1870, and the Two Traditions That Said No

The doctrine reached its defined form at the First Vatican Council. Its constitution Pastor Aeternus (1870) taught that the pope holds universal ordinary jurisdiction over the whole church and that he teaches infallibly when, and only when, speaking ex cathedra: as pastor of all Christians, defining a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the whole church. The conditions are strict, and Catholic theologians dispute how many pronouncements have ever met them.

The atlas records three standing positions. The Catholic position affirms both the universal jurisdiction and the infallibility. The Orthodox churches grant the bishop of Rome a primacy of honour, a first place among equals within a fundamentally conciliar church, but reject a primacy of jurisdiction over other bishops, and regard the 1870 definitions as an innovation. The Protestant churches reject the notion of a Petrine office altogether, locating authority in scripture and, variously, in councils or congregations. The 1870 definition itself produced a schism: the Old Catholic churches broke away rather than accept it. The doctrine remains among the principal obstacles to reunion between Rome and the East.