What Authority Did Christ Give to His Church?

Part 1 — Christianity and the Catholic Church
Written By Steve John

Short Answer

Jesus Christ did not establish His Church merely as a fellowship of believers who would possess the same Bible and independently decide matters of doctrine, worship and discipline. He founded a visible society and entrusted to His Apostles—and through them to their lawful successors—real authority to continue His mission until the end of the world.

This authority may conveniently be described under three closely related functions: teaching, governing and sanctifying.

Pope Pius XII expressed the doctrine with particular clarity in Mystici Corporis Christi (1943), teaching that Christ gave the Apostles and their successors a triple power:

“to teach, to govern, to lead men to holiness.” Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi (1943), §38

The Church therefore possesses authority to

  • teach the revealed Faith authoritatively,

  • to govern Christians by laws, judgments and ecclesiastical discipline,

  • and to sanctify souls principally through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacraments.

These powers do not originate in the community and are not created by popular consent. They come from Christ.

Traditional Catholic theology also speaks of the Church's power under the more technical categories of the power of Orders (potestas ordinis) and the power of jurisdiction (potestas jurisdictionis).

The Roman Catechism states simply:

“This power is two-fold, of jurisdiction, and of orders.” Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II, Holy Orders

These classifications are complementary rather than contradictory: they describe different aspects of the authority by which Christ continues His work through His Church.

Why This Question Matters

This question goes to the heart of what the Church actually is. If Christ merely left Christians a book and expected each person or congregation to interpret it independently, then the Church would possess no binding doctrinal voice, no divinely established government, no authoritative discipline and no exclusive sacramental ministry. Christianity would ultimately depend upon the private judgment of individuals or local communities.

But if Christ established a visible Church possessing authority derived from Himself, Christianity is fundamentally different. There is a divinely appointed body that can teach in Christ's name, govern in Christ's name and administer the means of sanctification instituted by Christ.

That has enormous consequences for later questions concerning the Magisterium, bishops, apostolic succession, obedience, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the priesthood, the Sacraments and ultimately the papacy.

It is therefore important to establish the principle before considering precisely who exercises each form of authority, how that authority is transmitted, what limits belong to it, and what happens when someone claiming ecclesiastical authority publicly departs from the Catholic Faith.

What the Catholic Church Teaches

All Ecclesiastical Authority Comes from Jesus Christ

The starting point is Christ Himself. After His Resurrection, Our Lord declared:

“All power is given to me in heaven and in earth.” — Matthew 28:18–20

He then immediately commissioned the Apostles to teach, baptize and instruct the nations to observe what He had commanded. The sequence is important. Christ first declares His universal authority and then sends the Apostles. Their authority is therefore not independent of His. It is delegated authority.

Christ makes the same principle explicit elsewhere:

“He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me.” — Luke 10:16

The Apostles do not replace Christ. They act as His authorised representatives.

Pope Leo XIII explains this principle in Satis Cognitum (1896): Christ sent the Apostles with the same divine mission by which He Himself had been sent, and required their successors to continue that mission. Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (1896), §§8–10

The Church's authority is therefore ministerial. Christ remains the source, head and supreme ruler; ecclesiastical authority exists to transmit His truth, enforce His law and communicate the supernatural means of salvation He instituted.

The Authority to Teach

Before ascending into heaven, Christ commanded:

“Going therefore, teach ye all nations … Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” — Matthew 28:18–20

This is more than permission to preach. Christ establishes a continuing teaching office. The Apostles are sent to transmit a definite body of revealed truth, and Christ promises His assistance “all days, even to the consummation of the world.”

St Paul consequently describes the Church as:

“the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” — 1 Timothy 3:15

The teaching authority of the Church is traditionally called the Magisterium, from the Latin magister, meaning teacher. Its purpose is not to create new revelation. Revelation comes from God. The Church receives the deposit of Faith and is charged with preserving, explaining and defending it. The 1917 Code of Canon Law expresses this clearly in Canon 1322:

“Christ the Lord entrusted the deposit of faith to the Church.”

The canon continues by explaining that the Church must preserve revealed doctrine faithfully, expound it with the assistance of the Holy Ghost, and teach the Gospel to all nations independently of civil authority. 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1322

Canon 1323 further distinguishes truths proposed by a solemn judgment from those proposed by the Church's ordinary and universal Magisterium. 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canons 1322–1323

Thus Catholic teaching authority is neither private theological opinion nor the majority opinion of Catholics at a particular moment. It is an office instituted for the faithful transmission of the revelation received from Christ and the Apostles.

The Authority to Govern

Christ also gave His Church real governmental authority. In dealing with a Christian who refuses correction, Our Lord commands:

“tell the church.”

If the offender refuses even to hear the Church, he is no longer to be treated as though nothing has happened. Christ then speaks of the Church's authority to bind and loose. Matthew 18:17–18

This presupposes a Church capable of making authoritative judgments.

St Paul likewise tells the bishops of Ephesus:

“the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the church of God.” — Acts 20:28

The Council of Trent (1545–1563), in its Twenty-Third Session, teaches that bishops have succeeded to the place of the Apostles and have been established by the Holy Ghost to rule the Church of God. It anathematizes the proposition that the Catholic Church has no hierarchy instituted by divine ordinance. Council of Trent, Session XXIII, Chapter IV and Canons VI–VII

Pope Leo XIII makes the practical implications explicit in Immortale Dei (1885). Christ gave His Apostles authority concerning sacred matters, including the genuine power of making laws and exercising judgment. Pope Leo XIII, Immortale Dei (1885), §§8–13

This is called jurisdiction: the authority to govern persons subject to ecclesiastical authority.

The 1917 Code defines the Church's power of jurisdiction or government and distinguishes its exercise in the external forum and the internal or forum of conscience. 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 196

Consequently, the Catholic Church is not merely an association whose members may accept doctrine while ignoring ecclesiastical government. Government belongs to her divine constitution.

The Authority to Sanctify

Christ also entrusted His Church with supernatural means by which souls receive grace. After the Resurrection He said to the Apostles:

“Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” — John 20:21–23

This authority cannot be reduced to preaching that God forgives sinners. The Apostles are given authority to forgive or retain particular sins.

The Roman Catechism therefore teaches that the power of forgiving sins resides in the Church and was communicated by Christ to bishops and priests acting as His ministers. Roman Catechism, Article X — The Forgiveness of Sins

The Council of Trent similarly defines that there exists in the New Testament a visible priesthood possessing the power to consecrate and offer the Body and Blood of Christ and to remit and retain sins. It also defines Holy Orders as a true Sacrament and the ecclesiastical hierarchy as divinely instituted. Council of Trent, Session XXIII, Canons I, III, VI and VII

Sanctifying authority therefore includes above all the Church's sacramental and priestly ministry: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist and Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders and Matrimony according to their respective ministers and requirements.

This is not merely ceremonial leadership. Catholic doctrine holds that the Sacraments instituted by Christ truly communicate grace when validly administered and received with the dispositions required by each Sacrament.

One Mission with Three Closely Connected Functions

Pope Pius XII gives perhaps the clearest concise synthesis. In Mystici Corporis Christi he explains that Christ communicated to the Apostles and their successors:

“a triple power … to teach, to govern, to lead men to holiness.” — Mystici Corporis Christi, §38

Later he describes the Church as following Christ when she teaches, governs and offers the divine Sacrifice, and finally says that through the Church Christ Himself “teaches, governs, and sanctifies.” Mystici Corporis Christi, §§47 and 93

These three functions may therefore be summarised as follows:

Function Purpose Examples
Teaching Preserve, explain and defend revealed truth. Preaching the Gospel, defining doctrine, condemning doctrinal error, interpreting Scripture and Tradition authoritatively.
Governing Direct the Church as a visible society toward salvation. Ecclesiastical laws, appointments, judgments, discipline, administration and exercise of jurisdiction.
Sanctifying Communicate supernatural grace and offer divine worship. Mass, Sacraments, absolution, ordination, sacramental ministry and the regulation of sacred worship.

The categories overlap.

  • Teaching authority is exercised within the Church's juridical constitution;

  • sacramental powers are regulated by ecclesiastical jurisdiction; and

  • government exists ultimately to preserve the Faith and lead souls to holiness.

Historical and Theological Evidence

St Clement of Rome and the Apostolic Ministry

One of the earliest post-New-Testament witnesses is St Clement of Rome (c. AD 35–99). His First Letter to the Corinthians, usually dated around AD 96, describes a clear sequence of divine mission: God sends Christ, Christ sends the Apostles, and the Apostles appoint ministers in the Churches.

Clement states that the Apostles appointed men as bishops and deacons, and further explains that provision was made for approved men to succeed them in their ministry after their deaths. St Clement of Rome, First Letter to the Corinthians (c. AD 96), 42 and 44

The terminology of bishop and presbyter was not yet used with all the later technical precision found in subsequent centuries. That historical qualification should be acknowledged. Nevertheless, the underlying principle is unmistakable: Christian ministry is received, not seized. There is an authorised mission deriving from Christ through the Apostles and continuing after their deaths.

St Ignatius of Antioch and Visible Ecclesiastical Authority

Only a short time later, St Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 35–107) provides extraordinarily clear evidence of the visible hierarchical Church. In his Letter to the Smyrnaeans (c. AD 107), he tells Christians to follow the bishop, the presbytery and the deacons and insists that ecclesiastical actions are not to be undertaken independently of legitimate episcopal authority. St Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans (c. AD 107), 8

He connects the bishop directly with sacramental order:

“Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist” which is celebrated by the bishop or one authorised by him.

Ignatius likewise connects baptism and other ecclesiastical acts with the bishop's authority.

This is remarkable because the testimony comes from the beginning of the second century, while men who had personally known the Apostolic generation were still within living memory.

Christianity already appears not as an invisible collection of autonomous believers, but as a sacramental and hierarchical society.

St Irenaeus and Succession in Teaching

St Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 130–202) develops the argument further in Against Heresies (c. AD 180). Against Gnostic sects claiming secret teachings from the Apostles, Irenaeus appeals to the public succession of bishops in the recognised Churches. He writes that Christians can identify those whom the Apostles appointed and trace their successors to his own day. St Irenaeus, Against Heresies (c. AD 180), III.3.1–3

His argument is important because apostolic succession is connected directly with doctrinal continuity.

The authentic Christian Faith is not an esoteric doctrine reconstructed by private scholars centuries later. It is publicly transmitted in Churches deriving their ministry and teaching from the Apostles. Apostolic succession therefore concerns both mission and Faith. A succession of persons matters precisely because those persons are charged with preserving the Apostolic deposit.

The Council of Trent: A Divinely Instituted Hierarchy

The Protestant Reformation made these issues particularly acute. The Council of Trent (1545–1563) therefore taught definitively that the Church possesses a visible New Testament priesthood and a hierarchy established by divine ordinance. Session XXIII declares that bishops succeed to the place of the Apostles and are set over the Church to govern it. Canon VI states:

“in the Catholic Church there is … a hierarchy instituted by divine ordination.” Council of Trent, Session XXIII, Canon VI

This is not simply a statement about convenient administrative arrangements. The hierarchy belongs to the constitution Christ gave His Church.

Trent also rejects the idea that anyone may become a lawful minister merely through appointment by the people or secular authority. Ecclesiastical mission and sacramental ordination cannot simply be manufactured from below.

The Roman Catechism: Orders and Jurisdiction

The Catechism of the Council of Trent, commonly called the Roman Catechism and published by authority of Pope St Pius V in 1566, supplies an especially helpful technical distinction.

It teaches that ecclesiastical power is twofold:

  • Power of Orders

This is the sacred power connected with Holy Orders and the Church's sacramental ministry. It concerns especially the Eucharist and those sacred actions for which ordination is required.

  • Power of Jurisdiction

This concerns Christ's Mystical Body, the Church, and includes the government of His spiritual kingdom and the direction of the faithful toward salvation.

Roman Catechism, Part II, On the Sacrament of Holy Orders

This explains why sacramental power and governing authority should not be confused. A priest may possess valid Holy Orders while lacking jurisdiction over a particular person or territory. Conversely, certain acts of ecclesiastical government depend upon jurisdiction rather than sacramental power as such.

St Thomas Aquinas: Orders and Jurisdiction

St Thomas Aquinas (AD 1225–1274) makes essentially the same distinction when discussing sacramental absolution. In the Supplement to the Summa Theologiae, Question 20, Article 1, he explains:

“A twofold power is required … namely, power of order and power of jurisdiction.” St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Supplement, q.20, a.1

The distinction prevents two opposite errors.

  • The first is imagining that ordination alone gives a priest universal authority over every Christian.

  • The second is treating ecclesiastical authority as merely administrative, as though sacramental power were simply an appointment that could be created or withdrawn by a congregation.

Catholic theology recognises both the sacramental power received through Orders and the juridical authority by which the Church is governed.

Authority Is Ministerial, Not Arbitrary

The fact that Christ gave His Church authority does not mean ecclesiastical authority can legitimately invent a new religion.

  • The teacher is entrusted with a deposit.

  • The ruler governs a society whose essential constitution comes from Christ.

  • The priest administers Sacraments instituted by Christ.

Authority therefore exists to serve revelation, not replace it. This distinction becomes extremely important whenever a purported ecclesiastical authority appears to contradict what the Church previously taught as revealed truth.

The first question cannot simply be, “Does this person occupy an impressive office?” The deeper theological questions concern what Christ promised His Church, what powers belong to genuine ecclesiastical office, how those powers are protected by the Church's indefectibility, and what traditional Catholic theology teaches about public departure from the Faith.

Those questions require separate treatment. But one principle has already been established:

true ecclesiastical authority is the authority of Christ exercised ministerially through His Church. It is not authority to contradict Christ.

The Main Objection

A serious Protestant objection may be stated as follows:

Christ alone possesses spiritual authority. Christians already possess His Word in Sacred Scripture and the Holy Ghost guides believers. Why is an institutional Church with binding teaching, governing and sacramental authority necessary? Would this not place human authorities between Christ and the Christian?

The objection rightly insists upon one truth: Christ is indeed the supreme authority. No bishop, priest, council or Pope possesses authority independently of Him.

The question, however, is not whether Christ is supreme. Catholics and Protestants agree that He is. The question is how Christ Himself chose to exercise His authority after His Ascension.

Response

The New Testament repeatedly answers that question through the idea of mission or sending.

  • Christ was sent by the Father.

  • Christ sent the Apostles.

  • The Apostles appointed others.

  • Those ministers in turn were to entrust the Gospel to faithful men capable of teaching still others.

Christ therefore did not preserve His exclusive authority by refusing to delegate anything. He preserved it by establishing ministers who would act in His name. This is why Luke 10:16 is so important. Hearing Christ's authorised messengers is, in a real though subordinate sense, hearing Christ.

The same principle appears in sacramental ministry. Christ alone has divine authority to forgive sin in the primary sense. Yet in John 20 He deliberately gives ministers a power to forgive and retain sins.

Likewise Christ alone is the supreme ruler of the Church, but Acts 20:28 nevertheless describes bishops as placed by the Holy Ghost to rule the Church of God. Delegated authority does not compete with Christ any more than the authority of an ambassador competes with the king who sent him.

“But Aren't All Christians Priests?”

Scripture does speak of Christians collectively in priestly terms. Catholics do not deny this. What Catholic doctrine rejects is the conclusion that every baptized person therefore possesses the same sacramental and governing authority.

The Council of Trent expressly condemns the claim that all Christians are endowed with equal spiritual power. It defines a hierarchy of bishops, priests and ministers instituted by divine ordinance. Council of Trent, Session XXIII, Chapter IV and Canon VI

The common participation of the faithful in Christian worship therefore does not abolish the ministerial priesthood instituted by Christ.

“Does This Mean Every Statement Made by a Bishop Is Infallible?”

No. The existence of divine teaching authority must not be confused with the proposition that every sermon, interview, disciplinary decision or theological opinion expressed by every cleric is infallible. Catholic theology carefully distinguishes solemn definitions, the ordinary and universal Magisterium, authoritative but non-definitive teaching, ecclesiastical law, disciplinary acts, prudential judgments and private theological opinion.

Canon 1323 of the 1917 Code itself makes important distinctions concerning how revealed truth is proposed to the Church. 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1323

The correct Catholic principle is therefore neither “every cleric is infallible” nor “every Christian decides doctrine for himself.”

Christ instituted an authoritative teaching Church whose different acts must be understood according to their proper theological character.

What We Can and Cannot Conclude

Established Catholic doctrine: Christ founded a visible, hierarchical Church and gave His Apostles a real mission and authority that was to continue through legitimate successors. The Church possesses authority to teach, govern and sanctify. The Council of Trent definitively teaches the existence of a divinely instituted ecclesiastical hierarchy and the sacramental priesthood.

Established Catholic doctrine: Holy Orders is a true Sacrament. Bishops and priests possess sacred powers not possessed indiscriminately by all the baptized.

Established Catholic doctrine: The Church received the deposit of Faith from Christ and has the duty to preserve, expound and teach it. Her teaching authority does not create new revelation.

Certain and common theological teaching: Ecclesiastical power can usefully be distinguished into the power of Orders and the power of jurisdiction. This distinction is found explicitly in the Roman Catechism and traditional Catholic theology.

Established historical fact: Christian writings from the late first and early second centuries already testify to an appointed ecclesiastical ministry, succession in office, bishops or presbyters exercising real authority, and sacramental actions connected with legitimate ministers. St Clement, St Ignatius and St Irenaeus are important early witnesses.

Historical and theological qualification: The terminology describing bishops and presbyters developed during the earliest centuries, and certain scholastic questions concerning the precise sacramental character of episcopal consecration were historically disputed. Those debates do not alter Trent's defined doctrine that bishops belong to the divinely instituted hierarchy, are superior to priests and possess powers proper to their office.

What this article does not yet establish: It has not attempted to explain the full doctrine of Roman primacy, papal infallibility, the jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff, or the precise relation between Peter and the other Apostles. Those subjects require separate treatment.

What this article also does not decide: It does not by itself determine whether a particular modern claimant possesses ecclesiastical office or what effect public heresy would have upon membership in the Church or possession of office. Those are subsequent theological questions.

What it establishes first is the essential foundation:

Christ constituted His Church as an authoritative, hierarchical and sacramental society through which He continues to teach, govern and sanctify.

Conclusion

Jesus Christ did considerably more than gather disciples around a common set of beliefs.

  • He established a Church.

  • He sent Apostles with authority derived from His own.

  • He commanded them to teach all nations.

  • He gave them authority to bind and loose.

  • He gave them power to forgive and retain sins.

  • He entrusted to them the Sacraments and sacred worship.

  • And He provided for their mission to continue through successors.

The earliest Christian witnesses confirm that the Church understood herself in precisely this way. St Clement describes ministers appointed in succession to the Apostles. St Ignatius presents Christians united around bishop, presbyters and deacons. St Irenaeus appeals to the succession of bishops as a public guarantee against invented doctrine.

Centuries later the same principles were formally articulated by Councils, Popes, catechisms, canon law and approved theologians.

Pius XII's concise formulation therefore captures a doctrine rooted in Scripture and the whole Catholic tradition: Christ gave His Church authority to teach, to govern and to lead men to holiness.

Understanding this principle is essential before asking the next questions:

  • Who inherited that authority?

  • How is it transmitted?

  • What is apostolic succession?

  • What special authority did Christ give to St Peter?

  • And how can Catholics recognise legitimate ecclesiastical authority today?

Primary Sources

Sacred Scripture

  • Christ's universal authority and commission to teach and baptize. — Matthew 28:18–20

  • Christ identifies reception of His authorised messengers with reception of Himself. — Luke 10:16

  • Authority of the Church and the power of binding and loosing. — Matthew 18:17–18

  • Apostolic mission and the power to forgive and retain sins. — John 20:21–23

  • Bishops placed by the Holy Ghost to rule the Church. — Acts 20:28

  • The Church as pillar and ground of truth. — 1 Timothy 3:15

Early Christian Witnesses

  • St Clement of Rome (c. AD 35–99), First Letter to the Corinthians (c. AD 96), 42, 44. Online text

  • St Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 35–107), Letter to the Smyrnaeans (c. AD 107), 8. Online text

  • St Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 130–202), Against Heresies (c. AD 180), III.3.1–3. Online text

Councils, Catechism and Canon Law

Papal Teaching

Doctors of the Church

  • St Thomas Aquinas (AD 1225–1274), Summa Theologiae, Supplement, q.17, on the power of the keys. Online text

  • St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Supplement, q.19, on the ministers of the keys. Online text

  • St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Supplement, q.20, a.1, on Orders and jurisdiction. Online text

Further Reading

E. Sylvester Berry, The Church of Christ: An Apologetic and Dogmatic Treatise, B. Herder Book Co., St Louis and London, 1927. Berry's pre–Vatican II manual gives a systematic treatment of the Church's constitution, authority, hierarchy, visibility and apostolic mission. 1927 edition — Princeton Theological Seminary digital collection

Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, English edition, B. Herder Book Co., 1954/1955, sections concerning the institution and constitution of the Church and Holy Orders. Ott carefully identifies the theological notes attached to Catholic propositions. 1954 edition record and scan

For the Church's necessity and relation to salvation, see Msgr Joseph Clifford Fenton, The Catholic Church and Salvation in the Light of Recent Pronouncements of the Holy See, Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland, 1958. 1958 edition record

Related Questions

What Is the Catholic Church?

Why Did Jesus Christ Found One Church?

Did Christ Intend Christians to Belong to One Visible Church?

What Is Apostolic Succession, and Why Does It Matter?

What Authority Did Christ Give to St Peter?

Who Has the Authority to Interpret Scripture and Determine What Is Apostolic Tradition?

Why Catholicism Rather Than Protestantism?

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