Yes, the Visible Head of the Church Is the Pope—This Is Our Christian Faith

The crisis the Church is going through is putting our supernatural Faith to the test. Our faith in the Church hierarchy especially—and its visible head, the pope—must be constantly renewed and strengthened.

In a recent post on her Substack newsletter, Sarah Cain made a statement that, although predictable and already common in such difficult times, always gives us pause for thought: “Pope Francis was the biggest impediment to my conversion. I know that I’m not alone in that.”

Clearly, Cain is not the only one who has had to overcome such a difficulty. Terrible problems and doubts have confronted all those converts to Catholicism who, like myself, embraced—out of ignorance or excessive enthusiasm—a hyper-papalist interpretation of Pastor Aeternus, the famous dogmatic constitution from the First Vatican Council. Without a doubt, this type of purification of our Faith is one of the most painful imaginable.

Putting aside for now the discussions about “good popes/bad popes” and all the consequences of disastrous pontificates (especially when, at least through ambiguity, our faith is put at risk), many of those who have found themselves facing the walls of hyper-papalist Jericho still believe in the authority of the hierarchical structure of the Church as ordained by God and in the necessity of the papal office. 

Unfortunately, there are also many Catholics who have not passed the test. If I mention only the names Rod Dreher and Michael Warren Davis, I am sure you will immediately understand whom I am referring to. These are all those who, scandalized by the ambiguity of the pontificate that has just ended, not only left the Catholic Church but went so far as to deny the very existence of the papal office.

It is tragic that such former Catholic thinkers and authors claim to be “orthodox” while denying a teaching—the dogma of infallibility—which is a Truth of faith confessed by saints like Basil the Great, Maximus the Confessor, and Theodore the Studite. A careful reading of the section titled “La Monarchie Ecclésiastique fondée par Jésus-Christ” (“The Ecclesiastical Monarchy Founded by Jesus Christ”) from Vladimir Solovyov’s work La Russie et l’Église Universelle (Russia and the Universal Church) might help them discover some of those testimonies of the Holy Fathers—Greek and Latin—who recognized both the primacy and the infallibility of the Apostle Peter and his successors.

In any case, I hasten to add that the denial of the pope’s infallibility on the part of the “orthodox” does not stop there. In the end, it leads to the rejection of the very existence of the papal office. It is as if an “orthodox” scandalized by the sins of a certain metropolitan or bishop were not only to criticize that particular hierarch but to deny the very function itself. He might do so directly, but more often—and this is usually what happens—he does it indirectly, by denying the main prerogatives of the office.

The Protestants took things to the extreme: they denied any form of sacramental hierarchy in the name of the “universal priesthood” of all the baptized. Naturally, such an attitude—especially from those of our brethren who have left the Church—cannot leave us indifferent.

It is true that my special sensitivity to this subject stems from the fact that I converted to Catholicism precisely because I discovered (thanks to the brilliant Russian philosopher—himself a convert to Catholicism—Vladimir Solovyov) that there is no Church without the pope. Yes, the Holy Father is the visible head of the Church, the “reflection” of its absolute and invisible Head, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

In other words, the Christian faith that is truly orthodox also has an ecclesiological dimension: the belief in the hierarchy instituted by our Savior Christ, which includes, as the visible head of the Church and “servus servorum Dei,” the Supreme Pontiff. My Ancient Greek professor, passionate about Christian sacred symbolism and translator of the writings of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, taught us that the hierarchy existing in the Kingdom of Heaven—whose head is God Himself—is mirrored by the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Militant Church—whose visible head is the pope. 

Despite the debatable pontificates of recent decades, not for one moment has this conviction of mine wavered. Today, in such troubled times, we must work more than ever to strengthen this faith. Of course, we should not do this in the hyper-papalist spirit so well captured in an anecdote told by the historian of religion at the University of Chicago, Mircea Eliade.

He heard a meaningful joke from a Jesuit priest and noted it in his journal. It is said that a cardinal, speaking enthusiastically about conversion to Catholicism and the essential condition for recognizing and validating such a decision, asked rhetorically and casually: “Does he believe in the Pope? Yes? Then it’s good. He is a true convert. If he believes in the Pope, that’s enough! Who cares if he believes in God or not?”

Although it is just a joke, it clearly contains a jab aimed at the convictions—so widespread in our times—of those Catholics who regard the pope as a kind of superman or oracle who can never be wrong under any circumstance, whether speaking ex cathedra or merely expressing a personal opinion. Let us remember it only as a joke.

The Roman Catechism (1566) dedicates an entire section to Article IX of the Creed, “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints.” Here, a whole point explains the significance of the Church’s first “mark”—unity (“one”). This unity cannot be clearly perceived without a visible head, which is the pope. Of course, the Catechism does not neglect to emphasize that the absolute reference remains the invisible head of the Church, Our Lord Jesus Christ:

The Church has but one ruler and one governor, the invisible one, Christ, whom the eternal Father hath made head over all the Church, which is his body; the visible one, the Pope, who, as legitimate successor of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, fills the Apostolic chair.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992), published during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, presents the same doctrine in its own terms:

The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter’s successor, is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful. For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered. (882)

Why is a visible head of the Church necessary?

First of all, as I have already said, to make the unity of the Church visible. Then, as St. Jerome tells us, quoted by the Roman Catechism, so that “all occasion of schism may be removed.” If we look at the autocephalous Eastern “Orthodox” churches, we will immediately understand what happens when the visible head is not recognized. The rifts between them are often denounced by the Orthodox hierarchs themselves.

The autocephalous Church of Russia ignores and sometimes even attacks the autocephalous churches in the Baltic countries or the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul. For, let us not forget, nationalist sentiment wreaks havoc among all these churches. The struggles between patriarchates—such as those between Bulgaria and Greece—were incredible. Accusations and condemnations abound. You could have a single priest—such as Sergius Bulgakov, an interesting Russian speculative theologian—anathematized multiple times by two different autocephalous churches.

Another example: the Orthodox community in the United States was granted autocephaly by the national Orthodox churches only with great difficulty, and some still do not recognize its status today. Likewise, some want to belong to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, while others want to belong to one or another of the national churches. The disputes are endless, and the appearance of bishops and even metropolitans “out of nowhere”—as in France—is a never-ending story. All this clearly shows the consequences of the absence of a head whose authority is recognized.

In a magnificent letter to Pope Damasus, the same Doctor, Jerome (quoted by the Roman Catechism), clearly points out both the root flaw of ecclesiastical divisions like those among the Orthodox and also the solution to such harmful dissensions:

Away with envy, let the ambition of Roman grandeur cease! I speak to the successor of the fisherman, and to the disciple of the cross. Following no chief but Christ, I am united in communion with your Holiness, that is, with the chair of Peter. I know that on that rock is built the Church. Whoever will eat the lamb outside this house is profane; whoever is not in the ark of Noah shall perish in the flood.

The Roman Catechism cites numerous Latin saints who develop such sound teachings. Personally, however, I appreciate most a brilliant passage from a commentary by the great Greek Doctor, St. Basil:

Peter is made the foundation, because he says: “Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God;” and hears in reply that he is a rock. But although a rock, he is not such a rock as Christ; for Christ is truly an immovable rock, but Peter, only by virtue of that rock. For Jesus bestows His dignities on others; He is a priest, and He makes priests; a rock, and He makes a rock; what belongs to Himself, He bestows on His servants.

Although independent of St. Augustine who developed a similar teaching, Basil affirms in the same spirit that only the Savior Christ Himself is “an immovable rock.” Thus, the authority of Peter and his successors, as well as his role as “the rock,” is derived from and subordinate to the absolute authority of God. The clarity of St. Basil’s explanations makes further commentary unnecessary.

All these things, along with many other testimonies of the Holy Fathers—both Greek and Latin—lead us to a single conclusion, expressed by the Roman Catechism as follows:

As we deem Christ not only the author of all the Sacraments, but also their invisible minister—He it is who baptises, He it is who absolves, although men are appointed by Him the external ministers of the Sacraments—so has He placed over His Church, which He governs by His invisible Spirit, a man to be His vicar and the minister of His power. A visible Church requires a visible head; therefore the Saviour appointed Peter head and pastor of all the faithful, when He committed to his care the feeding of all His sheep, in such ample terms that He willed the very same power of ruling and governing the entire Church to descend to Peter’s successors.

This is the Faith of the Church; this is my Faith; this is our Faith. By learning, repeating, deepening, defending, and transmitting it to our children, let us pray that all those who have lost their way—whether because of errant popes or for any other reason—may come to discover this Faith and accept it wholeheartedly. We would all rejoice not only if the “Orthodox” were to become truly orthodox but also if the unity spoken of by the Catholic catechisms would shine forth in the darkness of today’s world which is torn apart by lies, confusion, and uncertainty.