The Feast of the Cathedra Petri (Chair of Peter) - Christ, Church, and Pope

 January 22 is the feast of the Cathedra Petri  for the Ecclesia Catholico Romanum. It does not mean that the Roman Catholic Church (Ecclesia Catholico Romanum) celebrates the Cathedral of a bunch of petri dishes. Cathedra Petri  means the Chair of Peter.  In the Roman Catholic Church, cathedra is referred to bishop’s chair.

When Jesus asked his disciples, who were to be the presbyters of the nascent Church upon Pentecost, “Who do you say that I am?”(Matthew 16:15), Peter acclaimed Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), because this Christological truth about Jesus was revealed only to Peter. So, Jesus blessed him (Matthew 16:17) with these words:

You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:18-19).

Prior to this, Peter was Simon, which was the name he had since the time he was a fisher man in Galilee, before he met and followed Jesus. But, upon this blessing of Jesus on him, he was no longer Simon but Peter to be destined to be the first holder of the Cathedra Ecclesiae Christi (the Bishop’s Chair of Christ’s Church). The keys given by Jesus to Peter signify the supreme presbytery authority given to Peter, among his fellow presbytery brothers upon the birth of the Church on Pentecost. The supreme bishop among fellow bishops, other Apostles who played presbytery roles in the nascent Church, is namely the Pope, the supreme bishop among the bishops. That is why the keys, the Papal authorities, were given only to Peter. Therefore, the Gospel Reading for the feast of St. Peter (Matthew 16:13-19) is a description of how Jesus appointed Peter to the chair of the supreme presbytery authority among all of his disciples.

As the first Pope, the bishop among the bishops of the Church, Peter has the authority given by Jesus to bind and loosed things in the Church on earth as they are bind and loosed in heaven. The First Reading (1 Peter 5:1-4) reflects how Peter as the first Pope exercising his authority in making sure all of his brother bishops (presbyters) are committed to their presbytery leadership in pastoral ministry roles in their respective dioceses in juxtaposition to how shepherds take care of the sheep that they are responsible for their welfare.

In John 21:15-21, you can see how risen Jesus entrusted and commissioned Peter not just to feed but to care for the sheep that he had been ministering to as the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18), as Jesus the Good Shepherd was about to depart through Ascension.

At first, risen Jesus asked Peter:

Feed my lambs; Tend my sheep; Feed my sheep (John 21:15,16,17).

Then, after rise Jesus ascended and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, upon the birth of the Church, Peter exercising his papal authority, given by Jesus, in delegating his pastoral authority to his fellow bishops (presbyters), who are also his fellow disciples, commissioned as the Apostles:

Tend the flock of God in your midst, [overseeing] not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:2-3), reflecting what Jesus commanded to him in John 21:15-17.

One leadership authority of Pope is to delegate is pastoral roles to his fellow bishop brothers, as Moses once did his authority as the judge to the entrusted elders (presbyters) among the fellow Israelites as advised by Jethro, his father-in-law (Exodus 18:1-27).

Then, Pentecost followed Ascension of the risen Christ, giving birth to the Church (Acts 2) , which Jesus has built upon the Apostles and the prophets, while he is her cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). As described in Acts 2:14-41, Peter immediately began to serve in his supreme presbytery role – papal role - on the very day of the Church’s birth. 

In terms of the Gospel Reading (Matthew 16:13-19), on v. 18, in particular, there has been a debate if Jesus meant to build his Church on Peter, just because he has given the keys to him, calling him Πέτρος (Petros- Peter) and telling that he will build his Church (ἐκκλησία/ecclesia) ἐπὶ (epi – on ) ταύτῃ τῇ (taure te – this) πέτρᾳ (petra – rock) .

It seems that the debate is rooted in a seeming confusion in interpreting πέτρος (petros) and πέτρᾳ (petra) , as sometimes these Greek words are translated as “rock”.  

Jesus named  Simon  as Πέτρος (Petros), which is interpreted as a “rock”. But, Jesus did not call he would build his Church on Πέτρος (Petros) but, instead, on πέτρᾳ (petra). These are different things, besides the fact that the former is a masculine noun while the latter is feminine. Πέτρος (Petros) refers to a small rock, more like a stone, while πέτρᾳ (petra) means a large rock, with a nuance of “mother rock”, more like a bluff.  Therefore, in naming Simon as Πέτρος (Petros) and proclaiming to build his Church on πέτρᾳ (petra) in Matthew 16:18,  Jesus seemed to have thought that Peter is one of the stones,  standing on the bedrock, on which the Church is to be built.

If we interpret πέτρᾳ (petra) in Matthew 16:18 as the foundation rock in connection to θεμελίῳ (themelio) (foundation or foundation stone) in Ephesians 2:20, Peter Πέτρος (Petros) is the representative stone πέτρος (petros) of all stones that make up the large bedrock πέτρᾳ (petra) which functions as the foundation θεμελίῳ (themelio) θεμελίῳ (themelio) on which Jesus builds his Church. Therefore, even though Jesus did not call Peter to be the foundation rock of the Church, he is nevertheless a foundation stone, while his fellow Apostles are other foundation stones, making up the great bedrock of the Church. And, of course, the cornerstone (ἀκρογωνιαῖος/ akrogoniaios) of the Church is Christ (Ephesians 2:20), as he is the cornerstone פִנָּה (pinah) mentioned in Psalm 118:22.

In terms of the πέτρᾳ (petra) in Matthew 16:18, on which Jesus claimed to build his Church, some interpret this as a huge rock in Caesarea Philippi.  The geographical location is Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13).  This place had been known for large rocks (petras), in addition to being a hub of pagan worship, pagan deity of pan, when Jesus came with his disciples. Thus, some interpret the rock (πέτρᾳ /petra) in Matthew 16:18 can be referred to a rock of Caesarea Philippi, which symbolically means a place of paganism to be Christianized.

Christ’s desire is to bring Gentile sheep wondering in pagan world to his fold (John 10:16).  And, Peter’s Apostolic journey as Vicarius Christi (the Vicar of Christ), Primus inter pares (first among equals), Petros among petroses of the foundation petra led him in Rome in light of what Jesus said to him in John 21:18-19. And, it is where the Roman Catholic Church was built, the pagan city where Peter martyred for Christ.  And it is where the Cathedra Petri  (Chair of Peter) remains, and the spirit of Peter remains in the Church’s papacy.