Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, the First Vicar of Christ, and the Supreme Shepherd with the Keys to the Kingdom

On February 22, the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, acknowledging and honoring the Christ-given authority of Peter, symbolized with the keys to the Kingdom of God, and his pastoral leadership from the day of Pentecost on.

It was, indeed, Peter, who stood up and netted about 3,000 people into the nascent Church to grow, on the day of Pentecost through his speech (Acts 2:14-41). It was not really Peter himself but rather the Holy Spirit in him, who spoke through him (i.e. Matthew 10:20; John 14:26; cf. Luke 21:15). Though all the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (Acts 4:2), only Peter spoke Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, as he and other disciples had witnessed, and called his audience in Jerusalem to repent, be baptized, and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for salvation (Acts 2:14-40). As a result of his sermon, about 3, 000 people who heard him, joined the newborn Church (Acts 2:41).

From the day one of the Church, Peter was the one to take initiative among the Apostles, who were the original presbyters of the Church. It means that Peter was the lead presbyter among the presbyters. So, how did Peter become the chief presbyter of the Church? We find an answer in the Gospel Reading of Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (Matthew 16:13-19).

The Gospel Reading reminds that the Father in heaven had eyed on Peter because He revealed His Son’s Christological or Messianic identity only to Peter in response Jesus’ question, “Who do say that I am?”(Matthew 16:15-17). Because of this, Jesus, the Son, gave Peter the authority to serve as vicar of Christ, symbolized with the keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 16:19), upon giving him a new name, Peter (Petros), and proclaiming to build his Church on “this rock (petra)” (Matthew 16:18).

Though Jesus gave Peter his keys to the Kingdom, Peter was not ready to exercise the authority symbolized with the keys yet. He did not fully understand Paschal Mystery of Christ yet. That is why he tried to prevent Jesus from going to Jerusalem and rebuked by him when Jesus foretold his suffering, death, and resurrection in Jerusalem, for the first time (Matthew 16:21-23). And he even denied Jesus three times out of fear when Jesus was taken to the Sanhedrin for interrogation (e.g. Matthew 26:69-75), though he said to Jesus, “Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you”(Matthew 26:35).

After his resurrection, Jesus commissioned Peter to take up his pastoral capacity all the way to his martyrdom, as shepherd for his sheep (John 21:15-19). This shows that Peter did not lose the authority given to Jesus, symbolized with the keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 16:19), even though he denied him three times (e.g. Matthew 26:69-75).

Then, upon receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, Peter was installed as the very first vicar of Christ, namely, Pope. So, he took the initiative and exercised the Christ-given authority for the steady growth of the nascent Church (Acts 2:14-41; 3:1-10; 4:1-22; 5:1-15; 9:36-41; 10:24-11:18). On the authority that Peter exercised as the lead presbyter of the Church and as Vicar of Christ, St. John Paul II said to General Audience, on Wednesday 16 December 1992:

We can conclude by recognizing that truly at the Church's beginning Peter acted as one who possessed the primary authority within the college of the apostles, and for this reason spoke in the name of the Twelve as a witness to the resurrection.

Therefore, he worked miracles which resembled Christ's and performed them in his name. He assumed responsibility for the moral behavior of the members of the first community and for its future development. He was the focus of concern for the new People of God and of the prayer they made to heaven to obtain his protection and deliverance.

Peter is the Chris-appointed Pastor of his Church (John 21:15-17), holding the keys to the Kingdom given by Christ, symbolizing Christ’s binding authority (Matthew 16:19).  After his resurrection and before his ascension, Jesus, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14), whom Peter called “chief shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4), commanded Peter to follow him as a shepherd of his sheep until his martyrdom (John 21:19). And the other Apostles, presbyteries of the nascent Church, served basically as the associate pastors. The structure is that Peter was archbishop and the other Apostles were auxiliary bishops, if Peter’s jurisdiction is put into an archdiocese.

In the First Reading (1 Peter 5:1-4), the supreme pastor, Peter, wrote to his fellow pastors how they should serve their sheep, as their inspiring role models. This is a pastoral letter written by the very first Pope to his brother bishops of the nascent Church.

The Chair of St. Peter, the Apostle symbolizes Peter’s supreme pastoral role and his supreme authority over his fellow presbyteries and Christ’s sheep.