly for the first time.

The “angels” of the seven communities in Asia Minor (Revelation 2-3) are, according to the traditional interpretation may have been bishops.

St. Clement of Rome (c. 96)“In countries and towns they preached and appointed their neophytes after they have proved these in spirit, as bishops and deacons of the future faithful.” (Corinthians 42, 4) . . . “Our Apostles through the Lord Jesus Christ, knew that disputes would arise about the episcopal office. For this reason, as they had received exact knowledge of this in advance, they appointed the above named, and subsequently gave directions that when these should fall asleep, other tried men should take over their duties.” (Corinthians 44.1-2).

St. Ignatius of Antioch (c. 50- c.107) At the head of the Asia Minor communities, also even “in the farthest countries (Ephesians 3.2) there stands in each a single (monarchic) bishop, in whose hand the whole religious and disciplinarian conduct of the community lies . . . nobody is supposed to do anything which concerns the Church without the Bishop. Only that Eucharist is regarded as valid and legal, that is consummated under the Bishop or by one authorized by him. There, where Jesus is, the Catholic Church is. It is not permitted to baptize without the Bishop, or to hold the agape. But whatever he finds good, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done is certain and lawful .... He that honors the Bishop is honored by God; he that does anything without consulting the Bishop, serves the devil.” (Smyrn. 8, 1-2; 9, I)

In every community, side by side with and under the Bishop there are the presbyters and the deacons as further holders of office.

The Primacy of St. Peter

Primacy means first in rank. A primacy may be one of honor, of control, of direction, or of jurisdiction, that is, of government. A primacy of jurisdiction consists in the possession of full and supreme legislative, juridical and punitive power.

The Dogma and Its Opponents

Christ appointed the Apostle Peter to be the first of all the Apostles and to be the visible Head of the whole Church, by appointing him immediately and personally to the primacy of jurisdiction. (De fide)

Vatican Council I (1869-1870)“If anyone says that the blessed apostle Peter was not constituted, by Christ Our Lord, Prince of all the Apostles and visible head of all the Church Militant; or that he (Peter) directly and immediately received from Our Lord Jesus Christ a primacy of honor only and not one of true and proper jurisdiction, let him be anathema.” (D 1823)

The invisible Head of the Church is the risen Christ. St. Peter represents the position of Christ in the external government of the militant Church, and is to this extent “the representative of Christ” on earth; (D 694)

Opponents of this dogma are: the Greek Orthodox Church and the Oriental sects;individual medieval opponents of the Papacy, Marsilius of Padua

and John of Jandun, Wycliffe, and Huss; the whole Protestant movement; the Gallicans (French heresy) and Febronians German heresy); the old Catholics; andthe Modernists.

According to the Gallicans, the fullness of Christ’s spiritual power was transferred immediately to the whole Church and through this to St. Peter, so that he was the first servant of the Church, who was appointed by the Church.

According to the Modernists, the primacy was not founded by Christ, but was developed to meet the needs of the Church in post-apostolic times. (D 2055)

Biblical Foundation

From the very beginning Christ distinguished the Apostle Peter from the other Apostles. At the first meeting He announced the change of his name from Simon to Cephas, rock, “Rocky.”

Matthew 16:17 Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

Mark 3:16(He appointed the twelve:) Simon, whom he named Peter;

The Aramaic name Cephas indicates the office to which the Lord had appointed him.

Matthew 16:18And so I say to you, you are Rocky (Cephas), and upon this rock (cephas) I will build my church, and the gates of the

netherworld shall not prevail against it.

In all the lists of the Apostles Peter is named in the first place.

In Matthew’s gospel Peter is expressly called the first.

Matthew 10:2The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called

Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

From the point of view of his time of calling, Andrew was before Peter, the constant placing of Peter’s name at the head of the list of the Apostles indicates the dignity of his office.

• Peter together with James and John, was permitted to witness the raising of the daughter of Jairus

Mark 5:37 He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter,

James, and John, the brother of James.

• the Transfiguration

Matthew 17:1After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,

and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

• and the agony in the garden

Matthew 26:37He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress.

• The Lord taught from Peter's boat

Luke 5:3Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

• and paid the temple tax for Himself and Peter jointly

Matthew 17:27 But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for

you.

• ordered him to strengthen the brethren after His own return

Luke 22:32 Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.

• appeared to him alone before appearing to the other Apostles

Luke 24:34So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”

1 Corinthians 15:5. . . that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.

The primacy was promised on the occasion of the solemn confession of the Messiahship in the house at Caesarea Philippi

Matthew 16:17-19Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jona: because flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to you that you are Peter (Cephas, Rocky); and upon this rock (cephas) I will build my Church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. And

whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

These words are addressed solely and immediately to Peter. In them Christ promises to confer on him a threefold supreme power in the new religious community (ecclesia) which He is to found. St. Peter is to guarantee to this Church a unity and unshakable strength similar to the rock foundation of a house. (cf. Matthew 7:24)

He is to be the holder of the keys, that is the steward of the Kingdom of God on earth

Isaiah 22:22I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.

Revelation 1:18

Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld. Revelation 3:7

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write this: “The holy one, the true, who holds the key of David, who opens and no one shall

close, who closes and no one shall open”; The keys are a symbol of power and dominion. He is to bind and loose, that is, following Rabbinical language, impose the ban or loose from the ban, and also interpreting the law, pronounce a thing to be forbidden (bound) or permitted (loosed).

Here, as in Matthew 16:18, the words are directed solely and immediately to Peter. The “lambs” and the “sheep” designate Christ's whole Body, that is, the whole Church.

John 10:14-16, 26-27I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. . . . But you do not believe,

because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

“Feed” in ancient and biblical language means, in its application to human beings, rule or govern

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which

the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood

By Christ's thrice-repeated mandate, Peter obtained, not re-appointment to the Apostolic office--he did not lose this through his denial--but the supreme power of government over the Church.

Testimony of the Fathers

Commenting on the promise of the Primacy, the Fathers assert that the Church was built on Peter, and recognize his pre-eminence over the other Apostles.

Tertullian (c.160-c. 220)Speaks of the Church “which was built on him.” (De monog. 8)

St. Cyprian (b.?-c. d. 258)“He builds the Church on one person.” (De monog. 8)

St. Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215)Calls the Blessed Peter “the chosen one, the selected one, the first among the Disciples, for whom alone, besides Himself, the Lord paid the tax.” (Quis dives salvetur 21, 4)

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c.315-387)Calls him “the head and the leader of the Apostles.” (Cat. 2, 19)

Peter and Paul

It follows from the dogma of the Primacy that Paul, like the other Apostles, was subordinate to Peter as the supreme head of the whole Church.

Pope Innocent X (1574-1655)Rejected as heretical the teaching of the Jansenism, that Peter and Paul were joint heads of the Church. (D 1091)

The Fathers, who frequently put Peter and Paul on an equal footing (princes of the apostles), have in mind either their apostolic efficacy or the contribution of  both Apostles to the building-up of the Church in Rome or the Church in general.

St. Paul, according to his own confession, surpassed in efficacy all his co-Apostles

1 Corinthians 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God (that is) with me.

Venantius Fortunatus (c. 530-c. 600/609)“The Primacy of power belongs to Peter alone; to Paul belongs a leadership in the promulgation of the faith.” (Misc. IX 2, 35)

Galatians 2:11I withstood him to the face.

This does not derogate from Peter's Primacy. Paul censured the inconsistent attitude of Peter, because, precisely on account of the latter's high authority in the Church, it endangered the freedom from the Old Law enjoyed by the Christians who were converted from Paganism. Peter well knew and recognized this freedom.  

The Bishops Nature of the Episcopal Power By virtue of Divine right the bishops possess an ordinary power of government over their dioceses. (De fide)

Vatican Council I (1869-1870)“This power of the Pope is no way derogates from the ordinary and immediate power of episcopal jurisdiction by which bishops, who have been set by the Holy Ghost' to succeed and hold the place of the Apostles feed and govern each his own flock as true pastors; but rather, this authority is asserted, strengthened and vindicated by the Supreme and Universal Pastor.” (D 1828; the Encyclical “Satis cognitum” of Leo XIII (1896); Code of Canon Law 329 Par. 1) According to this declaration the episcopal power is : An ordinary power, that is, it is associated with the episcopal office. An immediate power, that is, it is not practiced at the order of a superior, but in the Bishop's own name. Thus bishops are not delegates (agents) and not vicars (representatives) of the Pope, but independent pastors of the flocks entrusted to them, even though they are subordinate to the Pope.

A power appointed by God, for the Apostles, on the ground of Divine ordinance, whether in the immediate commission of Christ, or on the direction of the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28) have passed on their pastoral office to the bishops.

The bishops are the successors of the Apostles, not in such a manner that an individual bishop is a successor of an individual Apostle, but that the bishops in their totality are successors of the College of Apostles. A true pastoral power, as it embraces all the ecclesiastical powers appertaining to the exercise of the pastoral office, the power to legislate, to judge and to punish. (Code of Canon Law 335, Par. 1)

A power which is limited locally and materially, since it extends only to a

definite segment of the Church, and is circumscribed by the Papal power which is superior to it. In addition the matters of more than usual importance--touching the welfare of the whole Church--are reserved to the Pope. (Code of Canon Law 220)

Manner of Conferring The individual bishop receives his pastoral power immediately from the Pope. (Sententia probabilior)

Pope Pius XII (1943) “Each of them (Bishops) is also, as far as his own diocese is concerned, a

true Pastor, who tends and rules in the name of Christ the flock committed

to his care. In discharging this function, however, they are not completely independent, but are subject to the proper authority of the Roman Pontiff, although they enjoy ordinary power of jurisdiction received directly from the Sovereign Pontiff himself.” (Encyclical “Mystici Corporis“; D 2287, D 1500) The opinion cited (Papal Theory) corresponds best to the monarchical constitution of the Church. When the Pope unites in himself the whole fullness of the pastoral power of the Church, then it corresponds to this that all incumbents of the offices subordinate to him should receive their power immediately from him, the representative of Christ on earth. This conception is favored by the current practice, according to which the Pope authorizes the bishop nominated or ratified by him to guide a diocese, and requires the clergy and laity to obey him.

A second opinion (Episcopal Theory) assumes that each individual bishop receives his pastoral power direct from God, as does the Pope. The activity of the Pope in the nomination or ratification of a bishop is claimed to consist simply in that he allocates to the bishop a definite territory in which he is to exercise the power received immediately from God. In order to establish this theory it is argued that the bishops, as successors of the Apostles, receive their power just as immediately from Christ, as the Apostles received their power immediately from Christ, not through the intermediation of Peter.

In favor of the second view the historical fact is also urged that in Christian antiquity and in the early Middle Ages, the choice of bishop by clergy and people, or the nomination of a bishop by princes was not always and everywhere ratified by the Pope. It is asserted that a tacit ratification and conferring of the episcopal jurisdiction, such as is assumed by the exponents of the former view, is not demonstrable and is improbable.

The first theory, which was already approved by Pius VI (D 1500) received a new authoritative confirmation by the Encyclical “Mystici Corporis,” but the question still remains without final decision.

Position of the Parish Priest

Only Popes and Bishops possess ecclesiastical jurisdictional power by Divine right. All other Church offices are of Church institution. The view put forward by Gallican theologians, who taught that the office of parish priest was inaugurated in the seventy-two Disciples of Christ, in order to derive there from a claim to participation in the government of the Church (Parochianism) is without any biblical or historical foundation. Pope Pius VI rejected the doctrine and claim of the pseudo-Synod of Pistoja (1786). (D I509 ff)

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earthshall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

SIMON BAR JONA / PETER THE ELEVEN

MATTHEW 16:18 MATTHEW 18:18

PETER

THE ELEVEN

PAUL BARNABAS

LINUS, 67-79

ANACLETUS, 79-92

CLEMENT, 92-101

BENEDICT XVI, 2004 -

BISHOPS OF THE WORLD FOR ALL TIME

UNBROKENSUCCESSION

UNBROKENSUCCESSION

Acts 13:3-4

BISHOP OF ROME d., 67 AD

Mt 16 Mt 18

The Exercise of Authority

As Peter is to thethe elevenApostles . . .

The Bishop of Romeis tothe Bishops of the world. . .

End ofPart IIa: The Church—Its Hierarchy and Primacy

Go toPart IIb: Peter and Paul Bishops Christ and the Church