[Claud]

It was Paul, not Peter, who planted the churches throughout Asia Minor. It was Paul's teaching that caused those churches to grow, not Peter's.

But note something very important. While Paul founded many churches, it was the churches that Peter founded which were the most important and authoritative "patriarchal" churches: Antioch and Rome (and even Alexandria, through Peter's disciple Mark). These Churches exercised a special primacy in their respective regions and went on to become the recognized seats of the three original Patriarchates.

Paul's churches had no such special patriarchal authority.

[Kenny Bunkport]

Where in scripture is there a necessity for "patriarchal authority" of one church over another, and where in scripture is such authority conferred?

[Kenny Bunkport]

The basic problem here is that apostolic teaching in the New Testament states very clearly that there is only one head of the church, and it is Jesus Christ (not the pope), that there are various ministry offices established within the church -- apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, evangelist ("pope" is not mentioned), that Christ's authority in the church is delegated through a group of elders (not the pope), and that each and every believer is characterized (in Peter's first epistle, 1:29) as a priest.

A lot of man-made traditions have grown up within the Catholic church over the last 2000 years, and much of them have questionable validity, and much of them obscure the simplicity of the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ.