The Gospels tell us that Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, (Mt 28:18) and that everything has been placed into His hands by the Father. (Jn 3:35 & Lk 10:22) Jesus imparted His divine authority to His Apostles, the authority to cast out demons (Lk 9:1-3) and the authority to forgive sins. (Jn 20:21-24) This authority was then passed on to the successors of the Apostles, the Bishops, through the laying on of hands. It is through the laying on of hands and not baptism alone that the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s power is imparted. (Acts 8:15-18 & Acts 19:6) Christ’s apostles teach the truth with that same authority as He did, because He tells them: “He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” (Lk 10:16). The Apostles became “overseers” of the church. (Acts 20:28) The word “overseers” in Greek is “episkopos” from which we get the word “Bishop.”
Jesus promised to be with His Apostles and their successors until the end of time and He tells them that the Holy Spirit will come “to guide you into all the truth.” (Jn 16:13) Paul tells us that a Bishop, as God’s steward “must hold firm the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:9) Jesus intended His authority, power and the truth of His message to be continued throughout all time by the establishment of what He called His “Church”. (Mt 16:18) So that His Church would not suffer division He gave one of His Apostles, Peter, the primacy. (Mt 16:18-20)
When Jesus gave Peter, then called Simon, the authority over His Church, He used a formula that was commonly known to the Jewish people. First, Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter (a name that was not known before this time, and one that was to explain his mission) Jesus spoke Aramaic so He called Peter, “Cephas” (meaning ‘Rock’).
Why ‘Rock’? An ancient Hebrew tradition tells us that God created the universe on the foundations of a prime-evil rock. This same tradition claims that the paradise of Adam and Eve was built on this rock, that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son upon this rock, and that Solomon built his temple upon this rock. The rock then became the altar in Solomon’s temple upon which the animals were sacrificed, and it is said that this rock blocked the entrance of a deep shaft that lay beneath it which was the mouth, or gateway, of Hades.
In calling Simon, “Cephas” (Rock), Jesus was telling us that Peter and his successors were to be the Rock that He would build His Church, the New Creation upon, that would hold back the powers of Hades “…and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
Next, Jesus gives Peter “the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” along with the powers to bind and loose (Mt 16:19). This also is a long standing tradition, a symbol of plenary authority which was used in the Kingdom of Judah. In Isaiah 22:22 we see an example of “the key of the house of David” being conferred upon Eliakim along with the power to open and shut.
That the early Church understood exactly what Jesus had done, can be seen by the fact that the “keys” have remained the symbol of power to this day. Also by the fact that the early church called Peter and his successors, Pappa or Pope. This too is based on the ancient formula “and he shall be a Father to the people of Jerusalem and the citizens of Judah” (Isa 22:21) The person who held these keys was called the “Chief Steward” or the “Prime Minister”. In the Davidic kingdom, the Lord had promised David that a King in his line would rule the nations and reign forever. (2 Sam 7:12-14 and Ps 132:11-13). Jesus was the fulfillment of this prophecy and in Rev 3:7 we see Jesus with the “keys of David”. In the kingdom of old there were three thrones, one for the King, one for the Queen Mother and one for the Prime Minister/Chief Steward. In the New Kingdom there is also three thrones, one for the King, Jesus (in the unity of the Trinity), one for the Queen Mother, Mary, and one for the Prime Minister (who is given the position of plenary authority upon the earth – to bind and to loose) the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.
ON the following pages are just a small number of the Teachings of the Early Church Fathers. I have placed them into just three categories, those of the Early Fathers, the Early Popes and the Early Councils. Continued on following pages.