Today’s Readings Podcast Description

Even if primacy had been given to Peter, was it fixed forever at Rome? In these sections of the Institutes, Calvin examines the claim that Peter’s residence and death in the city established a perpetual universal jurisdiction for its bishop. He shows the weakness of the historical arguments, the silence of Paul’s letters concerning any Petrine episcopate at Rome, and the real reasons why the early Church held the Roman See in high regard—none of which amount to a divinely instituted primacy over all other churches. Drawing on Jerome and Cyprian, he insists that the true unity of the Church resides in Christ alone, the one Head, while each bishop holds a share of the one episcopate under him.

Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian R ...