Table Of ContentPraise for The Papacy
“Erick Ybarra deserves much praise for this excellent book. As is well
known, Catholics and Eastern Orthodox are divided over the primacy
and universal authority of the Roman Pontiff. What, though, is the
record of the first millennium prior to the Schism of 1054? This book
examines the historical details of papal interventions and teachings of
the first millennium as well as affirmations of universal papal authority
by saints recognized by both Catholics and Orthodox. It also discusses
the controversial cases of Popes Liberius, Vigilius, and Honorius I, and
it highlights the importance of the Tome of St. Agatho endorsed by
Constantinople III. Ybarra provides a great service to those interested
in Catholic and Orthodox perspectives on the authority of the Bishop of
Rome as the successor of St. Peter.”
Robert L. Fastiggi, Ph.D.
Bishop Kevin M. Britt Chair of Dogmatic Theology and Christology,
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
“lesus once asked Peter, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ But in recent cen
turies, Peter’s successors, the popes, have turned that question around to
all Catholics and Orthodox, asking, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ Who
is the pope? What is the papacy? What authority does the pope have,
and how far does it extend? These are enduring questions that have
been debated for more than a thousand years. But this significant new
study from Erick Ybarra approaches them with fresh perspective. Irenic
in tone, thorough in scholarship, and fair to opposing views, Erick not
only defends the papacy against new Orthodox objections but analyzes
the more basic historical, methodological, and interpretive foundations
underlying this debate. The result is an impressive tour de force, the
new go-to book for understanding this central point of tension between
Catholics and Orthodox.”
Brandon Vogt
Founder of ClaritasU and Author of
Why I Am Catholic (and You Should Be Too)
“Both Orthodox and Catholic Christians today have inherited a history
and a theological legacy that we did not ourselves create. It is therefore
essential that we deal honestly and comprehensively with those aspects of
our history which both favor and challenge our own theological assump
tions to identify the ecumenical path forward towards that union which
Our Lord Jesus Christ willed for his Church. Ironically, the foundation
and exercise of the Petrine ministry by the Bishop of Rome—an episco
pal ministry whose dominical purpose is at the service of the unity of
mind and heart among all bishops and Churches—has historically been
regarded as the principal source of division, especially between the Chal-
cedonian Christians of East and West. Erick Ybarra, in his The Papacy,
not only lays out the biblical and patristic foundations on this issue, he
engages contemporary Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant theological
scholarship and magisterial sources utilized in both dialogue and debate
as a lens to apply to the difficult and divisive history of the exercise of the
papacy in the ancient, medieval, and modern periods of Church history.
What is more, Ybarra makes a compelling case for the Catholic theolog
ical position on the Petrine ministry of the Pope of Rome as part of the
apostolic and pastoral architecture intended by Christ in support of a
universal communion of a missionary Church of the Nations, as opposed
to a mere federation of national churches. If the Christian Church is to
once again bear witness to the Gospel to a divided and de-Christianized
world, it must do so in unity with ‘the first of the apostles, the foundation
of the Church, the coryphaeus [conductor] of the choir of the disciples’
(St. John Chrysostom) as embodied in The Papacy”
Fr. Daniel G. Dozier
Byzantine Catholic Priest
and Author of 20 Answers on Eastern Catholicism
“In this massive volume, apologist Erick Ybarra examines the historical
evidence for the Petrine Primacy of universal authority in the Church as
traditionally professed by the Catholic Church. Culminating ten years of
patristic research, he meticulously examines the scriptural and histori
cal objections which Eastern Orthodox dissenters have alleged to deny
the existence of anything more than a mere ‘primacy of honor’ to Peter,
Chief and Head of the Apostles, and his successors, the Bishops of Rome
during the Church’s first thousand years—and this despite the enor
mous amount of testimony our author gathers from the Fathers, saints,
and seven ecumenical councils of the Church acknowledged as ‘undi
vided’ in faith by the Orthodox themselves. This volume will serve as an
invaluable resource for those seeking to unravel the historical and theo
logical difficulties presumed to negate papal supremacy and infallibility.
Our author calls to mind St. John Henry Newman’s famous saying: ‘To
be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.’ Readers of this volume
will be similarly reinforced in the conviction: To be deep in history is to
cease to be Eastern Orthodox.”
James Likoudis
Author o/Ending the Byzantine Greek Schism
“From the First Vatican Council until the present day, the central topics
of debate in the Catholic world have remained remarkably stable: how
to articulate the relationship between faith and reason, as well as the
Church and the world; what is the nature and agency of the Church?
Today, in the midst of so many discussions about ‘synodality,’ more time
should be devoted to a sound understanding of the primacy of the Pope
of Rome. We should all thank Erick Ybarra for his presentation—at once
thoroughly documented, reflectively insightful, and critically aware—of
the topic of papal jurisdiction, as it has been articulated over the course
of the centuries.”
Matthew K. Minerd, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy and Moral Theology,
Byzantine Catholic Seminary ofSs. Cyril and Methodius
“This well-researched, well-balanced, forensic analysis of the Catholic
theology of the papacy, and its rejection by Orthodox (and other) theo
logians is a major contribution to scholarship in this highly controversial
area. By clarifying the methodological principles needed to apply to the
primary sources covering the vast expanse of Church history regarding
the papacy, the author succeeds in revisiting the intense, centuries-old
scholarly debate of these same sources in a way that is original, compre
hensive, and, most importantly, fair to all parties. It is an extraordinary
achievement.”
Fr. D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D.
Professor Emeritus and Recipient of the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Medal
P
apacy
P
apacy
Revisiting the Debate between
Catholics and Orthodox
Erick Ybarra
EMMAUS
ROAD
PUBLISHING
Steubenville, Ohio
www.emmausroad.org
EMMAUS
Road
Emmaus Road Publishing
1468 Parkview Circle
Steubenville, Ohio 43952
©2022 Erick Ybarra
All rights reserved. Published 2022.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022936706
ISBN: 978-1-64585-221-6 hardcover | 978-1-64585-222-3 paperback |
978-1-64585-223-0 ebook
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from The Revised Standard
Version Second Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition) Copyright ©2006 by the Division
of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United
States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, copyright © 1995,
Libreria Editrice Vaticana—United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington,
D.C. Noted as “CCC” in the text.
Cover design and layout by Allison Merrick
Cover image Saint Peter by Studio of Sir Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1616/1618.
To my wife»
Victoria Nicole Ybarra
