Who founded the Catholic Church? Did Jesus start the Catholic Church in Matthew 16, or did it begin centuries later? The Catholic Church exists — over a billion people, in every century back to the apostles — so somebody founded it. In this episode, Kenny Burchard and Catholic apologist Dave Armstrong put one challenge on the table: if it wasn't Jesus... name the founder, and name the date.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro: Who Founded the Catholic Church?
2:53 What Jesus Said He Would Build (Matthew 16)
6:23 Did Peter's Office Continue? (Acts 1 & Timothy)
8:05 Every Institution Has Succession
11:18 The Early Church Listed the Popes (Irenaeus)
12:37 The 3 Candidates: Constantine, Leo & Gregory
18:19 Even Protestant Scholars Agree (T.W. Manson)
21:40 The Constantine & Nicene Creed Dilemma
25:43 The Canon, the Trinity & the Councils
28:16 "Who Founded YOUR Church?" (Kenny's Story)
34:07 Outro

RESOURCES:

• Get the FREE PDF Download for this episode here: https://kennyburchard.com/go/jesus-founded-church
• Get the books: https://davearmstrongbooks.store
  RELATED BOOK
  *Biblical Proofs for an Infallible Church and Papacy - https://davearmstrongbooks.store/product/biblical-proofs-for-an-infallible-church-and-papacy/
  ARTICLES
• St. Peter the First Pope: 120 Bible Proofs [10-22-25] - https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2025/10/st-peter-the-first-pope-120-bible-proofs.html
• Article this video was drawn from: “Yes, Jesus Founded the Catholic Church (vs. Jordan Cooper)” (3-6-24) - https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2024/03/yes-jesus-founded-the-catholic-church-vs-jordan-cooper.html
  WEB PAGES
• The Papacy and Infallibility - https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2006/11/papacy-index-page.html
• The [Catholic] Church and Ecclesiology - https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2006/11/church-index-page.html

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