Irenaeus lists the bishops who presided at Rome from the time of Peter down to his own time about 185 A.D. However, he is in error when he states that Paul had anything to do with founding the Church in Rome as Paul’s letter to the Romans directly implies the opposite. He was writing to a church established by someone else. The earliest writings from the Roman Church, composed about the end of the first century A.D., from the First Epistles of Clement and the Revelation of Hermas, which is known as the Shepherd, both fail to mention to mention the church as being ruled by a bishop.
This account of Irenaeus is the foundation of Catholic claim of apostolic succession and authority. They insist that wherever Peter went, there was the seat of authority and headquarters of the Church. Consequently, although Antioch might have had a prior claim to authority as far as chronology, yet the last and final authority was where Peter spent his last days. They also stress Matthew’s gospel where Peer is mentioned as the rock of the Church. (16:18.) The great Church father, Origen of Alexandria, in his Homily on Matt. 16:13, has an interesting point of view which is distinctly non-Roman to say the least.
“For every disciple of Christ is a rock, from whom all they that partake of the spiritual rock which follows did drink: and upon every such rock the whole doctrine of the Church and the polity in accordance therewith is built . . . But if thou supposes that the whole church is built by God on that one Peter alone, what wouldest thou say concerning John the Son of Thunder, or any one of the apostles? Otherwise shall we dare to say that against Peter especially the gates of hell shall not prevail, but that they shall prevail against the remaining apostles? . . . Are then the key of the kingdom of heaven given by the Lord to Peter alone and shall none other of the blessed apostles receive them?”
However, although much dispute has occurred about Peter’s delegation of authority in Rome, all historians are agreed that he spent his last days and died there. They agree that he probably came to Rome after Paul had spent his two years in prison and that both were killed in Nero’s persecution of 64 A.D. (Russel B. Swensen, The New Testament: The Acts and the Epistles [Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School Union Board, 1946], 21)
