[namvolunteer]

“Constantine was the first pope. Not Peter.”

Whoa, don’t tell Jesus that. He thought he made Peter the Pope when he said in front of the apostles, “I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

[ColdSteelTalon]

It was the acknowledgment that Jesus is the messiah by Peter that is the "rock" upon which the Church was and is built. Peter is not the Rock upon which the Church was built. Note in the verse Christ also says that the gates of hell will not prevail against it? Jesus was talking about the fact that "Christ is the messiah being the rock". Peter suffered a martyr's death at the hands of Nero, so the gates of hell did prevail against Peter, but not the Rock i.e. "Jesus is the messiah" that rock upon which the Church is built.

The Catholic Church has since the beginning totally misinterpreted that verse, because they like to think that Jesus initiated the Papal succession. History says otherwise. Each city had its own Bishop and the Bishop of Rome declared itself the leader of all other Churches. And not without resistance by the other Churches.

In fact there is no Biblical provision for a universal Church on earth. The Bible only mentions local Churches in its structure. And the Bishop was the leader of the local Church.