You’ve probably heard the name St. Peter. Most people think of him as the guy holding the keys at the pearly gates or the first name on a long list of men in white robes living in the Vatican. But if you're looking for a specific calendar date for when was the first pope, things get messy fast. It wasn't like a modern inauguration where a guy takes an oath and suddenly has a Twitter account and a bulletproof car.
It was a slow burn.
History tells us that Peter was the leader. The "rock." But the actual title of "Pope"—Papa—didn't really become a standard, exclusive thing for the Bishop of Rome until centuries later. If you went back to the year 50 AD and asked for the "Pope," people would have looked at you like you had two heads. They knew Peter. They knew he was the leader of the apostles. But the bureaucratic machinery of the papacy? That took time to bake.
The Peter Problem: When was the first pope actually "in charge"?
The traditional answer to when was the first pope is usually pinned to the mid-30s AD, shortly after the death of Jesus. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus told Peter, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." For the Catholic Church, that’s the moment. That’s the "start date."
But Peter didn't live in a palace.
He was a fisherman from Galilee who ended up in Rome, likely arriving in the 40s or 50s AD. He wasn't sitting on a throne. He was likely living in a cramped apartment in a poor neighborhood, preaching in secret because the Roman authorities weren't exactly fans of this new "cult." Most historians, including those like Eamon Duffy in Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, point out that the early Roman church was actually governed by a group of elders—presbyters—rather than a single "monarch" bishop.
So, when we ask when was the first pope, we’re really asking two different things. Are we asking when the spiritual lineage started? That's Peter, around 33 AD. Or are we asking when the office of the Papacy as we know it began? That’s a much later conversation, likely moving into the late 2nd century with figures like Victor I.
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The early list of names
After Peter died (tradition says he was crucified upside down in Nero’s circus around 64-67 AD), the "pope" wasn't a world leader. The names that follow in the Annuario Pontificio—the official Vatican directory—are Linus, Cletus, and Clement.
We know almost nothing about Linus.
He’s mentioned in the New Testament (2 Timothy 4:21), but did he rule with the same authority as a modern Pope? Probably not. He was likely a leader among many. Clement is a bit more solid. We actually have a letter he wrote to the Corinthians around 96 AD. In it, he’s definitely acting like he has some authority to tell people how to behave, which is a very "pope-like" thing to do.
The Shift From Bishop to "Supreme Pontiff"
It’s easy to think of the papacy as this unchanging thing. It’s not.
In the beginning, the Bishop of Rome was just one of several big-shot bishops. You had the bishops of Antioch, Alexandria, and later Constantinople. Rome had a "primacy of honor" because it was where Peter and Paul were martyred, but they weren't necessarily issuing orders to the whole world.
The real "Pope-ness" started ramping up in the 4th century.
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Once Constantine legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, everything changed. Suddenly, being a bishop wasn't a death sentence; it was a career path. The Bishop of Rome started dressing like a Roman magistrate. They inherited the title Pontifex Maximus, a term previously used by the Roman Emperor to describe the high priest of the state religion.
Leo the Great: The man who leveled up the job
If you want to know when was the first pope in terms of real, world-shaking power, you have to look at Leo I (440–461 AD). This guy was a powerhouse. When Attila the Hun was marching on Rome, it wasn't the Emperor who went out to stop him. It was Leo.
He was the first to really articulate the "Petrine Doctrine" in a legalistic way. He argued that because Peter was the head of the apostles, and the Bishop of Rome was Peter’s successor, then the Bishop of Rome had "plenitudo potestatis"—fullness of power—over the whole Church. This is where the modern papacy really finds its legs.
Why the "Start Date" Still Matters Today
People get really heated about when was the first pope because it’s about legitimacy. For Catholics, the unbroken line back to Peter is the whole point. It’s "Apostolic Succession." If the chain breaks, the whole thing feels less certain to them.
For historians, the "first pope" is more of an evolution.
- Year 33-67 AD: Peter acts as the spiritual head.
- Year 100-200 AD: The Bishop of Rome becomes a "first among equals" in the West.
- Year 313 AD: The church gets legal status and starts mimicking Roman government.
- Year 440 AD: Leo I claims universal authority over all other bishops.
Honestly, it’s kinda like asking when a seedling becomes a tree. There isn't a specific Tuesday where it happened. It’s a process of growth, adaptation, and—let’s be real—politics.
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Common Misconceptions About the First Pope
There’s a lot of junk history out there. Let's clear some of it up.
1. Peter was the first to be called "Pope."
Nope. The word "pope" comes from pappa, an affectionate term for "father." In the early centuries, many bishops were called "pope." It wasn't until around the 6th century that it became a title specifically reserved for the Bishop of Rome.
2. The first pope lived in the Vatican.
The Vatican was a swampy graveyard outside the city walls. Peter was buried there, but the Popes lived in the Lateran Palace for about a thousand years. They didn't move to the Vatican until the 1300s.
3. The Papacy has always been about politics.
Initially, it was about survival. The first 30 or so "popes" were almost all martyred. You didn't take the job because you wanted power; you took it because you were willing to die for the community. It only got "political" once there was money and land involved, which really kicked off with the "Donation of Pepin" in 754 AD, creating the Papal States.
Actionable Steps for Exploring This History
If you want to dig deeper into when was the first pope without getting lost in biased theology or dry academic papers, here is how you should actually approach it:
- Read the Primary Sources: Don't just take a YouTuber's word for it. Look at Clement’s First Letter to the Corinthians. It’s one of the oldest Christian documents outside the Bible and gives you a raw look at how the Roman church saw itself in 96 AD.
- Check the Lists: Look at the Liber Pontificalis (The Book of the Popes). It’s an ancient "who’s who" of the papacy. Just keep in mind that the early entries were written much later and might be a bit... "polished."
- Visit the "Scavi": If you ever go to Rome, book a tour of the Scavi—the excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica. You can see the actual graffiti left by 2nd-century Christians near what is believed to be Peter’s grave. It says Petros Eni (Peter is here). That’s as close to a "start date" as you’ll ever get.
- Compare Traditions: Look at how the Eastern Orthodox Church views the "first pope." They agree Peter was first, but they disagree on what that meant. Understanding their perspective helps clarify what is historical fact versus later religious interpretation.
The story of the first pope isn't just a list of dates. It's the story of how a small, persecuted group of believers in a Roman backwater turned into the oldest continuous institution in the Western world. Whether you're religious or not, the transition from Peter the fisherman to the global figurehead of today is one of the most wild transformations in human history.
Expert Insights & Sources Referenced:
- Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes by Eamon Duffy (Yale University Press).
- The Oxford Dictionary of Popes by J.N.D. Kelly.
- The First Popes (Academic research from the Catholic University of America).
- Historical records of the Edict of Milan (313 AD) regarding the legal status of the Roman Bishop.