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Was Saint Peter the first pope?

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Answer


The Roman Catholic Church sees Peter as the first pope upon whom Jesus chose to build His church (Matthew 16:18). According to Roman Catholicism, Peter had preeminent authority (primacy) over the other apostles. The Roman Catholic Church maintains that, sometime after the events recorded of the book of Acts, the apostle Peter became the first bishop of Rome, a position accepted by the early church as the central authority. Roman Catholicism teaches that Peter’s apostolic authority was passed on to those who later filled his seat as bishop of Rome. The teaching that all subsequent bishops of Rome, or popes, inherited Peter’s apostolic authority is referred to as “apostolic succession.”


The Roman Catholic Church also holds that Peter and subsequent popes were and are infallible when speaking ex cathedra, that is, when making formal pronouncements from their position and authority as pope. This supposed infallibility gives the pope the ability to guide the church without error. The Roman Catholic Church claims that it can trace an unbroken line of popes back to St. Peter and cites this as evidence that it is the true church.

Of course, Peter’s ministry was crucial to the early spread of the gospel (part of the meaning of Matthew 16:18–19). But Scripture nowhere declares that Peter exercised authority over the other apostles or over the church at large. See Acts 15:1–23; Galatians 2:1–14; and 1 Peter 5:1–5. Nor does Scripture hint at the idea that the bishop of Rome, or any other bishop, was to have primacy over the church.

The Bible delineates two offices in the church: bishop/pastor/elder (the terms are interchangeable) and deacon (Acts 6:1–4; 1 Timothy 3:1–13). The elaborate hierarchy found in today’s Roman Catholic Church simply isn’t found in Scripture. There is no hint of a pope in the Bible. One reason that Peter was not the first pope is that there was no such thing as a pope. Men had not yet invented the papacy.

If Peter were the first pope, then he would have been installed as the bishop of Rome. In point of fact, there’s no explicit proof in Scripture that Peter was ever in Rome, much less the pastor there. Tradition says he died in Rome, and that could be true, but the Bible gives no clue about the place of his death. There is one reference to Peter’s writing from “Babylon,” a name sometimes applied to Rome (1 Peter 5:13), but that is open to interpretation.

Scripture maintains complete silence on the matter of Peter being in Rome, even in passages where we would expect to find at least a mention. For example, Paul wrote his longest letter to the church of Rome. In his closing, Paul greets 28 individuals, plus various unspecified “brothers and sisters” and “the Lord’s people” (Romans 16:3–15). But Peter is never mentioned. Why would Paul include over two dozen personal greetings to friends in Rome and not greet Peter, especially if Peter was the bishop? Perhaps because Peter was not there.

Further, in Paul’s last letter, 2 Timothy, which he wrote from Rome about AD 67, he names ten people who had visited him in Rome. But he does not mention Peter. Why? Perhaps Peter did not visit Paul in Rome because Peter was nowhere near Rome (and not the pope).

If Peter were the first pope, we would expect to see evidence of his authority over the other apostles. But the Bible gives us no indication of such a thing—quite the opposite, in fact. Paul publicly opposed Peter in Antioch over Peter’s hypocrisy concerning matters of the law (Galatians 2:11–14). The confrontation shows that Paul carried just as much authority as Peter did. Peter seems to have complemented the ministry of Paul: one was sent to the Jews, and one to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:7–8). It seems that all church leaders had equal authority. Peter gave testimony at the Jerusalem Council, but James was the leader at that meeting (see Acts 15).

In writing to Corinth, Paul addresses some internecine quarreling: “One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas [Peter]’” (1 Corinthians 1:12). Paul mentions three prominent preachers, and he makes the point that none of them are worthy of special honor. The Christian life is not about following Paul or Apollos—or Peter.

If Peter were the first pope, he would most likely have mentioned the fact that he was the Vicar of Christ or at least the bishop of Rome, but he never does. His self-description is simply “an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1) and “a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1).

If Peter were the first pope, he would surely have understood the difference between the priesthood and the laity. But, according to his own teaching, all believers comprise the priesthood under the New Covenant. Peter wrote to Christians that they were “like living stones . . . being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). A few verses later, he writes, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). Peter would have wholeheartedly agreed with the Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.

Was Peter the first pope? The answer is “no.” Peter nowhere claims supremacy over the other apostles, and the New Testament does not demonstrate that he held primacy. Nowhere in Peter’s writings does he claim any special role, authority, or power over the body of Christ. Nowhere in Scripture does Peter or any other apostle state that his apostolic authority would be passed on to successors. Yes, the apostle Peter was often the spokesman for the disciples. Yes, Peter played a crucial role in the early spread of the gospel (Acts 1—10). However, these truths in no way support the idea that Peter was the first pope, that he was a “father” to all believers, or that his authority would be passed on to the bishops of Rome. Peter was not a pontiff, but he does point us to the true Shepherd and Overseer of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:25).

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This page last updated: June 5, 2025