Today (Feb 22) is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle. It may be the only day of the year that the Church sets aside for reverence to an inanimate object.
I mean, what’s so special about some chair anyway?
I mean, what’s so special about some chair anyway?
Well, to be fair, it’s not just some chair; it’s this chair:
[Although, admittedly, finding the actual chair in the midst of that ecstatic masterpiece is indeed an achievement of Waldensian proportions (the slippery fellow in the red and white striped shirt, that is, not the heretics).]
But I digress.
And of course, in all truth, though sacred objects are indeed held in high esteem by the Church, some random relic isn’t enough to make the priest change his garments from violet to white on this Lenten Friday. For the chair is of course a symbol representing something infinitely more than itself.
The Chair of St. Peter represents the Petrine office itself, the pope, the bishop of Rome, as well as the authority and endurance of the Church itself.
On February 28, the reign of Pope Benedict XVI will end. But his office will not. Soon thereafter, the 266th supreme pontiff will be elected, and will be able now, as always, to trace his succession all the way back to the apostle Peter himself.
Truly a remarkable feat. What other kingdom on earth has endured for such a period? Though the papacy has surely not been without its own speed bumps throughout history, it is still here, 2000 years later. Other kingdoms of men have been proclaimed never-ending throughout history, but you needn’t walk the span of more than 2 miles to see whose claim has measured up and whose hasn’t:
But I digress.
And of course, in all truth, though sacred objects are indeed held in high esteem by the Church, some random relic isn’t enough to make the priest change his garments from violet to white on this Lenten Friday. For the chair is of course a symbol representing something infinitely more than itself.
The Chair of St. Peter represents the Petrine office itself, the pope, the bishop of Rome, as well as the authority and endurance of the Church itself.
On February 28, the reign of Pope Benedict XVI will end. But his office will not. Soon thereafter, the 266th supreme pontiff will be elected, and will be able now, as always, to trace his succession all the way back to the apostle Peter himself.
Truly a remarkable feat. What other kingdom on earth has endured for such a period? Though the papacy has surely not been without its own speed bumps throughout history, it is still here, 2000 years later. Other kingdoms of men have been proclaimed never-ending throughout history, but you needn’t walk the span of more than 2 miles to see whose claim has measured up and whose hasn’t:
As much as we may have tried to mess it up over the centuries, the Church still stands – and the Chair of St. Peter with it. That’s because it’s not our Church; or at least not ours alone. It’s Christ’s Church. And he, that Beauty ancient, yet ever new, the same yester day, today, and forever, is the one whose Spirit and physical presence has sustained the Church and it’s leaders through every age.
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah…. I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”(Matt 16: 17-18)
I don’t know about you, but that’s the sort of promise I want to be a part of.
- St. Peter, Apostle, Leader, and Fisher of Men
– Pray for us.
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah…. I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”(Matt 16: 17-18)
I don’t know about you, but that’s the sort of promise I want to be a part of.
- St. Peter, Apostle, Leader, and Fisher of Men
– Pray for us.
Written by: Matt Gangidine
