\nwill bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
\nwill be loosed in heaven, the Lord said to Simon Peter.<\/span><\/p>\n
O God, Who having given On this feast in 2009, Pope Benedict taught the following in an audience:<\/font><\/p>\n “This Sunday is also the Pope Benedict XVI,<\/span><\/p>\n Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, 22 February 2009<\/span><\/p>\n The For what purpose does the Church have a feast called the “Chair “The Lord says to Peter: ‘I “There is one God and one Saint Cyprian is very clear that Christ founded “With a false bishop appointed for For Saint Cyprian, the unity of the bishops and priests has its source (not only as a Last year’s blog post<\/a> may also have some relevant info…<\/font><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whatever you will bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, the Lord said to Simon Peter. O God, Who having given Peter, Thy Apostle, the keys of the kingdom of heaven, did bestow on him the pontifical power of binding and loosing; grant … Continue reading Chair of Saint Peter<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1907,1713],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25353"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25353\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPeter, Thy Apostle, the keys of the kingdom of heaven, did bestow on him the
\npontifical power of binding and loosing; grant that by the help of intercession
\nwe may be delivered from the bonds of our sins.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/font><\/p>\n![\"chair](\"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/chair%20st%20peter.jpg\")
\nfeast of the Chair of Peter, an important liturgical feast that highlights the
\noffice of the successor of the Prince of the Apostles. The chair of Peter
\nsymbolizes the authority of the Bishop of Rome, who is called to perform a
\nspecial service for the whole People of God. Immediately after the martyrdom of
\nSaint Peter and Saint Paul, the primacy of the Church of Rome in the Catholic
\ncommunity was recognized. This role was already attested to in the 2nd century
\nby Saint Ignatius of Antioch (Letter to the Romans<\/i>, Pref.: Funk, I, 252) and by
\nSaint Irenaeus of Lyons (Contra Haereses<\/i>, III, 3, 2-3). This singular and
\nspecific ministry of the Bishop of Rome was stressed again by the Second
\nVatican Council. “Moreover, within the Church,” we read in the
\nDogmatic Constitution on the Church, “particular Churches hold a rightful
\nplace; these Churches retain their own traditions, without in any way opposing
\nthe primacy of the Chair of Peter, which presides over the whole assembly of
\ncharity (cf. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans<\/i>, Pref.) and protects
\nlegitimate differences, while at the same time assuring that such differences do
\nnot hinder unity but rather contribute toward it” (Lumen Gentium<\/i>, 13).<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/font><\/p>\n
\nChurch celebrates today, since the 4th century, the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle. The
\nChurch does not worship church furnishings but the office that was given to the
\nApostle Peter by the Lord Himself. This chair, then, is the key to unity among
\nChristians. Hence, it is not just a chair, but a throne or cathedra, i.e., a
\nseat of pastoral authority. It is not an authority for temporal affairs or political engagement. It is about preaching, teaching and sanctifying God’s people. These three functions are to lead others to heaven —communio<\/i> with the Blessed Trinity.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nof Saint Peter” and how is it connected with unity among Christians? Saint
\nCyprian, Carthage’s bishop (d. 258), tells us,<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsay to you,’ He says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
\nChurch, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. And to you I will give the
\nkeys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever things you bind on earth shall be
\nbound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, they shall be loosed
\nalso in heaven.’ And again He says to him after His resurrection: ‘Feed my
\nsheep.’ On him He builds the Church, and to him He gives the command to feed
\nthe sheep; and although He assigns a like power to all the Apostles, yet He
\nfounded a single chair, and He established by His own authority a source and an
\nintrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter
\nwas; but a primacy is given to Peter whereby it is made clear that there is but
\none Church and one chair<\/b>. So too, all are shepherds, and the flock is shown to
\nbe one, fed by all the Apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not
\nhold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith?
\nIf he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be
\nconfident that he is in the Church?<\/b>“<\/span><\/p>\n
\nChrist, and one Church, and one Chair founded on Peter<\/span> by the word of the Lord.
\nIt is not possible to set up another altar or for there to be another
\npriesthood<\/b> besides that one altar and that one priesthood. Whoever has gathered
\nelsewhere is scattering<\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\nupon Saint Peter the visible basis of the unity of the Church. <\/span>Peter does not replace Christ as the
\nhead of the Church. In theological terms this feast notes, observes and
\notherwise holds up a primacy given by the Lord to Saint Peter to ensure and preserve
\nher unity. Saint Cyprian argues:<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthemselves by heretics, they dare even to set sail and carry letters from
\nschismatics and blasphemers to the chair of Peter and to the principal Church<\/span>,
\nin which sacerdotal unity has its source<\/span>; nor did they take thought that these
\nare Romans, whose faith was praised by the preaching Apostle, and among whom it
\nis not possible for perfidy to have entrance.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\npast event but as a living, thriving principle) in the Chair of Saint Peter.<\/span><\/p>\n