PETER’S PRIMACY IN QUESTION: A STUDY OF JOHANNINE AND PETRINE COMMUNITIES

Abstract

It is not out of place to note that most practices, doctrines and traditions guiding Christianity as a religion today have their foundation in one or two claims found in the Christian Bible. This is primarily due to the quality of inerrancy and authenticity which Christians attach to the Bible. It is apparent that the Bible right from the ancient Christian Church tradition has been held as the infallible word of God with virtually every written word inside it believed to have been inspired by God himself. But be that as it may, critical biblical and extra-biblical researches have gone a long way to prove that the Holy Bible contains some claims which are not wholesomely true. Hence founding some Church practices and doctrines on such biblical claims makes such doctrines erroneous to some degree. One of these claims is however seen in the gospel of Matthew 16:18 as well as in John 21:15-22 where Christ’s conversation with one of his disciples, Peter appears to suggest and present Peter as the head and leader amongst all of the apostles. The Roman Catholic Church based on this has taken Peter to be the first Pope of the Church. Meanwhile, with the consultation of well researched works by renowned biblical and extrabiblical scholars, this work attempts to question Peter’s primacy in some Christian doctrines with a careful study of the Johannine and Petrine communities as seen in the Fourth Gospel (John), the Synoptics and other possible biblical accounts. The aim however, is to ascertain that to some extent, this claim as many others like it may not be wholesomely true even as they may not be wholesomely false.