Rejects papal/ecclesiastical authority reading; Christ is the rock; no apostolic succession
Christadelphians deny that Matthew 16:18 establishes papal succession or apostolic ecclesiastical authority. Instead, Christadelphian interpretation holds that Christ is the rock upon which the Church is built (referencing 1 Corinthians 3:11 and similar passages), or that the 'rock' is Peter's confession of faith rather than Peter's person. Christadelphians strongly reject papal claims and hierarchical ecclesiastical authority structures. The Church is understood as the community of believers united by faith in Christ, not as an institution with hierarchical authority.
Christadelphian ecclesiology is congregational, with local communities of believers gathering around Scripture and the expectation of Christ's return. The phrase about binding and loosing is interpreted as applying to the apostolic community collectively or to believers in general, not as conferring special authority to Peter or his successors.
Key Distinctions
- Rock referent:
- Christ, not Peter, is the foundation of the Church
- Peter role:
- no hierarchical or apostolic succession structures
- Papal primacy:
Scripture References
Sources
- Christadelphian Statement of Faith on church polity
- Christadelphian teachings on ecclesiology