'STAND FAST IN THE FAITH '

New Zealand Tablet, 30 October 1913, Page 3

'STAND FAST IN THE FAITH '

(A Weekly Instruction-specially written for the N.Z. Tablet by 'Ghimel'.)

THE PRIMACY OF ST. PETER: ITS DOCTRINAL BEARINGS (Continued.) .We have seen that St. Peter lived and died in Rome and had his See there, and that the Roman Pontiffs are his successors in that Bishopric. The question will now be asked: Was this Apostle invested by our Lord with any special authority over the whole Church, and if so, what was its nature? ■ The teaching of the Catholic Church on this point is laid down by the Vatican Council," Session IV., chapters 1 and 2':— (1) 'According to the testimony of the Gospel a primacy of jurisdiction over the whole Church was promised immediately and directly to the Blessed Peter the Apostle, and was conferred upon him;' (2) 'what the Chief Pastor and great Shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ, instituted in the person of Blessed Peter the Apostle for the perpetual welfare and lasting good of the Church, this must, by the institution of Christ, last for ever in the Church, which, being founded on a rock, shall remain ever firm to the end of the world '; (3) ' that if anyone, say • • . that the Roman Pontiff is not the successor of Blessed Peter in the same Primacy, let him bo anathema.' To explain: That our Lord conferred upon St. Peter some sort of pre-eminence among His Apostles, is not seriously denied, but objections crowd in from Protestants when once we attempt to fix its significance. Was the pre-eminenceprimacy, it is called —conferred on St. Peter, one of honor or precedence merely, or did it give him jurisdiction and imply a special position of authority? 'Primacy of honor implies precedence in rank and dignity,. but confers no real authority or jurisdiction over others. It supposes that amongst those who are equal in authority one obtains the first place, the place of honor, owing to age, position, influence, or some other extrinsic consideration. The senior bishop in a province or the senior magistrate on the bench is allowed this kind of primacy. Such a one is said to be primus inter fares, first amongst his equals. Primacy of jurisdiction, on the other hand, is a prerogative which confers not only precedence in point of place and dignity, but also authority over others. This, it is needless to say, is the Primacy, or as it is sometimes called, Supremacy, which Catholics claim for the Roman Pontiff. The authority which is involved in his Primacy is an" authority to teach, to rule, and to correct. The limits of that authority are as wide as the Church of Christ upon earth.' (Abp. Carr. Lectures, p. 172.) We turn to Sacred Scripture for proofs of this teaching, and taking the many passages cumulatively, we find them to be clear and irresistible. Only note that it would be a mistake to look for our modern phraseology there; indeed, we must be content to find, the germ of the doctrine rather than the thing as it* is now. But even so it is perfectly safe to say that the principle of Peter's Primacy has a much deeper foundation in Scripture than any other great religious principle or doctrine held by outsiders— their cardinal principle that the Bible is the" sole rule of faith.

One of the first, acts of Christ in His Public Ministry was to change the Apostle's name, and such an act is always looked upon in Scripture as full of meaning. When Abram was specially called by God to be the foundation-stone of the older Dispensation, he received a new name expressive of the office he was to hold, and prophetic of the place he was to take in the divine plan: he was now called Abraham, because God had made him ' the father of many nations' (Gen. xvii, 5). So, too, when Simon was brought for the first time by his brother Andrew to our Lord, he received a new name: And Jesus, looking upon him, said: Thou art Simon the son of Jona; thou shalt be

called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter, or Rock' (John i., 29-42; Mark iii.,. 16; Luke vi., 14). And as Christ Himself was spoken of in Scripture as ' the Rock,' the corner-stone,' it now appears that -by this change of name He marks out Peter for a share in His own name and office. ' While lam the inviolable Rock —St. Leo represents Christ as saying— the Corner-stone, Who makes both one, the foundation beside which no one can lay another, yet thou also art the rock, because by thy virtue thou art established so as to enjoy by participation the properties which are peculiar to Me.'

After such a mark of distinction conferred on Peter, and on Peter alone, we are not surprised to notice the following facts: (1) Peter is always named by the New Testament ■writers before the other Apostles (Matt. x. 2; Mark iii., 16; Luke vi., 14; Acts i., 13).

(2) Peter is associated with our Lord in a special way on the occasion of the miraculous payment of the tribute money. ' Give it to them for thee and for Me' (Matt, xvii., 26).

(3) Peter is represented as holding the first place after our Lord's death (Acts i., 13; ii., 14; iii., etc.), and as acting as spokesman for the rest (Acts i., 15; ii., 14).

(4) The Angels send the news of the Resurrection specially to him. ' But go, tell His disciples and Peter' (Mark xvi., 7).

(5) And his testimony to this great fact is thought by the others to be conclusive. ' The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon' (Luke xxiv., 34).

(6) When Peter was cast into prison by Herod, ' prayer was made without ceasing by the Church unto God for him' (Acts xii., 5). We do not read of such concern being shown in the case of any other. (7) St. Paul, in preparation for the apostolate 1 went to Jerusalem to see Peter,' and the Greek word suggests the idea of a visit to a great personage for the purpose of getting information, etc. And though this same Paul was specially called to gather the pagans into the Church, yet to St. Peter God reserved the admission of the first of them. (Acts x., 15.) (8) Outsiders quickly saw that Peter was the leader of the followers of Christ: ,' They brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that when Peter came, his shadow at the least might overshadow any of them, and they might be delivered from their infirmities.' (Acts v., 15.)