What About the Claim That the Church Changed?
Exploring the non-logic behind throwing Peter off the boat!
A common critique—especially from our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters, and many Protestants as well—is that the Catholic Church changed over time. That as Christianity spread and encountered new cultures, the Church started adapting her structures, defining doctrines, and eventually overreaching with something they call “Roman supremacy.”
But here’s the real question:
When exactly did the Church decide to throw Peter off the boat?
Did Christ give the keys to Peter only to have the Church forget or reject them a few generations later? Did the authority Jesus entrusted somehow evaporate when it crossed regional borders?
Some want to say yes—not because of what Scripture shows, but because of what history reveals about Church politics, scandals, and ambition, especially in the Middle Ages. And yes, there were abuses. Yes, there were power struggles, and times when the papacy found itself tangled in worldly affairs. But let’s be clear:
The reality of misuse does not cancel the truth of what was given.
No one would argue that bad kings mean monarchy was never real. Or that political corruption means government should never exist. But when it comes to the pope, the moment the human side of the office is exposed, some want to rewrite the whole divine foundation beneath it.
And that’s where Eastern Orthodoxy often draws its line: claiming the pope is simply “first among equals”—a patriarch of honor, not of universal authority. But if that's true, when did the universal voice of Peter become optional?
Who decided that the Church should be governed by a roundtable of equals, with no final voice? Certainly not Scripture. Certainly not the early Church Fathers. And certainly not Christ, who said, “Strengthen your brothers,” and “Feed my sheep,” not “Blend into the crowd.”
✦ Real Authority Isn’t Isolation. It’s Discernment in Communion.
Here’s the thing: critics often act as if the pope is some kind of medieval monarch perched on a mountaintop handing down decrees on a whim. But history—and Church practice—tell a different story.
The pope doesn’t invent doctrine. He preserves and defines it.
He doesn’t act in isolation. He calls councils. He gathers bishops. He prays, consults, listens, waits. Even the most solemn declarations come only after long discernment and widespread consensus, because the pope’s role is not to replace the Church—but to serve as its visible center of unity.
This isn’t tyranny. It’s stewardship. It’s the kind of leadership the Church has always needed—and still desperately needs today.
And for those who say Catholics make too much of Jesus’s words to Simon in Matthew 16, the challenge is simple: Then what do you do with the rest of the New Testament?
What about Jesus giving Peter a name change—something that always signaled mission and identity in biblical tradition?
What about John 21, where Jesus doesn’t just reinstate Peter after his denial, but gives him a direct command: “Feed my sheep”—not once, but three times?
What about Acts 15, where Peter settles the first major theological crisis of the Church?
What about the unbroken line of bishops of Rome from the first century onward, repeatedly called upon to resolve disputes, restore unity, and clarify doctrine?
✦ Unity Without Authority Is a Myth
Today, the Christian world is filled with division—well-intentioned, sometimes beautiful, often sincere—but divided all the same. Competing interpretations. Contradictory doctrines. Splits, schisms, and self-started churches.
Everyone claims the Bible.
Everyone claims the Holy Spirit.
And yet, almost no one can agree.
This is not what Christ prayed for in John 17.
“That they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You.”
If we’re going to take unity seriously, then we have to take authority seriously.
And that authority must come from Christ—not from majority vote, private opinion, or emotional consensus.
The Catholic Church believes that authority didn’t disappear after the apostles. It was handed on—entrusted to shepherds who were called not to dominate, but to serve. The pope isn’t above the Church. He is within it. A servant of the servants of God.
And if the Holy Spirit truly guides the Church—as Scripture says He does—then the office of Peter is not a relic of the past. It’s a mercy for the present.
Part Two Conclusion: Truth, Unity, and the Courage to Stay at the Table
We don’t need to fear disagreement in the Body of Christ. In fact, when Christians find themselves divided—whether over doctrine, authority, or tradition—it’s often a graced opportunity for dialogue, for honest questions, and for deeper listening. The Catholic Church doesn’t run from these conversations. We believe that through prayer, dialogue, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, clarity can emerge. Truth is not fragile. And neither is the unity Christ desires.
But what we must resist is the temptation to let misunderstanding fuel condemnation.
To dismiss the entire structure of Catholic Christianity as heretical—because one doesn’t properly understand the Rosary, or assumes statues are invitations to idolatry—is not discernment. That’s a tactic of something other than the Holy Spirit, something that feeds on division, distortion, and distrust. That’s not how Christ leads His Church.
True unity requires truth and humility, and yes, even some wrestling. But it also requires a willingness to stay at the table—to ask, to learn, and to see that the Church’s authority, far from being a threat, is a gift. Not for control, but for communion.
And so we continue forward—one Church, one mission, one Shepherd.
Because if the Church is truly guided by the Holy Spirit, then the more we examine her history, structure, and sacramental life, the more we should expect to find the fingerprints of God—not just in Scripture, but in how the Church has grown in faith and truth.
We’ll explore that next. Stay tuned.
If you’d like to see Part 1 to this article, titled: “From Keys to Councils…” just click on the following link:
What are your thoughts? comments? questions? cries of outrage? Please share them with me in the comments section below. Let’s dive into this together. The Church has a lot of work for us to do, and divisions are slowing that work down. I look forward to your comments.