Matthew 16.18

13 ¶ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith to them, But who say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.
18 And I say also to thee, That thou art Peter (petros), and upon this rock (petra) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then he charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

None of the claims of papal primacy, infallibility, pre-eminence, jurisdiction, etc. have any reliable foundation in the New Testament. Nor were they assumed to be the right of the Roman bishop in the first centuries of the Church. They are later inventions.

All of these papal claims attempt to anchor themselves to Rome's interpretation of Matthew 16.18 above. They claim that Peter (petros) (and the bishopric of Rome by succession from Peter) is the 'rock' (petra) upon which Christ is building his Church. However, this interpretation simply cannot stand up to scrutiny. Other interpretations are more persuasive:

1. Christ is the 'Rock': this view has the strongest support in the Scriptures and in the writings of the early Church. See Upon This 'Rock'.

2. The faith confessed by Peter (common to all believers) is the 'rock': this view is also common in the writings of the early Church. Rome's latest version of its Catechism acknowledges that the faith confessed by Peter is the 'rock' on which the Church is being built; though in other places they still claim that Peter is the 'rock'. (Notice also how the papal catechism uses the past tense "Christ built his Church". This implies that the work is done, and Christ is no longer present and at work. This subtle suggestion separates the reader from Christ who, in truth, is still present and building his Church—and will be until He returns to receive his Bride.)

3. Peter's Confession, common to all believers, is the 'rock'.

Encyclopedia Britannica indicates that, from the earliest centuries of the church, the 'Rock' of Matthew 16.18 was considered to be Christ, or the faith Peter professed; and it was not until the late 4th and 5th centuries that Roman bishops began to formulate their claims to preeminence:

Of the Petrine texts, Matthew 16:18 f. is clearly central and has the distinction of being the first scriptural text invoked to support the primatial claims of the Roman bishops. Before the mid-3rd century, however, and even after that date, some Western, as well as Eastern, patristic exegetes (early Church Fathers who in their interpretation of the Bible used critical techniques) understood that by the "rock" Christ meant to refer not to Peter but to himself or to the faith that Peter professed. Nevertheless, in the late 4th and 5th centuries there was an increasing tendency on the part of the Roman bishops to justify scripturally and to formulate in theoretical terms the ill-defined preeminence in the universal church that had long been attached to the Roman Church and to its bishop. Thus, Damasus I, despite the existence of other churches of apostolic foundation, began to call the Roman Church "the apostolic see." About the same time the categories of the Roman law were borrowed to explicate and formulate the prerogatives of the Roman bishop. The process of theoretical elaboration reached a culmination in the views of Leo I and Gelasius I, the former understanding himself not simply as Peter's successor but also as his representative, or vicar. He was Peter's "unworthy heir," possessing by analogy with the Roman law of inheritance the full powers Peter himself had wielded, which he interpreted as monarchical, since Peter had been endowed with the principatus over the church.
Copyright © 1994-2000 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Roman Catholicism: Ancient and medieval views for papal authority within the church

None of the earliest references to Matthew 16.18 in the writings of the primitive church make any correlation between the rock and Peter:

Ignatius, A.D. 30 - 107

... From his power Jesus Christ will deliver you, who has founded you upon the rock, as being chosen stones, well fitted for the divine edifice of the Father ... .
The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, chapter IX (longer version)

... through the Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His own will, has firmly established His Church upon a rock, by a spiritual building, not made with hands, against which the winds and the floods have beaten, yet have not been able to overthrow it ... .
The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians, The Salutation (longer version)

Justin Martyr, A.D. 110 - 165

... For [Christ] called one of His disciples—previously known by the name of Simon—Peter; since he recognised Him to be Christ the Son of God, by the revelation of His Father ... .
Dialogue of Justin, Chapter C

Irenaeus, A.D. 120 - 202

The Lord Himself, too, makes it evident who it was that suffered; for when He asked the disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" and when Peter had replied, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God;" and when he had been commended by Him [in these words], "That flesh and blood had not revealed it to him, but the Father who is in heaven," He made it clear that He, the Son of man, is Christ the Son of the living God.…
Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter XVIII, § 4

Clement of Alexandria, A.D. 153 - 217

... A few, too, knew Him as the Son of God; as Peter, whom also He pronounced blessed, "for flesh and blood revealed not the truth to him, but His Father in heaven,"—showing that the Gnostic recognises the Son of the Omnipotent, not by His flesh conceived in the womb, but by the Father's own power....
The Stromata, or Miscellanies, Book VI, Chapter XV

The silence here on a doctrine of such presumably monumental importance to the Church, if it were true, is deafening. Thus, we can only believe that the apostles of Christ, and those who immediately followed them in the Church, knew and taught nothing of a church founded upon Peter as the rock. However, the Pastor of Hermas shows us clearly that the understanding of the Church, in those first post-apostolic centuries, was that the Rock on which the Church is being built is Christ:

Pastor of Hermas, A.D. 160

And in the middle of the plain he showed me a large white rock that had arisen out of the plain. And the rock was more lofty than the mountains, rectangular in shape, so as to be capable of containing the whole world: and that rock was old, having a gate cut out of it ... .
Pastor of Hermas, similitude ninth, chapter II

... and the six men commanded them to build a tower above the rock. And great was the noise of those men who came to build the tower, as they ran hither and thither around the gate....
Pastor of Hermas, similitude ninth, chapter III

... Now the tower was built upon the great rock, and above the gate. Those ten stones were prepared as the foundation for the building of the tower. And the rock and gate were the support of the whole of the tower....
Pastor of Hermas, similitude ninth, chapter IV

... "I would like to know, sir," I said, "what is the meaning of the building of this tower, and what the rock and gate ... ."
Pastor of Hermas, similitude ninth, chapter V

... So I went round the tower along with him. And the Shepherd, seeing that the tower was beautifully built, rejoiced exceedingly; for the tower was built in such a way, that, on seeing it, I coveted the building of it, for it was constructed as if built of one stone, without a single joining. And the stone seemed as if hewn out of the rock; having to me the appearance of a monolith.
Pastor of Hermas, similitude ninth, chapter IX

"First of all, sir," I said, "explain this to me: What is the meaning of the rock and the gate?" "This rock," he answered, "and this gate are the Son of God."...
Pastor of Hermas, similitude ninth, chapter XII

"And the tower," I asked, "what does it mean?" "This tower," he replied, "is the Church."...
Pastor of Hermas, similitude ninth, chapter XIII

Tertullian, likely educated at Rome and affiliated with the Roman church (see here), writing in the early third century, is the first to assert that Peter is the rock on which the church is built. But while Tertullian states that Rome claims that Clement was ordained by Peter (Prescription Against Heretics, Chapter XXXII), he ridicules the Roman bishop's ambitious claim to be the bishop of bishops. Tertullian's view of one Church unified in peaceful communion and brotherhood is more in line with the apostolic teaching of the unity of the Holy Spirit under the headship of Christ, and does not in any way support the tyrannical domination of faith which papal Rome has usurped for itself through the centuries by claiming to be the 'vicar of Christ' and 'visible head of the Church'. In fact, Tertullian clearly rejects the claims of those who claim that which Christ imparted to Peter has derived to themselves.

Tertullian, A.D. 145 - 220

… They then in like manner founded churches in every city, from which all the other churches, one after another, derived the tradition of the faith, and the seeds of doctrine … it is on this account only that they will be able to deem themselves apostolic, as being the offspring of apostolic churches.… Therefore the churches, although they are so many and so great, comprise but the one primitive church, (founded) by the apostles, from which they all (spring). In this way all are primitive, and all are apostolic, whilst they are all proved to be one, in (unbroken) unity, by their peaceful communion, and title of brotherhood, and bond of hospitality…
Prescription Against Heretics, Chapter XX

… Now, what that was which they preached—in other words, what it was which Christ revealed to them—can, as I must here likewise prescribe, properly be proved in no other way than by those very churches which the apostles founded in person, by declaring the gospel to them directly themselves, both vive voce, as the phrase is, and subsequently by their epistles. If, then, these things are so, it is in the same degree manifest that all doctrine which agrees with the apostolic churches—those moulds and original sources of the faith—must be reckoned for truth, as undoubtedly containing that which the (said) churches received from the apostles, the apostles from Christ, Christ from God. Whereas all doctrine must be prejudged as false which savours of contrariety to the truth of the churches and apostles of Christ and God.… We hold communion with the apostolic churches because our doctrine is in no respect different from theirs. This is our witness of truth.
Prescription Against Heretics, Chapter XXI

... Was anything withheld from the knowledge of Peter, who is called "the rock on which the church should be built," who also obtained "the keys of the kingdom of heaven," with the power of "loosing and binding in heaven and on earth?" Was anything, again, concealed from John, the Lord's most beloved disciple, who used to lean on His breast to whom alone the Lord pointed Judas out as the traitor, whom He commended to Mary as a son in His own stead? Of what could He have meant those to be ignorant, to whom He even exhibited His own glory with Moses and Elias, and the Father's voice moreover, from heaven?
Prescription Against Heretics, Chapter XXII

... For though you think heaven still shut, remember that the Lord left here to Peter and through him to the Church, the keys of it, which every one who has been here put to the question, and also made confession, will carry with him. But the devil stoutly affirms that we must confess there, to persuade us that we must deny here. I shall send before me fine documents, to be sure, I shall carry with me excellent keys....
Scorpiace, Chapter X

In opposition to this (modesty), could I not have acted the dissembler? I hear that there has even been an edict set forth, and a peremptory one too. The Pontifex Maximus—that is, the bishop of bishops—issues an edict: "I remit, to such as have discharged (the requirements of) repentance, the sins both of adultery and of fornication." O edict, on which cannot be inscribed, "Good deed!" And where shall this liberality be posted up? On the very spot, I suppose, on the very gates of the sensual appetites, beneath the very titles of the sensual appetites {note: i.e. at the door of the house of prostitution}. There is the place for promulgating such repentance, where the delinquency itself shall haunt. There is the place to read the pardon, where entrance shall be made under the hope thereof. But it is in the church that this (edict) is read, and in the church that it is pronounced; and (the church) is a virgin! Far, far from Christ's betrothed be such a proclamation!...
Tertullian, On Modesty, Chapter I
{This is cutting irony here by Tertullian. Pontifex Maximus, the title of the pagan high priest, is being applied to the bishop of Rome, and, bishop of bishops, a ridicule of his ambitious claims. It is clear that Tertullian does not acknowledge any primacy or preeminence of honor or jurisdiction for the Roman bishop.}

If, because the Lord has said to Peter, "Upon this rock will I build My Church", "to thee have I given the keys of the heavenly kingdom;" or, "Whatsoever thou shall have bound or loosed in earth, shall be bound or loosed in the heavens," you therefore presume that the power of binding and loosing has derived to you, that is, to every Church akin to Peter, what sort of man are you, subverting and wholly changing the manifest intention of the Lord, conferring (as that intention did) this (gift) personally upon Peter? "On thee," He says, "will I build My Church;" and, "I will give to thee the keys," not to the Church; and, "Whatsoever thou shall have loosed or bound," not what they shall have loosed or bound. For so withal the result teaches. In (Peter) himself the Church was reared; that is, through (Peter) himself; (Peter) himself essayed the key ... .
Tertullian, On Modesty, Chapter XXI

Hippolytus believed that Christ is the Rock on which the Gentile Church is built, and 'possibly' calls Peter "the rock of the faith" (note: this second passage, which refers to Peter, is in the "dubious or spurious" section of Hippolytus's writings):

Hippolytus, A.D. 170-236

... "And the conies, a feeble folk, have made their houses in the rocks." The Gentiles, that is to say, are built upon Christ, the spiritual rock, which is become the head of the corner....
The Extant Works and Fragments of Hippolytus, Part I - Exegetical. Fragments from Commentaries on Various Books of Scripture, On Proverbs, From the Commentary of St. Hippolytus on Proverbs

... First of all Peter, the rock of the faith, whom Christ our God called blessed, the teacher of the Church, the first disciple, he who has the keys of the kingdom, has instructed us to this effect ... .
Appendix to the Works of Hippolytus, Containing Dubious and Spurious Pieces, § X

Origin understood Peter to be the rock—as is every believer who makes the same confession by the revelation of the Father in heaven. He makes no connection between Peter and Rome, or any successors.

Origin, A.D. 185 - 254

And perhaps that which Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," if we say it as Peter, not by flesh and blood revealing it unto us, but by the light from the Father in heaven shining in our heart, we too become as Peter, being pronounced blessed as he was … And if we too have said like Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," not as if flesh and blood had revealed it unto us, but by light from the Father in heaven having shone in our heart, we become a Peter, and to us there might be said by the Word, "Thou art Peter," etc. For a rock is every disciple of Christ of whom those drank who drank of the spiritual rock which followed them, and upon every such rock is built every word of the church, and the polity in accordance with it….
Origin's Second Book of the Commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew, Book XII, § 10

But if you suppose that upon that one Peter only the whole church is built by God, what would you say about John the son of thunder or each one of the Apostles? Shall we otherwise dare to say, that against Peter in particular the gates of Hades shall not prevail, but that they shall prevail against the other Apostles and the perfect? Does not the saying previously made, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it," hold in regard to all and in the case of each of them? And also the saying, "Upon this rock I will build My church"? Are the keys of the kingdom of heaven given by the Lord to Peter only, and will no other of the blessed receive them? But if this promise, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven," be common to the others, how shall not all the things previously spoken of, and the things which are subjoined as having been addressed to Peter, be common to them?… For all bear the surname of "rock" who are the imitators of Christ, that is, of the spiritual rock which followed those who are being saved, that they may drink from it the spiritual draught. But these bear the surname of the rock just as Christ does. But also as members of Christ deriving their surname from Him they are called Christians, and from the rock, Peters.… and to all such the saying of the Saviour might be spoken, "Thou art Peter," etc., down to the words, "prevail against it."
Origin's Second Book of the Commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew, Book XII, § 11

... But consider how great power the rock has upon which the church is built by Christ, and how great power every one has who says, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," so that the judgments of this man abide sure, as if God were judging in him, that in the very act of judging the gates of Hades shall not prevail against him....
Origin's Second Book of the Commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew, Book XII, § 14

… Only, it seems to be indicated that the things, which above were granted to Peter alone, are here given to all who give the three admonitions to all that have sinned; so that, if they be not heard, they will bind on earth him who is judged to be as a Gentile and a publican, as such an one has been bound in heaven. But since it was necessary, even if something in common had been said in the case of Peter and those who had thrice admonished the brethren, that Peter should have some element superior to those who thrice admonished, in the case of Peter, this saying "I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens," has been specially set before the words, "And what things soever ye shall bind on earth," etc. And, indeed, if we were to attend carefully to the evangelical writings, we would also find here, and in relation to those things which seem to be common to Peter and those who have thrice admonished the brethren, a great difference and a pre-eminence in the things said to Peter, compared with the second class. For it is no small difference that Peter received the keys not of one heaven but of more, and in order that whatsoever things he binds on the earth may be bound not in one heaven but in them all, as compared with the many who bind on earth and loose on earth, so that these things are bound and loosed not in the heavens, as in the case of Peter, but in one only; for they do not reach so high a stage, with power as Peter to bind and loose in all the heavens.…
Origin's Second Book of the Commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew, Book XIII, § 31

... And Peter, on whom the Church of Christ is built, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail … .
Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book V, § 3

... For I am of opinion that there is a certain limit to the powers of human nature, although there may be a Paul, of whom it is said, "He is a chosen vessel unto Me"; or a Peter, against whom the gates of hell do not prevail; or a Moses, the friend of God ... .
Origen, de Principiis, Book III, Chapter II, § 5

... He has a diviner appearance, which they behold, if there happens to be (among them) a Peter, who has received within himself the edifice of the Church based upon the Word, and who has gained such a habit (of goodness) that none of the gates of Hades will prevail against him ... .
Origen Against Celsus, Book VI, Chapter LXXVII

Neither does Tertullian's follower, Cyprian, make any connection between Peter and Rome, but says that in Peter is pictured the bishops, on which the church is founded. At other times he says that the Church is built upon Peter, but does not make any connection to Rome, and he points out that Peter made no claim to primacy. Cyprian, in a letter to Pompey, speaks out against Stephen, bishop of Rome, for receiving the baptism of heretics and blasphemers as the equivalent of Christian baptism in the Church. Firmilian, bishop of Caesarea, in a letter to Cyprian, points out the errors of Rome in departing from those things handed down from the beginning—making Jerusalem the standard—and says that they at Rome "vainly pretend the authority of the apostles". He reproaches Stephen for departing from the unity of the faith, and expresses indignation at Stephen's manifest folly. He describes how, even in his day, was the struggle to oppose Rome's traditions (custom) with truth.

Cyprian, A.D. 200-258

1. Our Lord, whose precepts and admonitions we ought to observe, describing the honour of a bishop and the order of His Church, speaks in the Gospel, and says to Peter: "I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Thence, through the changes of times and successions, the ordering of bishops and the plan of the Church flow onwards; so that the Church is founded upon the bishops ... .
Epistle XXVI, § 1

5. ... There is one God, and Christ is one, and there is one Church, and one chair founded upon the rock by the word of the Lord.
Epistle XXXIX, § 5
{The Edinburgh editors comment: Cyprian considers the universal episcopate as one cathredra, like "Moses' seat" (as in Matthew 23.2) in the Church of the Hebrews. This one chair he calls "Peter's chair."}

... since both baptism is one and the Holy Spirit is one, and the Church founded by Christ the Lord upon Peter, by a source and principle of unity, is one also....
Epistle LXIX, § 3

For neither did Peter, whom first the Lord chose, and upon whom He built His Church, when Paul disputed with him afterwards about circumcision, claim anything to himself insolently, nor arrogantly assume anything; so as to say that he held the primacy, and that he ought rather to be obeyed by novices and those lately come. Nor did he despise Paul because he had previously been a persecutor of the Church, but admitted the counsel of truth, and easily yielded to the lawful reason which Paul asserted, furnishing thus an illustration to us both of concord and of patience, that we should not obstinately love our own opinions, but should rather adopt as our own those which at any time are usefully and wholesomely suggested by our brethren and colleagues, if they be true and lawful....
Epistle LXX, § 3

7. … But as no heresy at all, and equally no schism, being without, can have the sanctification of saving baptism, why has the bitter obstinacy of our brother Stephen [bishop of Rome] broken forth to such an extent, as to contend that sons are born to God from the baptism of Marcion; moreover, of Valentinus and Apelles, and of others who blaspheme against God the Father; and to say that remission of sins is granted in the name of Jesus Christ where blasphemy is uttered against the Father and against Christ the Lord God?
Epistle LXXIII, § 7

6. But that they who are at Rome do not observe those things in all cases which are handed down from the beginning, and vainly pretend the authority of the apostles;… and that all things are not observed among them alike, which are observed at Jerusalem, just as in very many other provinces also many things are varied because of the difference of the places and names. And yet on this account there is no departure at all from the peace and unity of the Catholic Church, such as Stephen has now dared to make; breaking the peace against you, which his predecessors have always kept with you in mutual love and honour, even herein defaming Peter and Paul the blessed apostles …
16. … [Stephen] does not abide on the foundation of the one Church which was once based by Christ upon the rock … that Christ said to Peter alone, "Whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."…
17. And in this respect I am justly indignant at this so open and manifest folly of Stephen, that he who so boasts of the place of his episcopate, and contends that he holds the succession from Peter, on whom the foundations of the Church were laid … . Nor does he understand that the truth of the Christian Rock is overshadowed, and in some measure abolished, by him when he thus betrays and deserts unity....
19. But with respect to the refutation of custom which they seem to oppose to the truth, who is so foolish as to prefer custom to truth … And this indeed you Africans are able to say against Stephen, that when you knew the truth you forsook the error of custom. But we join custom to truth, and to the Romans' custom we oppose custom, but the custom of truth; holding from the beginning that which was delivered by Christ and the apostles....
Epistle LXXIV, §§ 6, 16, 17, 19

... For neither does any of us set himself up as a bishop of bishops, nor by tyrannical terror does any compel his colleague to the necessity of obedience; since every bishop, according to the allowance of his liberty and power, has his own proper right of judgment, and can no more be judged by another than he himself can judge another. But let us all wait for the judgment of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only one that has the power both of preferring us in the government of His Church, and of judging us in our conduct there.
¶ Fortunatus of Tuccaboris said: Jesus Christ our Lord and God, Son of God the Father and Creator, built His Church upon a rock, not upon heresy ... .
{The bishop here contrasts the rock and heresy, indicating that the 'rock' is Peter's true faith}
The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian

Archelaus refers to this passage, but makes no mention of the rock or of the Church:

Archelaus, A.D. 277

47. ... The Apostle Peter, however, the most eminent of all the disciples, was able to acknowledge Him on that occasion, when all were putting forth the several opinions which they entertained respecting Him: for he said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God"; and immediately He names him blessed, addressing him thus: "For my heavenly Father hath revealed it unto thee."...
The Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes, § 47

Victorinus of Pettau believed that Christ is the Rock on which the Church is built:

Victorinus of Pettau, d. A.D. 304

... Even though the floods of the nations and the vain superstitions of heretics should revolt against their true faith, they are overcome, and shall be dissolved as the foam, because Christ is the Rock by which, and on which, the Church is founded....
Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John, From the Twenty-First and Twenty-Second Chapters

The Divine Liturgy of James says that the rock on which the Church is built is faith:

Early Liturgies

XXXIII. The Priest by himself standing: That they may be to all that partake of them for remission of sins, and for life everlasting, for the sanctification of souls and of bodies, for bearing the fruit of good works, for the stablishing of Thy Holy Catholic Church, which Thou hast founded on the Rock of Faith, that the gates of hell may not prevail against it; delivering it from all heresy and scandals, and from those who work iniquity, keeping it till the fulness of the time.
The Divine Liturgy of James, § XXXIII

The preceeding are the entirety of the references, in the Ante-Nicene writings, to the passage wherein Christ says that he will build his Church upon the rock. There is clearly no foundation or support for the papacy in them.

Even if it were to be believed that Peter is the 'rock' in verse 18, that cannot establish all the claimed lofty papal prerogatives. Peter never assumed such things to himself; and there is nothing in either the Scriptures or in early Church history that validates such claims, or that affirms that any honor accorded by Christ to Peter devolves to any others by inheritance or succession. These papal claims are contrary to the lordship of Christ, the authority of the Scriptures, and the humility exhibited by Peter and the other apostles.

Whereas the Scriptures teach us that we draw near to the Father, through faith in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Rome has tried to insert another factor into this equation. According to Rome's teaching, all Christians must also yield to another lord and master—the pope—who has primacy, pre-eminence, jurisdiction, and infallibility, and to whom we must render submission in order to obtain salvation:

Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.
Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam (1302)

… subjection to the Roman pontiff is necessary for salvation for all Christ's faithful…
Leo X, Fifth Lateran Council, Session 11 (December 19, 1516), On the abrogation of the Pragmatic Sanction

At issue is not whether any particular 'pope' has done or taught good or bad things. There have been popes that have appeared to be good, and there have been popes that have obviously been very bad. At issue is the question of whether or not the lofty claims of the papacy are legitimate. If they are not legitimate, and we submit to them, or teach others (especially children) to submit to them, we place a stumbling block in our own path and in the paths of others—commiting them and ourselves to the influence of the father of lies, the Devil.

Notice that when these claims were made at Vatican I (below), they quote as authority the fourth council of Constantinople (869 A.D.), the second council of Lyons (1274 A.D.), and the council of Florence (1431 A.D.) They could not produce anything from the first 8 centuries of the Church, because such teachings during those centuries were either unheard of or rejected by the Christian Church.

See also that, while the Scriptures teach that Christ alone is the 'Head' of the Church, Rome has declared her bishop (the pope) to be the head. There is, and can only be, one head of the Church, and Christ is that Head.

Notice also that Rome attempts to establish a superior dignity of Peter (and his successors) on the assertion that, while Christ granted to all the apostles the power of binding and loosing, he granted the keys to Peter alone. What are the keys if not the power of binding and loosing, which was invested not merely in Peter and the apostles, but in the whole Church? (Matthew 18.15-20; John 20.21-23)

For those who are willing to take the time to look into them, these pompous papal prerogatives will easily be shown to be without any reliable foundation either in the Gospel, or in history, or in truth, or in sound reason. They are but a carefully crafted ruse useful for enslaving those willing to be enslaved by them. Thanks be to God who has given to us his Word and the Spirit of Truth to set us free!

Below are some examples, from Vatican Councils I and II, that show to what lengths Rome has gone in taking liberty with the above, and other Scriptures.

Vatican II

"But the college or body of bishops has no authority unless it is understood together with the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter as its head."

"The pope's power of primacy over all, both pastors and faithful, remains whole and intact."

"In virtue of his office, that is as Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole Church, the Roman Pontiff has full, supreme and universal power over the Church."

"And he is always free to exercise this power."

"The order of bishops, which succeeds to the college of apostles and gives this apostolic body continued existence, is also the subject of supreme and full power over the universal Church, provided we understand this body together with its head the Roman Pontiff and never without this head.(27*)"

This power can be exercised only with the consent of the Roman Pontiff."

"For our Lord placed Simon alone as the rock and the bearer of the keys of the Church, (Mt. 16, 18-19) and made him shepherd of the whole flock; (Jn. 21, 15 ff) it is evident, however, that the power of binding and loosing, which was given to Peter, (Mt. 16, 19) was granted also to the college of apostles, joined with their head. (Mt. 18, 18; 28, 16-20) (28*)"

"This college, insofar as it is composed of many, expresses the variety and universality of the People of God, but insofar as it is assembled under one head, it expresses the unity of the flock of Christ."

In it, the bishops, faithfully recognizing the primacy and pre-eminence of their head, exercise their own authority for the good of their own faithful, and indeed of the whole Church, the Holy Spirit supporting its organic structure and harmony with moderation."

"The supreme power in the universal Church, which this college enjoys, is exercised in a solemn way in an ecumenical council. A council is never ecumenical unless it is confirmed or at least accepted as such by the successor of Peter; and it is prerogative of the Roman Pontiff to convoke these councils, to preside over them and to confirm them.(29*)"

"This same collegiate power can be exercised together with the pope by the bishops living in all parts of the world, provided that the head of the college calls them to collegiate action, or at least approves of or freely accepts the united action of the scattered bishops, so that it is thereby made a collegiate act."
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) - 12/4/1963 (Vatican II), Scroll to Chapter III, §22, ¶2

Vatican I; First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ; July 18, 1870

Click on the links below to read the full texts. Notice that if anyone says anything contrary to these pompous papal claims, they are pronounced anathema. Rome has abandoned the worship God in Christ in the Spirit of truth, and has turned to worship itself—and to usurp for itself, in the spirit of deceit and of self-aggrandizement, the love and the honor that is due to God alone.

"And it was to Peter alone that Jesus, after his resurrection, confided the jurisdiction of supreme pastor and ruler of his whole fold, saying: Feed my lambs, feed my sheep."
Chapter 1. On the institution of the apostolic primacy in blessed Peter

Christ was rather restoring Peter to a state of grace after his thrice denial of the Lord. Nothing indicates that Christ was giving to Peter a supreme or singular primacy or pre-eminence over the other apostles and the entire church. See John 21.15-22.

"For this reason it has always been necessary for every church—that is to say the faithful throughout the world—to be in agreement with the Roman church because of its more effective leadership. In consequence of being joined, as members to head, with that see, from which the rights of sacred communion flow to all, they will grow together into the structure of a single body."
Chapter 2. On the permanence of the primacy of blessed Peter in the Roman pontiffs

Again, while the Scriptures teach that Christ is the 'Head' of the Church, Rome attempts to claim that honor for its bishop.

"... we promulgate anew the definition of the ecumenical council of Florence, which must be believed by all faithful Christians, namely that the apostolic see and the Roman pontiff hold a world-wide primacy, and that the Roman pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, true vicar of Christ, head of the whole church and father and teacher of all christian people."

"In this way, by unity with the Roman pontiff in communion and in profession of the same faith, the church of Christ becomes one flock under one supreme shepherd."
Chapter 3. On the power and character of the primacy of the Roman pontiff

What blasphemy! The Gospel teaches us to put our faith in Christ. Popery here insists that we must place our faith in the 'pope' in order to be faithful Christians. What happened to Jesus, the Good Shepherd (John 10.14), and to the unifying power of the Holy Spirit that unites us into one in Christ? (I Cor 12.11-13; Eph 2.18-22; 4.2-6; Phlp 1.27; 2.1-2; etc.)

Christ prayed to the Father, with the apostles, for all then present and future believers, just prior to the Crucifixion:

20 ¶ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest to me I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;
(John 17.21-13)

I simply don't see a Roman pontiff mentioned in this prayer. Our faith in Christ, and Christ in us, unites us with Christ and the Father. There is no hint that we must be united with or under a Roman pontiff to receive this grace.

"For the holy Spirit was promised to the successors of Peter"
Chapter 4. On the infallible teaching authority of the Roman pontiff

When, where, and by whom?! Christ promised the Holy Spirit to the entire Church! It is supreme and pre-eminent arrogance for Rome to claim that this promise was but to the successors of Peter—implying the Roman bishopric.

Jurisdictional Primacy and infallibility of the Roman Pontiff were new doctrines that were first promulgated by Rome at Vatican I. Infallibility was an issue that was hotly contested at that council. Some of the opponents of the doctrine, outnumbered, left the council before the final vote. See Vatican Council Section II, Part C.

In closing this page on Matthew 16.13-20, even if Peter were considered to be the 'rock' of Matthew 16.18—an assertion that simply cannot stand up to scrutiny—that, in itself, could not legitimize the lofty claims to primacy, pre-eminence, jurisdiction, infallibility, etc. which are made by Rome for its bishops. Such claims transgress by presumption upon the honor due to the Father and to Christ. These papal claims are without any foundation in the Scriptures, though Rome tries to force certain passages to lend support to them. Further, these papal prerogatives were either unheard of or rejected in the earliest centuries of the Christian Church. If Christ, or Peter's faith, or Peter's confession, are considered to be the 'rock', then every wisp of papal legitimacy vanishes.

And, in fact, the stronger argument can be made that Christ is the 'Rock' of Matthew 16.18 on which the Church is being built. This was the view of Peter himself, as well as the prevalant view in the earliest centuries of the Church. This makes the papacy a total fraud—surely the worst fraud in the history of mankind, second only to Satan's trickery in the Garden of Eden—and Jesus is the 'Rock' foundation upon which we, as living stones, are being built into a holy temple to be the dwelling place of God.

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