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Did the apostolic or early church fathers acknowledge Papal infallibility?

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The Roman Catholic dogma of Papal Infallibility (P.I.) wasn't officially defined until 1870. This doctrine, defined dogmatically at the First Vatican Council of 1869–1870 in the document Pastor aeternus, is claimed to have existed in medieval theology and to have been the majority opinion at the time of the Counter-Reformation. Thus, Catholics can say that at the 4th Council of Trent the canon of Scripture was infallibly defined even though it took place 324 years prior to Vatican I. Indeed, I have found it declared that all Ecumenical councils derive their authority through the infallibility of the Pope who ratifies the council's documents. There are 19 councils recognized by the Catholic Church prior to the 1870 dogmatic definition of P.I. Of these, there are 4 that took place prior to the beginning of medieval times: 1) FIRST COUNCIL OF NICAEA - 325 2) FIRST COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE - 381 3) COUNCIL OF EPHESUS - 431 4) COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON - 451 While there is apparently some church history and debate as far back as 519 when the notion of the Bishop of Rome as the preserver of apostolic truth was set forth in the Formula of Hormisdas , most of the theological references that smack of P.I. come from much deeper into the medieval period; 1073 and beyond. Rather than challenge the claim that Papal Infallibility existed in common medieval theology, I am asking after proof that this doctrine existed prior to the beginning of the medieval period in 476. related: https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/89471/how-is-the-claim-that-the-doctrine-of-papal-infallibility-has-always-existed-wit
Asked by Mike Borden (24105 rep)
Dec 10, 2022, 08:40 PM
Last activity: Dec 11, 2022, 01:00 PM