Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/98

 CHAPTER IV THE RISE OF THE PAPACY I. THE BISHOP OF ROME AND THE HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH Threefold The claim of the bishop of Rome to be the divinely tSTpapai ordained head of the Christian Church has always rested claims. upon three main assumptions: (i) that Peter was desig- nated by Christ as the chief of the apostles, (2) that Peter was the first bishop of Rome^and lastly (3) that he handed down to succeeding bishops of Rome the powers which he himself_enjoyed. The following extracts illus- trate the nature of these claims and the arguments adduced in support of them. Peter's In the New Testament there is indirect evidence of at J Rome. Peter's sojourn in Rome. The First Epistle of Peter closes with the words, "The church that is at Babylon . . . saluteth you." Since there is no reason to think that a Christian community existed at Babylon, it has generally been assumed that Rome is here meant. This appears to be a justifiable interpretation, for the early Christians were wont to denounce Rome as a very Babylon of wickedness. 1 Very little has been preserved which casts any light on the position of the bishop of Rome for a century 1 Further evidence for Peter's presence in Rome is adduced from the New Testament. See, among other writers, LANGEN, Geschichte der romischen Kirche, pp. 40 sqq. 62