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Monarchical episcopate

Catholics recognize the pope as a successor to Saint Peter, whom, according to Roman Catholicteaching, Jesus named as the "shepherd" and "rock" of the Catholic Church, which according toCatholic dogma is the one true Church founded by Christ!#!$%# Peter ne&er bore the title of"pope", which came into use three centuries later, but Catholics traditionally recognize him as the

first pope,!$$# while official declarations of the Church only speak of the popes as holding withinthe college of the 'ishops a role analogous to that held by Peter within the college of the(postles, of which the college of the 'ishops, a distinct entity, is the successor!$#!$)#!$*#

+he Catholic Church teaches that Jesus personally appointed Peter as leader of the Church andin its dogmatic constitution umen -entium makes a clear distinction between apostles andbishops, presenting the latter as the successors of the former, with the pope as successor ofPeter in that he is head of the bishops as Peter was head of the apostles!$.# Some historiansha&e argued that the notion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome and founded the episcopalsee there can be traced back no earlier than the rd century!$/# +he writings of the Church0ather 1renaeus who wrote around (2 %34 reflect a belief that Peter "founded and organised" theChurch at Rome!$3# Moreo&er, 1renaeus was not the first to write of Peter5s presence in the earlyRoman Church Clement of Rome wrote in a letter to the Corinthians, c 6.,!$6# about the

persecution of Christians in Rome as the "struggles in our time" and presented to the Corinthiansits heroes, "first, the greatest and most 7ust columns", the "good apostles" Peter and Paul!4# St1gnatius of (ntioch wrote shortly after Clement and in his letter from the city of Smyrna to theRomans he said he would not command them as Peter and Paul did!%# -i&en this and othere&idence, many scholars agree that Peter was martyred in Rome under 8ero, although somescholars argue that he may ha&e been martyred in Palestine!$#!#!)#

Some Protestants generally agree that Jesus singled out Peter as the focal point of the %st9century church :owe&er, they contend that the 8ew +estament offers no proof that Jesusestablished the papacy nor e&en that he established Peter as the first bishop of Rome!*#;thers, using Peter5s own words, argue that Christ intended himself as the foundation of thechurch and not Peter!.#!/# ;thers ha&e argued that the church is indeed built upon Jesus andfaith, but also on the disciples as the roots and foundations of the church on the basis of Paul5s

teaching in Romans and # writers claim that the emergence of a single bishop in Rome probably did not occuruntil the middle of the $nd century 1n their &iew, inus, Cletus and Clement were possiblyprominent presbyter9bishops but not necessarily monarchical bishops!$/#

1n the %st century and early $nd century, the :oly See was recognized as ha&ing some kind ofpre9eminence and prominence in the Church as a whole, though the detail of what this meant is

&ery unclear at this period!)$#