Lateran Cathedra (Photo by Joyce Thiel, January 2014)
Pope Leo XIV spoke yesterday:
On the morning of Sunday, November 9, Pope Leo XIV presided over the Eucharistic celebration in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, his cathedral as Bishop of Rome. The reason? On November 9, the Catholic Church celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Below is the English translation of the Pope’s homily:
Dear brothers and sisters, Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, which took place in the fourth century under Pope Sylvester I. This Basilica, the Cathedral of Rome, was built at the behest of Emperor Constantine, after he granted Christians the freedom to profess their faith and practice their religion in the year 313.
Why is it that we commemorate this event to the present day? Certainly to recall, with joy and gratitude, a historical event of great importance for the life of the Church, but this is not the only reason. This Basilica, in fact, the “Mother of all Churches,” is much more than a monument or a historical memorial. It is “a sign of the living Church, built with chosen and precious stones in Christ Jesus, the cornerstone (cf. 1 Pet 2:4-5)” … it is through charity in action that the face of our Church is shaped, making it ever clearer to all that she is a “mother,” the “mother of all Churches,” or even a “mom,” as Saint John Paul II said when speaking to children on this very feast day (cf. Address for the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, 9 November 1986). https://zenit.org/2025/11/09/what-does-it-mean-to-be-the-church-pope-leo-xivs-three-reflections-among-which-liturgy-stands-out/
Pope Leo XIV is essentially stating that because of Emperor Constantine, Rome became the mother of churches who accepted many of Constantine’s ways. Basically, he is referring to the Church of Rome being mother of the Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches–essentially that they are daughters of that mother church.
Vatican News added the following related to Pope Leo XIV yesterday:
In his remarks on Sunday, the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the Pope recalled that this day in particular, the Church is called “to contemplate the mystery of unity and communion with the Church of Rome, called to be the mother who cares for the journey of faith of Christians throughout the world.””Let us walk then in the joy of being the holy People that God has chosen, and let us invoke Mary, Mother of the Church, to help us welcome Christ and accompany us with her intercession.” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-leo-at-angelus-9-november-2025.html
There are several points to address here.
First, let’s consider the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
Some have written that because Vatican City is not within the seven hills of Rome, that the Bible is not referring to the Church of Rome in various passages of the 17th chapter of the Book of Revelation.
However, despite having its physical headquarters in Vatican City, the Church of Rome claims that its ‘spiritual authority’ derives from a chair, called the ‘cathedra,’ which is in nearby Rome, within its seven hills.
St. John Lateran dates back to Rome’s emperor Constantine, who donated the building to the Bishop of Rome in the 4th century (allegedly because he was healed of leprosy by Bishop of Rome Miltiades). It claims the title of the “mother church of the world.” It is sometimes referred to as the Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, as it ‘ranks’ above all other Roman Catholic basilicas and cathedrals. It was officially ‘consecrated’ on November 9, 324.
Here is some information from Roman Catholic sources:
Most Catholics think of St. Peter’s as the pope’s main church, but they are wrong. St. John Lateran is the pope’s church, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome where the Bishop of Rome presides.
The first basilica on the site was built in the fourth century when Constantine donated land he had received from the wealthy Lateran family. That structure and its successors suffered fire, earthquake, and the ravages of war, but the Lateran remained the church where popes were consecrated. In the 14th century when the papacy returned to Rome from Avignon, the church and the adjoining palace were found to be in ruins.
Pope Innocent X commissioned the present structure in 1646. One of Rome’s most imposing churches, the Lateran’s towering facade is crowned with 15 colossal statues of Christ, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, and 12 doctors of the Church. Beneath its high altar rest the remains of the small wooden table on which tradition holds Saint Peter himself celebrated Mass. accessed 12/24/19: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/dedication-of-saint-john-lateran/
A Latin inscription in the Church reads: “omnium ecclesiarum Urbis et Orbis mater et caput.” Translated, this means, “The mother and head of all churches of the city and of the world.” In a sense, St. John Lateran is the parish church of all Catholics, because it is the pope’s cathedral. This church is the spiritual home of the people who are the Church.
It is the oldest and highest ranking of the four papal major basilicas, giving it the unique title of “archbasilica.” It was originally named the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior. However, it is called St. John Lateran because it was built on property donated to the Church by the Laterani family, and because the monks from the monastery of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Divine served it. accessed 12/24/19: http://catholicnewsherald.com/faith/189-news/faith/faith-nov/3724-feast-of-the-dedication-of-the-lateran-basilica
Well, “donated” seems to be a stretch. Notice the following:
The Lateran Palace was handed over by Constantine I to the Bishop of Rome, who converted the building into a temple during the fourth century. The Basilica is the oldest church in Europe. …
History
In the early part of the fourth century, the Laterani family were stripped of their land as one of their members was accused of conspiring against the Emperor. It was given to the Bishop of Rome in order to build the first Roman basilica. (https://www.rome.net/basilica-st-john-lateran accessed 12/19/19)
So, obviously, when the Emperor gave the “donated” property, there was nothing originally sacred about St. John Lateran for succession.
Although one might think that the very official chair or “cathedra” of Peter would be in St. Peter’s Basilica (and perhaps the large black one that has been called “Satan’s Throne,” especially because some believe a piece of a chair Peter once owned or sat on is in that chair, and none are claimed for the one in the Lateran chair) and it would be the primary basilica for the Church of Rome, this is not the case.
The Catholic Encyclopedia notes:
Saint John Lateran
The basilica
This is the oldest, and ranks first among the four great “patriarchal” basilicas of Rome…313. From that time onwards it was always the centre of Christian life within the city; the residence of the popes and the cathedral of Rome. The latter distinction it still holds, though it has long lost the former…The ancient apse, with mosaics of the fourth century, survived all the many changes and dangers of the Middle Ages, and was still to be seen very much in its original condition as late as 1878, when it was destroyed in order to provide a larger space for the ordinations and other pontifical functions which take place in this cathedral church of Rome. (Barnes, Arthur. “Saint John Lateran.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. )
Here is something that the Vatican put out about it, in Italian, that I had machine translated into English:
San Giovanni in LateranoÈ la chiesa più antica dell’Occidente, precede San Pietro di circa tredici anni; è rimasta per più di mille anni, fino al XIV sec., residenza papale; è la sede del vescovo di Roma. Qui Bonifacio VIII da dato solenne avvio al primo Giubileo della Storia, affacciandosi dalla loggia delle Benedizioni nel 1300, come ricorda un frammento di un affresco di Giotto conservato all’interno della basilica. Qui si tennero ben cinque Concili Ecumenici dal 1123 al 1512 e fino al XIX secolo vi si celebrava la cerimonia d’incoronazione del Papa. Per questo sui due lati dell’ingresso incontriamo la fierissima iscrizione: “Sacrosanta Chiesa madre e corpo di tutte le Chiese di Roma e del mondo”. Fu poi papa clemente VI nella bolla d’indizione per il secondo Giubileo (1350), ad indicare che per ottenere l’indulgenza giubilare, sarebbe stato necessario visitare, oltre alle due chiese principali di San Pietro e San Paolo, anche quella del Laterano http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/pilgrim/documents/ju_gp_15012000_p-04b_it.html
St. John Lateran
It is the oldest church in the West, by about thirteen years St. Peter’s; it remained for more than a thousand years, until the fourteenth century, papal residence; is the seat of the bishop of Rome. Here given by Boniface VIII solemnly inaugurated the first Jubilee of history, looking out from the balcony of the Blessings in 1300, as noted by a fragment of a fresco by Giotto in the Basilica preserved. Here are five ecumenical councils were held from 1123 to 1512 and until the nineteenth century there was celebrated the coronation of the Pope’s why the two sides of the fierce encounter the inscription: “Most Holy Mother Church and body of all the Churches Rome and the world. ” It was later Pope Clement VI in spirit call for the second Jubilee (1350), indicating that for the Jubilee indulgence, it was necessary to visit, in addition to the two main churches of St. Peter and St. Paul, including that of the Lateran.
The Basilica of St. John Lateran is within the old walls of ancient Rome. It is located near the edge of one of the ‘seven hills’ (cf. Revelation 17:9) of Rome, called the Coelian (Celio/Cælian) Hill (Coelio is one of the original seven hills, or seven mountains, of Rome; see Heiken G, Funiciello R, de Rita D. The Seven Hills of Rome: A Geological Tour of the Eternal City. Princeton University Press, 2013, reprint, p. 123).
Here is a report about the chair itself:
It is the throne of the Lateran, not the chair of Peter, in which the sovereign of the Western Church is installed, exhibiting on its ancient marble steps, curiously interwoven with figures of the lion, the adder, the dragon, and the basilisk, on which he treads as he mounts his seat, (Milman HH. History of Latin Christianity; The Quarterly Review, Volume 95, 1854, p. 59)
A basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance. Although I have seen this chair a few times, I have not been allowed to be close enough to see that detail. Perhaps, the next time I am there, I will have some type of binoculars or tele-zoom lens. When I saw a blow up of the photo, it shows a snake, dragon, and perhaps a basilisk, so obviously these do not come from true Christian sources as those would not seem to be symbols that Christian leaders would want (cf. Revelation 13:11).
Here is a report from George Edmundson related to a chair that allegedly became part of the altar at St. John’s Lateran:
It is said that the house of Pudens (the elder Pudens mentioned by St. Paul) was during his stay in Rome the home of St. Peter. The sella gestaloria, or St. Peter’s chair, the oak framework of which is of great antiquity, is said to have been originally the senatorial chair of Pudens. (Edmundson G. The church in Rome in the first century: an examination of various controverted questions relating to its history, chronology, literature and traditions; eight lectures preached before the University of Oxford in the year 1913 on the foundation of the late Rev. John Bampton. Longmans, Green, 1913 Original from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Digitized March 14, 2008, p. 248)
It is unclear if any of the above is true, other than to say that there was a Pudens that the Apostle Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 4:21. But I will add that I have visited the ‘Pudentiana church’ in Rome and it is believed to be named after a female, who is claimed to be the daughter of Pudens, who in turn was claimed to be the son of Senator Quintus Cornelius Pudens (who was claimed to be a convert of Peter, which I doubt). The Basilica of Santa Pudenziana is claimed to have been built over a house in the second century A.D.
George Edmundson’s account continued with the following:
The wooden altar at the St. John Lateran again has been in continuous use there since the fourth century, when it was removed from St. Pudentiana, and that despite the fact that Pope Sylvester in 312 A.D. ordered that all altars should henceforth be of stone … When St. John Lateran replaced St. Pudentiana as the Cathedral Church of Rome the bishop and the altar moved there together. Edmundson, p. 248)
Rome clearly considers this building to be important.
Notice the inscription, that is shown in numerous places, on the outside of St. John’s Lateran church:
(Photo by Joyce Thiel)
The inscription from Latin above translated into English means, “Sacred Lateran Church Mother and Head of All Churches of the City and the World.” Notice the following warning against a worldly “mother” church associated with seven-hills:
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement…
9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. (Revelation 17:1-6, 9)
18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18)
There seem to be many connections between Roman Catholicism and warnings in the Bible.
Now, having been to John’s Lateran several times, I can attest to it being within the seven hills of Rome. So, despite the Vatican being outside of that ancient boundary, its most ancient basilica in the area is.
Interestingly, perhaps it also should be mentioned that Vatican City is believed to have been named after a pagan goddess (Vatika) whose name also was associated with wine.
Even more connections with Revelation 17.
While St. John Lateran is considered to be the Mother of All Churches by Pope Leo XIV, the fact is that Roman Catholic trnas teach that Jerusalem was originally the mother church. Notice the following by Greco-Roman Catholic writers and translators:
Jerusalem … this Holy City, from where the Mother Church greets all believers as brothers. (Archbishop Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Homily, April 5, 2012)
The mother-church of Jerusalem … (The Church of Antioch. The Catholic Encyclopedia)
… the mother church of Sion. … St. Luke in the Acts and then Eusebius … speak only of the mother church in Jerusalem. … (Bagatti B. The Church from the Circumcision, pp. 11-12, 49)
1 … Jerusalem the holy city … (2 Esdras 11:1/Nehemiah 11:1, DRB)
26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:26, EOB)
26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and that is the one that is our mother; (Galatians 4:26, NJB)
The original Church of God was initially based out of Jerusalem.
Later, most of the original apostles, all of which were once part of the mother church in Jerusalem, went to Asia Minor. And the last of the original apostles to die, John, reportedly died in Asia Minor (Ephesus). Apparently while in Ephesus, John referred to the church, not exclusively to Jerusalem, as “the elect lady” who had “children” (2 John 1). From Ephesus, John passed the mantle of the “mother church” on to Polycarp, who was based in Smyrna.
In the 2nd century, Polycarp of Smyrna wrote, “the faith given you; ‘which is the mother of us all’” (Polycarp. Letter to the Philippians, 3:2-3). Only the church with the original true faith could be considered as “the mother of us all.” Not Rome, not Mary.
However, many did not have the true faith.
Polycarp even referred to them as having “the vanity of many.”
Now consider that Roman Catholic priest Malachi Martin lived and worked in Vatican City for years. He was deeply involved in researching and writing about Church history, theology, and the inner workings of the Roman Catholic Church. In a book he wrote, Malachi Martin reported a meeting between relatives of Jesus, called the desposyni, and Bishop of Rome Sylvester I, but gave no source (so, perhaps, it may have come from the archives in the Vatican library?):
Jewish Christians … occupied the oldest Christian churches in the Middle East and whose leaders were always from the family of Jesus himself. … they shunned all worldly power … their first bishop was James, first cousin of Jesus. …
A meeting between Silvester and the Jewish Christian leaders took place in 318. … The vital interview was not, as far as we know, recorded, but the issues were very well known, and it is probable the Joses, the oldest of the Christian Jews, spoke on behalf of the desposyni and the rest.
That most hallowed name, desposyni, had been respected by all believers in the first century and a half of Christian history. The word literally meant, in Greek, “belonging to the Lord.” It was reserved uniquely for Jesus’ blood relatives. Every part of the ancient Jewish Christian church had always been governed by a desposynos, and each of them carried one of the names traditional in Jesus’ family–Zachary, Joseph, John, James, Joses, Simeon, Matthias, and so on. But no one was ever called Jesus. …
Silvester knew their history well. Jewish Christians had composed the only church ever in Jerusalem until the year 135. … Jewish Christian churches were set up all over Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia … and always in quarrel with Greek Christians who refused to … observe the Torah …
They therefore asked Silvester to revoke his confirmation of Greek Christian bishops at Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Ephesus, and in Alexandria, and to name instead desposynos bishops to take their place. …
Silvester curtly and decisively dismissed the claims of the Jewish Christians . He told them that the mother church was now in Rome, with the bones of the Apostle Peter, and he insisted that they accept the Greek bishops to lead them.
It was the last known discussion between the Jewish Christians of the old mother church and the non-Jewish Christians of the new mother church. …
The Jewish Christians had no place in such a church structure. (Martin M. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church. Bantam edition, 1983, pp. 30-32)
(Here is a link to an article titled: Relatives of Jesus.) Rome’s Bishop Sylvester (they were not called popes then) refused to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3), even when he was reminded of aspects of it.
Pope Leo has sadly followed in Sylvester’s way.
In the late Middle Ages, a Waldnesian wrote that the Church of Rome was “the apocalyptic whore, the mother of harlots” (A Treatise concerning Antichrist, Purgatory, the Invocation of Saints, and the Sacraments” as shown in Jones, William. The history of the Christian church from the birth of Christ to the xviii. century, Volumes 1-2, 3rd edition. R.W. Pomeroy, 1832. Original from Harvard University, Digitized, Feb 6, 2009, pp. 337-340).
Around 1918, a COG Sabbatarian named G.G. Rupert wrote:
We say that the Greek, the Roman, and the Protestant organizations are all the daughters of modern Babylon, the Baal woman, who is the representative of the work of Satan in every age. (Rupert GG. The Seven Churches. Union Publishing Company, c. 1918, pp. 5,10, 22)
The position of the mid 20th century Worldwide Church of God was that since Protestants and others compromised and accepted many non-biblical doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome, that they were among the harlot daughters of Babylon (Revelation 17:4-5) and daughters of Jezebel (Revelation 2:22-23) and would be destroyed after the start of the Great Tribulation consistent with Revelation 2:23 (LESSON 51, AMBASSADOR COLLEGE BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place …” Rev. 12:6. Ambassador College, 1968).
So, the long-standing Church of God position is that yes, in a worldly sense, there is a mother church in Rome.
But it is not the faithful church.
The fact is that there is the true and faithful Church of God, and there is a worldly church who changed and went the wrong way.
I pray that Pope Leo and others will look into church history and Bible and repent.
Items of possibly related interest may include:
Apostolic Succession What really happened? Did structure and beliefs change? Are many of the widely-held current understandings of this even possible? Did you know that Catholic scholars really do not believe that several of the claimed “apostolic sees” of the Orthodox have apostolic succession–despite the fact that the current pontiff himself seems to wish to ignore this view? Is there actually a true church that has ties to any of the apostles that is not part of the Catholic or Orthodox churches? Read this article if you truly are interested in the truth on this matter! Here is a link to a sermon: Claims of Apostolic Succession. Here is a related article in the Spanish language La sucesión apostólica. ¿Ocurrió en Roma, Alejandría, Constantinopla, Antioquía, Jerusalén o Asia Menor?
Relatives of Jesus What are the names of Jesus’ relatives in the Bible? Who were James, Joseph, Simon, Judas, Mary, Clopas, Joseph of Arimathea, Symeon, and Salome? What does history report about what happened to them? Are any in any succession lists? What about Judah Kyriakos? What did Malachi Martin write about relatives of Jesus meeting Silvester of Rome in 318? Here is a link to a related sermon titled Relatives of Jesus.
Early Church History: Who Were the Two Major Groups that Professed Christ in the Second and Third Centuries? Did you know that many in the second and third centuries felt that there were two major, and separate, professing Christian groups in the second century, but that those in the majority churches tend to now blend the groups together and claim “saints” from both? “Saints” that condemn some of their current beliefs. Who are the two groups? A related sermon is also available Christianity: Two groups.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
Cathedra Petri: Satan’s Throne? Does the Bible teach that Satan has a throne? Could it possibly be the Cathedra Petri that Italian sculptor Bernini made? Here is a link to a related video: Could the “Cathedra Petri” be Satan’s Throne? There is also an online sermon about Vatican City, Peter, and this same throne shot in Rome and Vatican City: The Vatican, Peter, and ‘Satan’s Throne’.
What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History? Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. Is telling the truth about the early church citing Roman Catholic accepted sources anti-Catholic? This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church. There is also a YouTube sermon on the subject titled Church of God or Church of Rome: What Do Catholic Scholars Admit About Early Church History?
Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes? Who were the Nazarene Christians? What did they believe? Should 21st century Christians be modern Nazarenes? Is there a group that exists now that traces its history through the Nazarenes and holds the same beliefs today? Here are links to two related video sermons Nazarenes: Christians or Heretics? and Nazarene Christians: Were the early Christians “Nazarenes”?
Does the Church of God need to be headquartered in Jerusalem? Some say so. But what does the Bible teach? A related short video is also available: Does the Bible endorse Jerusalem as the Church of God headquarters now?
Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome What actually happened to the primitive Church? And did the Bible tell about this in advance? Here are links to two related sermons: Early Church: Jerusalem, Rome, and Apostolic Teachings and Asia Minor and Early Apostolic Succession.
Apostolic Succession What really happened? Did structure and beliefs change? Are many of the widely-held current understandings of this even possible? Did you know that Roman Catholic scholars really do not believe that several of the claimed “apostolic sees” of the Orthodox have apostolic succession–despite the fact that the current pontiff himself seems to wish to ignore this view? Is there actually a true church that has ties to any of the apostles that is not part of the Roman Catholic or Orthodox churches? Read this article if you truly are interested in the truth on this matter! Here is a link to a sermon: Claims of Apostolic Succession. Here is a related article in the Spanish language La sucesión apostólica. ¿Ocurrió en Roma, Alejandría, Constantinopla, Antioquía, Jerusalén o Asia Menor?
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, French: L Histoire Continue de l Église de Dieu and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.