Who was the first Catholic bishop after Peter?

Answer 1

There is a strongly held tradition that Peter was the first bishop of Rome and that Linus was his successor. However, it appears that this tradition began some time in the second century.

Francis A. Sullivan says, in From Apostles to Bishops,that there is a general agreement among scholars, including Catholic scholars, that the church of Rome was led by a council of presbyters until well into the second century, with no evidence of a ruling bishop. The first monarchical bishop of Rome was probably either Pius I or Anicetus, in the middle of the second century.

Answer 2

Per the records of St. Iraneus, Julius Africanus, St. Hippolytus, Eusebius & the Liberian catalogue (354), Linus succeeded St. Peter as the 2nd pope in, or about, 67 A.D. Linus remained the Bishop of Rome for approximately 12 years. He was succeeded by Anacletus (or Cletus) in or about 73 A.D. It is believed. though unconfirmed, that this "Linus" is the same Linus referred to by St. Paul in 2 Timothy 4:21.

Answer 3

Pope St. Linus is thought to have been the second pope. There is some confusion about the order of reigns of the first few popes but the best information seems to point to Linus as the second pope.

The Catholic Church lists Pope St Linus as the second pope, but we can not be sure whether a person of that name ever lived, in spite of the Catholic tradition.
Francis A. Sullivan SJ (From Apostles to Bishops) says that most scholars are of the opinion that, in spite of Church tradition, the early church of Rome was led by a group of presbyters, and that bishops were not appointed to the church in Rome until later in the second century. In other words, there can have been no Pope Linus, although it is just possible there was a presbyter of than name.

For more information, please visit:

http://christianity.answers.com/church-leadership/what-do-we-really-know-about-the-apostle-peter

http://christianity.answers.com/catholicism/a-brief-history-of-the-early-popes

Answer 4

St. Peter WAS the first pope. there were not two first popes. Pope St. Linus was the second pope who became the leader of the Church after Peter's death.

St. Peter WAS the first pope. there were not two first popes. Pope St. Linus was the second pope who became the leader of the Church after Peter's death.

Answer 5

A:

Catholic tradition says that the apostle Peter travelled to Rome to lead the Church there, taking the role of bishop and becoming the first pope, although there is no real evidence Peter ever went to Rome. Francis Aloysius Sullivan (From Apostles to Bishops: The Development of the Episcopacy in the Early Church) says that the consensus of scholars is that the available evidence indicates that the church of Rome was led by a college of presbyters, rather than a single bishop, for at least several decades of the second century. We know that Anicetus was the bishop of Rome around 155 CE, but we do not know whether he was the first bishop of Rome, or how many persons had previously held this role.

When 1 Clement was written, in the 90s of the first century, the structure of leadership at Rome did not differ much from that at Corinth. That letter gives us good reason to conclude that there was no bishop in charge of the church of Corinth at that time. The terms used in that letter to describe the leaders of the Corinthian church - hegoumenoi, episcopoi, presbuteroi, archontes - are all in the plural. The term most frequently used is presbuteroi; Clement calls on those guilty of the schism to "submit to the presbyters," and to allow the "flock of Christ to be at peace with its duly appointed presbyters." It seems inconceivable that, if there had been a bishop in charge of the church of Corinth at that time, Clement would not have said something about the obligation of the guilty parties to submit to their bishop or about his role in restoring good order to his church. On this evidence, neither Corinth nor Rome appears to have yet had a bishop appointed by the end of the fist century, and it is equally unlikely that that any other Christian centre had.

Just who the first Catholic bishop was must remain unknown. He may have been appointed in Rome, but even this is uncertain.

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Catholic AnswerThe First Catholic Bishop after St. Peter was St. Linus (67-76), followed by St. Cletus (76-91), and St. Clement (91-100). They are still commemorated in the Roman liturgy immediately following the Apostles. The Fathers also record how the early Christians relied on the pope to settle disputes. St. Polycarp (d. ca 155), bishop of Smyrna traveled to Rome to discuss the disputed date of Easter with Pope St. Aniceuts (ca. 155-166). The bishops in Rome, known as the successors to St. Peter, have always resided in Rome, near the Vatican hill where St. Peter is buried. You can view his tomb to this day, it is immediately under the high altar in St. Peter's Basilica.

from History of the Catholic Church from the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium, by James Hitchcock, Imprimatur: The Most Reverend Edward Rice, © 2012 by Ignatius Press, San Francisco

No one in the early centuries [ever] disputed the claim that they [Peter and Paul] both lived in Rome and were martyred there. This intimate connection to Peter-the rock upon which Jesus said He would build His Church-was the basis of the Church of Rom's claim to rank above all other local churches.

(From "History of the Catholic Church" by James Hitchcock, pg 41, note 1): The argument has sometimes been made that the office of bishop was an innovation of the post-apostolic period. However, Ignatius wrote within two generations of the Apostles, and the argument from silence-that, if something is not mentioned in a particular text, it did not occur-is the weakest of historical arguments. As John's Gospel says, much happened in the life of Jesus (and, by extension, in the life of the Church) that was not recorded in Scripture (see John 21:25).

Answer 6

Pope St. Linus is thought to have been the second pope. There is some confusion about the order of reigns of the first few popes but the best information seems to point to Linus as the second pope.

Answer 7

The Catholic Church lists Pope St Linus as the second pope, but we can not be sure whether a person of that name ever lived, in spite of the Catholic tradition.
Francis A. Sullivan SJ (From Apostles to Bishops) says that most scholars are of the opinion that, in spite of Church tradition, the early church of Rome was led by a group of presbyters, and that bishops were not appointed to the church in Rome until later in the second century. In other words, there can have been no Pope Linus, although it is just possible there was a presbyter of than name.

For more information, please visit:

http://christianity.answers.com/church-leadership/what-do-we-really-know-about-the-apostle-peter

http://christianity.answers.com/catholicism/a-brief-history-of-the-early-popes

Answer 8

The next pope after St. Peter was St Linus (years 67-76). For a complete list of the Popes from St. Peter till the present, please see the link below:

Answer 9

St. Linus., Jesus made Peter the First Pope.

Answer 10

Jesus was not a pope. He was the Son of God. Peter led the early Christian church and the Roman catholic Church calls Peter the first pope.