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Archbishop Nathaniel
When an Orthodox Christian is asked to state what is considered to be a major difference between Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism, the response is: “We don’t have a pope.” In other words, Ortho- doxy does not recognize the claim of the Bishop of Rome to have universal jurisdiction over the Church.
Jesus put a question to his disciples. “But you, who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, `You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, `Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So now I say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community.” (Mt 16:15-18 NJB)
The Church of Rome interprets this to mean that the person Simon son of Jonah; now called “Peter,” would be the individual in whom would reside the fullness of Christ’s own authority after the earthly mission of the Lord had been fulfilled. In other words, Peter’s personal profession of faith gave him the authority to be the guarantor of the Christian faith.
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