Pope

== Early Christian mentions ==
{{See also|History of papal primacy}}

=== Church Fathers ===
The writings of several Early Church fathers contain references to the authority and unique position held by the bishops of Rome, providing valuable insight into the recognition and significance of the papacy during the early Christian era.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Authority of the Pope |url=https://www.churchfathers.org/authority-of-the-pope |access-date=29 March 2023 |website=Church Fathers |language=en-US |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329114125/https://www.churchfathers.org/authority-of-the-pope |url-status=live }}</ref> These sources attest to the acknowledgement of the bishop of Rome as an influential figure within the Church, with some emphasizing the importance of adherence to Rome's teachings and decisions. Such references served to establish the concept of papal primacy and have continued to inform Catholic theology and practice.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What the Early Church Believed: The Authority of the Pope |url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-authority-of-the-pope-part-i |access-date=29 March 2023 |website=Catholic Answers |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329114127/https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-authority-of-the-pope-part-i |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilken |first=Robert Louis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iW1-JImrwQUC |title=The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity |date= 2012 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-11884-1 |pages=47–48 |language=en |access-date=8 May 2021 |archive-date=5 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105004338/https://books.google.com/books?id=iW1-JImrwQUC |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Cyprian|'''Cyprian of Carthage''']] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 210 – 258 AD), in his letters, recognized the bishop of Rome as the successor of St. Peter in his ''Letter 55'' (c. 251 AD), which is addressed to [[Pope Cornelius]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cartago) |first=Cipriano (Santo, Obispo de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7lZZBPSo9t4C&dq=Cornelius+was+made+bishop+by+the+choice+of+God+and+of+His+Christ&pg=PA38 |title=The Letters of St. Cyprian of Carthage |date=1984 |publisher=Paulist Press |isbn=978-0-8091-0369-0 |pages=38 |language=en |access-date=9 May 2023 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816180323/https://books.google.com/books?id=7lZZBPSo9t4C&dq=Cornelius+was+made+bishop+by+the+choice+of+God+and+of+His+Christ&pg=PA38 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=George Park |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46UvAAAAYAAJ&dq=Cornelius+was+made+bishop+by+the+choice+of+God+and+of+His+Christ&pg=PA147 |title=Discussions in History and Theology |date=1880 |publisher=Scribner |isbn=978-0-7905-4033-7 |pages=147 |language=en |access-date=9 May 2023 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816180326/https://books.google.com/books?id=46UvAAAAYAAJ&dq=Cornelius+was+made+bishop+by+the+choice+of+God+and+of+His+Christ&pg=PA147 |url-status=live }}</ref> and affirmed his unique authority in the early Christian Church.<ref>{{Citation |title=Cyprian and Other Bishops at the Council of Carthage to Stephen |date=1 April 2010 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt284z4s.75 |work=Letters (1–81) (The Fathers of the Church, Volume 51) |pages=265–268 |access-date=1 March 2023 |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctt284z4s.75}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Cornelius [the Bishop of Rome] was made bishop by the choice of God and of His Christ, by the favorable witness of almost all the clergy, by the votes of the people who were present, and by the assembly of ancient priests and good men. And he was made bishop when no one else had been made bishop before him when the position of [[Pope Fabian|Fabian]], that is to say, the position of Peter and the office of the bishop's chair, was vacant. But the position once has been filled by the will of God and that appointment has been ratified by the consent of us all, if anyone wants to be made bishop after that, it has to be done outside the church; if a man does not uphold the unity of the Church's unity, it is not possible for him to have the Church's ordination.|author=Cyprian of Carthage|title=Letter 55|source=8.4}}

'''[[Irenaeus of Lyons]]''' (<abbr>c.</abbr> 130 – c. 202 AD), a prominent Christian theologian of the second century, provided a list of early popes in his work [[Against Heresies (Irenaeus)|''Against Heresies III'']]. The list covers the period from Saint Peter to [[Pope Eleutherius]] who served from 174 to 189 AD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church Fathers: Against Heresies, III.3 (St. Irenaeus) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103303.htm |access-date=8 May 2023 |website=www.newadvent.org |archive-date=1 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301132956/https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103303.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Irenaeus |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_I/IRENAEUS/Against_Heresies:_Book_III/Chapter_III. |title=Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. I, Against Heresies: Book III |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322101510/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_I/IRENAEUS/Against_Heresies:_Book_III/Chapter_III. |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=The blessed apostles [Peter and Paul], then, having founded and built up the Church [in Rome], committed into the hands of [[Pope Linus|Linus]] the office of the episcopate. Of this Linus, Paul makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him succeeded [[Pope Anacletus|Anacletus]]; and after him, in the third place from the apostles, [[Pope Clement I|Clement]] was allotted the bishopric. [...] To this Clement there succeeded [[Pope Evaristus|Eviristus]]. [[Pope Alexander I|Alexander]] followed Evaristus; then, sixth from the apostles, [[Pope Sixtus I|Sixtus]] was appointed; after him, [[Pope Telesphorus|Telephorus]], who was gloriously martyred; then [[Pope Hyginus|Hyginus]]; after him, [[Pope Pius I|Pius]]; then after him, [[Pope Anicetus|Anicetus]]. [[Pope Soter|Soter]] having succeeded Anicetus, Eleutherius does now, in the twelfth place from the apostles, hold the inheritance of the episcopate.|author=Irenaeus of Lyons|title=Against Heresies III|source=Chapter 3.2}}

'''[[Ignatius of Antioch]]''' (died c. 108/140 AD) wrote in his "''Epistle to the Romans"'' that the church in Rome is "the church that presides over love".<ref>{{Citation |title=Ignatius to the Romans |date=18 May 2016 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvb936zj.10 |work=Ignatius of Antioch |pages=163–192 |access-date=8 March 2023 |publisher=1517 Media |doi=10.2307/j.ctvb936zj.10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Church Fathers: Epistle to the Romans (St. Ignatius) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0107.htm |access-date=8 March 2023 |website=www.newadvent.org |archive-date=7 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207015123/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0107.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=...the Church which is beloved and enlightened by the will of Him that wills all things which are according to the love of Jesus Christ our God, which also presides in the place of the region of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of the highest happiness, worthy of praise, worthy of obtaining her every desire, worthy of being deemed holy, and which presides over love, is named from Christ, and from the Father, which I also salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father: to those who are united, both according to the flesh and spirit, to every one of His commandments;|author=Ignatius of Antioch|title=Epistle to Romans}}

'''[[Augustine of Hippo]]''' (354 – 430 AD), in his Letter 53, wrote a list of 38 popes from Saint Peter to Siricius. The order of this list differs from the lists of Irenaeus and the [[Annuario Pontificio]]. Augustine's list claims that Linus was succeeded by Clement and Clement was succeeded by Anacletus as in the list of [[Eusebius]], while the other two lists switch the positions of Clement and Anacletus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church Fathers: Letter 53 (St. Augustine) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102053.htm |access-date=10 November 2023 |website=www.newadvent.org |archive-date=28 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328120223/https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102053.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=For if the lineal succession of bishops is to be taken into account, with how much more certainty and benefit to the Church do we reckon back till we reach Peter himself, to whom, as bearing in a figure the whole Church, the Lord said: Upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it! Matthew 16:18. The successor of Peter was Linus, and his successors in unbroken continuity were these:— Clement, Anacletus, Evaristus...|author=Augustine of Hippo|title=Letter 53|source=Paragraph 2}}

=== Other early Christian mentions ===
'''[[Eusebius]]''' (<abbr>c.</abbr> 260/265 – 339) mentions [[Pope Linus|Linus]] as Saint Peter's successor and [[Clement of Rome|Clement]] as the third bishop of Rome in his book ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Church History]].'' As recorded by Eusebius, Clement worked with [[Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]] as his "co-laborer".<ref>{{Cite book |last=al |first=Philip Schaff et |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nicene_and_Post-Nicene_Fathers:_Series_II/Volume_I/Church_History_of_Eusebius/Book_III/Chapter_4 |title=Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume I/Church History of Eusebius/Book III |access-date=31 July 2023 |archive-date=29 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429231156/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nicene_and_Post-Nicene_Fathers:_Series_II/Volume_I/Church_History_of_Eusebius/Book_III/Chapter_4 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=As to the rest of his followers, Paul testifies that [[Crescens]] was sent to Gaul; but Linus, whom he mentions in the [[Second Epistle to Timothy]] as his companion at Rome, was Peter’s successor in the episcopate of the church there, as has already been shown.
Clement also, who was appointed third bishop of the church at Rome, was, as Paul testifies, his co-laborer and fellow-soldier.|author=Eusebius of Caesarea|title=Church History|source=Book III, Chapter 4:9-10}}'''[[Tertullian]]''' (<abbr>c.</abbr> 155 – <abbr>c.</abbr> 220 AD) wrote in his work "''The Prescription Against Heretics''" about the authority of the church in Rome. In this work, Tertullian said that the Church in Rome has the authority of the Apostles because of its apostolic foundation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church Fathers: The Prescription Against Heretics (Tertullian) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm |access-date=8 March 2023 |website=www.newadvent.org |archive-date=17 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317095638/https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=Since, moreover, you are close upon Italy, you have Rome, from which there comes even into our own hands the very authority (of apostles themselves). How happy is its church, on which apostles poured forth all their doctrine along with their blood! Where Peter endures a passion like his Lord's! Where Paul wins his crown in a death like John's where the Apostle John was first plunged, unhurt, into boiling oil, and thence remitted to his island-exile!|author=Tertullian|title=The Prescription Against Heretics|source=Chapter 32}}

According to the same book, [[Clement of Rome]] was ordained by Saint Peter as the bishop of Rome.

{{Quote|text=For this is the manner in which the apostolic churches transmit their registers: as the church of Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein by John; as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter.|author=Tertullian|title=Prescription against Heretics|source=Chapter 32}}

'''[[Optatus]]''' the bishop of [[Mila (city)|Milevis]] in [[Numidia (Roman province)|Numidia]] (today's Algeria) and a contemporary of the [[Donatism|Donatist schism]], presents a detailed analysis of the origins, beliefs, and practices of the Donatists, as well as the events and debates surrounding the schism, in his book ''The Schism of the Donatists'' (367 A.D)''.'' In the book, Optatus wrote about the position of the bishop of Rome in maintaining the unity of the Church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Optatus |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11262b.htm |access-date=9 April 2023 |website=www.newadvent.org |archive-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227193524/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11262b.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What the Early Church Believed: Peter's Roman Residency |url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/peters-roman-residency |access-date=9 April 2023 |website=Catholic Answers |archive-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409143654/https://www.catholic.com/tract/peters-roman-residency |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=You cannot deny that you are aware that in the city of Rome the episcopal chair was given first to Peter; the chair in which Peter sat, the same who was head—that is why he is also called Cephas [‘Rock’]—of all the apostles; the one chair in which unity is maintained by all.|author=Optatus|title=The Schism of the Donatists|source=2:2}}