By Fr. John Whiteford
The links below are to the texts of online debates I have had over the years with various Roman Apologists… some of whom I count as personal friends. By their nature, they lack the polish of conventional essays or articles, but I post them here because over the years I have found these discussions to be repetitious, and so in order to avoid the need to cover the same ground over and over again, I decided to organize them into the format presented here. I have also included some links to online articles that are relevant.
Responses to Roman claims regarding the Papacy
Part 2: Ex Cathedra Statements, and Pope Honorius
Part 3: Pope Agatho’s Letter to the 6th Ecumenical Council, and the Libellus of Hormisdas.
Part 4: The Role of St. Peter and other issues
Part 5: Catholicity and Roman Claims
Part 6: More on quotes from Popes Agatho and Gregory the Great
On the Libellus of Hormisdas see also this forwarded post from Bill Webster
Quotes from various Popes on Honorius and the idea of a Universal Bishop
On the question of Orthodoxy and Divorce:
Part 1: The Patristic view of multiple marriages
Part 2: Divorce and the Ecumenical Canons
St. Maximus and the abuse of his memory by Roman Apologists
Who presided over the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15?
The 28 Canon of the Council of Chalcedon:
Roman apologists often mention that the Pope at the time Chalcedon did not accept the 28th canon. They almost never mention the following facts:
“Moreover the Seventh Ecumenical with the approval of the Papal Legates gave a general sanction to all the canons accepted by the Trullan Synod. And finally in 1215 the Fourth Council of the Lateran in its Vth Canon acknowledged Constantinople’s rank as immediately after Rome, but this was while Constantinople was in the hands of the Latins! Subsequently at Florence the second rank, in accordance with the canons of I. Constantinople and of Chalcedon (which had been an hulled by Leo) was given to the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople, and so the opposition of Rome gave way after seven centuries and a half, and the Nicene Canon which Leo declared to be “inspired by the Holy Ghost” and “valid to the end of time” (Ep. cvi.), was set at nought by Leo’s successor in the Apostolic See” NPNF2, p.290. See the above link for more.
Some other articles of interest
Articles for Roman Catholic Inquirers. From the Orthodox Christian Information Center
The False Decretals. Examples of Roman Forgeries used to defend the Papacy.
The History of the Filioque, by Thomas Valentine.
A summary of the contents of a video documentary of Roman involvement in the inter-religious movement (at the end, there are links that will take you to where you can order a copy, and see it for yourself).
The Vatican and Russia. If you have ever wondered why the Orthodox are cautious in their dealings with Rome – read this.
A Note for Evangelicals Considering Rome.
Some Articles by William Webster
Note: William Webster is a Protestant apologist, and I by no means agree with everything he says in the following articles. However, he does point out some historical information that makes these articles worth reading.
The Church Fathers’ Interpretation of the Rock of Matthew 16:18 An Historical Refutation of the Authority Claims of Roman Catholicism Includes a Critique of Jesus, Peter and the Keys
A Refutation of the Misrepresentations of the Writings of William Webster and of the Church Fathers by Roman Catholic, Stephen Ray, in His Book Upon This Rock
The Papacy: A Second Response to Stephen Ray. A Refutation of the Misrepresentations of Steve Ray of the Teaching of Cyprian and of the Comments of William Webster ·
The Papacy: A Third Response to Stephen Ray. An Examination of Stephen Ray’s Rebuttal to the Web Page Articles of William Webster and a Refutation of His Misrepresentations of the Teachings of Vatican I and the Writings of Augustine and John Chrysostom
The Papacy: A Response to Roman Catholic, Scott Windsor. A Response to Scott Windsor’ s Rebuttal to William Webster’s Response to Stephen Ray on the Teaching of Vatican I and Augustine ·
The Papacy and the Doctrine of Development. The Repudiation of the Doctrine of Development as it Relates to the Papacy by Vatican I and Pope Leo XIII
An Ecumenical Council Officially Condemns a Bishop of Rome for Heresy. Historical Facts Proving That the Bishops of Rome Are not Infallible and Were Never Considered So by the Early Church
Forgeries and the Papacy. The Historical Influence and Use of Forgeries in Promotion of the Doctrine of the Papacy
