When was the first Pope made Bishop of Rome?

Answer 1

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.

However, 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, until at least several decades into 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. Anicetus appears to have considered himself as pope, or at least as having authority outside Rome, but Siricius (384-399) seems to be the first shown in sources as having the title 'Pope' used of him.

Answer 2

St. Peter has always been acknowledged as the first Christian Bishop of Rome since the very beginning of the Church. No one in the early centuries ever disputed the claim that both Peter and Paul lived in Rome and were martyred there. This intimate connection to Peter--the rock upon whom Jesus said He would build His Church---was the basis of the church of Rome's claim to rank above all other local churches. And the writing of the early Church Fathers testify to Rome's unique status. 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). extracted 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

Extracted from Catholic Bible Dictionary by Scott Hahn, General Editor, Nihil Obstat: Msgr. Michael F. Hull, STD; Imprimatur: Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan

St. Peter (Simon Peter, from the Greek petros, "rock") was highly regarded by the early Church. In all the lists of the apostles Peter is always named first in all lists of the apostles, he is not just another apostle but the one who is ranked "first" among the Twelve (Matt 10:2); his position is very prominent throughout the Gospels. His privileged position as head of the infant Church was given to him directly by Our Blessed Lord (Matt 16:17-18); and he enjoyed an especially close relationship with Our Blessed Lord (Matt 17:24-27). He was the primary witness chosen by Our Blessed Lord (Mark 5:37, Matt 17:1-8) and acted as spokesman for the apostles (Matt 15:15; Mark 9:4, 10:28; Luke 12:41; John 6:67-69). Not only is he given" the keys of the Kingdom" and the authority of heaven itself to "bind" and "loose"as the chief steward and teacher of Christ's disciples on earth (Matt 16:19), but his role is confirmed after the Resurrection, when Our Blessed Lord commissions him in John 21:15-17). He is thus "to represent and act on behalf of Jesus 'the good shepherd' (John 10:14). No other apostle is singled out by Jesus for such an exalted mission.

His role, and how he was viewed by the early Church is most clearly seen in the early chapters of the book of Acts when describing the founding of the Church in Jerusalem and the initial spread of the Gospel (Acts 1-12). Dr. Hahn lists these as:

1) St. Peter's decision to replace Judas Iscariot with another qualified eyewitness (Acts 1:15-26).

2) On the day of Pentecost, it was St. Peter who took the leading in preaching to the crowds as the Church's head evangelist (Acts 2:14-36, urging them to receive baptism (Acts 2:37-41).

3) The first person in Christian history to be healed in the name of Christ was healed by St. Peter (Acts 3:1-10).

4) Peter was recognized as the acting head of the Church when he was arrested by the Sanhedrin and was pressed to give an account of his evangelism (Acts 4:1-12).

5. Church discipline was first administered by Peter, who caught two members fo the early community (Ananias and Sappira) telling lies (Acts 5:1-11).

6. When the Samaritans first embraced the Gospel, Peter was called upon to approve their becoming members of the Church and to confer the Spirit upon them (Acts 8:14-17).

7. Peter was the first Christian authority to evangelize and baptize the Gentiles after the Lord revealed His will regarding them in a vision (Acts 10:1-48).

8. Peter played the most decisive role in the earliest ecclesiastical council, the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) acting as chief spokesman for the faith, and ending the lengthy debate about circumcision with a solemn doctrinal pronouncement: "we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will" (Acts 15:11.

Peter wrote his two epistles, most likely in the mid-sixties A.D. from Rome (under the code name "Babylon" in 1 Peter 5:13). Peter was martyred there, the details provided by Eusebius of Caesarea, a fourth-century historian, and many ancient writers agree that Peter spent the final years of his life in the imperial capital. St. Irenaeus of Lyon, a second-century churchman, makes the claim that Peter and Paul were cofounders of the Church of Rome (Against Heresies 3.3). Peter's martyrdom has been dated in the reign of Emperor Nero around 67 A.D. and his tomb, under the high altar in the basilica which bears his name (St. Peter's) is visited by thousands of pilgrims to this day.

Answer 3

A:Modern scholars say that the role of bishop in the Christian Church began in the second century, which would mean that the first bishop of Rome was someone early in the second century. However, there was nothing to stop later bishops from retrospectively assigning names to earlier bishops of Rome, all the way back to the apostolic era. The apostle Peter was given the honour of being the first bishop of Rome, although there is actually no evidence that he ever went to Rome.

It is thought possible that the influential Clement of Rome was the first 'supervisor' or bishop of Rome, around 100 CE, but others say that there is no evidence that he ever held this title.

A:

St Linus was the first to be titled Bishop of Rome.

St Peter title was "Apostle"

Pope Siricius 1st (The 38th Pope) was the first to employ

the title "Pope"

Answer 4

Peter is considered the first pope even though the term 'pope' did not come into common usage until much later. Whether Peter was in Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome or elsewhere, he is still considered the first pope. Later, as the Church grew and a hierarchy developed. the Church established its headquarters in Rome as Rome was considered the center of the world at the time. It had good roads reaching out to the vast empire as well as ships that plied the Mediterranean. Missionaries could reach anywhere in the known world from Rome. As the pope was the highest ranking Church authority in Rome, he was automatically consider the Bishop of Rome.

From 1309 until 1377 popes reigned from Avignon in France. No matter, the pope was still the pope. Once the situation was resolved, the papacy returned to Rome and the pope again resumed his position as the Bishop of Rome along with his title of Pope. Even today, should Pope Francis make the unlikely decision to move the Church headquarters to, say, Buenos Aires, Argentina, he would still be Pope and the assigned Bishop of Rome would simply be the Bishop of Rome. The Pope would be the Bishop of Buenos Aires as well as pope of the Universal Church.

The Church has ample evidence that Peter did rule from Rome at some time. But even if he had never stepped foot in the city, he was still the Pope. Being Bishop of Rome is not a prerequisite for the papacy. By default, if the pope is headquartered in Rome, he is also the bishop of that diocese. Francis A. Sullivan SJ in his book From Apostles to Bishops states unequivocally that Peter was in Rome and died there. His statement is based on both scripture as well as the writings of early Church fathers.

Answer 5

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.

However, 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, until at least several decades into 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. Anicetus appears to have considered himself as pope, or at least as having authority outside Rome, but Siricius (384-399) seems to be the first shown in sources as having the title 'Pope' used of him.

For more information on the early popes, please visit:

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

Answer 6

Peter was appointed as leader of the Church when Our Lord said:

And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. (Matthew Chapt. 16)

Peter assumed the position upon the Ascension of Our Lord into heaven. The term 'pope' did not come into usage until many years later but Peter was still considered a pope even though the establishment of the office of pope and hierarchy was yet to come. All the apostles, even Paul, deferred to Peter for important decisions.

One thing needs to be pointed out here. Our Lord and Peter were speaking in Aramaic and not Greek. In Aramaic there was but one word for 'rock' and that is cephas. There is no confusion in usage as in Greek depending upon the size of the 'rock' which is an argument that many non-Catholics seem to ignore. The confusion in vocabulary arose years later when the gospel was translated to Greek.

And, yes, Peter did reside, at least for a time, in Rome and died there under orders from Roman Emperor Nero. Francis A. Sullivan SJ in his book From Apostles to Bishops states unequivocally that Peter was in Rome and died there. His statement is based on both scripture as well as the writings of early Church fathers.

Peter would have assumed leadership about the year AD33 and he died sometime between AD64 and AD67.

Answer 7

Most scholars of the early Church say that the role of bishop was not created until the second century, although it is possible that earlier individuals could have been informally recognised as leaders of the churches in a region or city, as Peter would have been if he went to Rome. There is, however, no evidence that Peter was ever in Rome and, on the little evidence we do have, it seems unlikely.

All the same, if Peter was in Rome, we can make a guess as to when he arrived, based on Paul's Epistle to the Romans, since Peter could not have been in Rome at the time Paul wrote the epistle. This is traditionally believed to have been written in the late 50s, so if Peter went to Rome it was probably not before about 60 CE.

A tradition, although of dubious value, is that Peter was executed in Rome in 65 CE.

For information about Peter, please visit:

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

For more information about the early popes, please visit:

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

Answer 8

.

Catholic AnswerFrom Wikipedia:

Some sources suggest that Pope Marcellinus (d. 304) was the first Bishop of Rome to carry the title, while other sources suggest that this did not happen until the 6th century, with Pope John I (523-526) the first to assume this title

Answer 9

Tradition says that the apostle Peter went to Rome, perhaps in the 60s of the first century, and became the first bishop of Rome. However, John W. O'Malley, S.J. says in A History of the Popes that no one piece of evidence states in straightforward and unambiguous language either that Peter went to Rome or that he died there. 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 10

Since the time of the second-century Pope Anicetus, the Catholic Church has always held that St Peter was the first bishop of Rome, yet Clement of Rome, writing around 95 CE (1 Clement), spoke in general terms about the life and death of Peter but appears to have been unaware that he had even visited Rome. Around 190 CE, although too late for a genuine knowledge of history, the Church Father Irenaeus wrote (Against the Heresies III, iii):
After the blessed apostles [Peter and Paul] had founded and established the church in Rome, they conferred the episcopacy upon Linus for the administration of the church... . He was followed by Anacletus. After him Clement was the third to hold the episcopacy.

Irenaeus believed that Peter and Paul had been to Rome and jointly founded the church there (in spite of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, which demonstrated that a Christian community already flourished in Rome), but says the first bishop of Rome was Linus.