The city of Rome
continues to be regarded as the centre of Christianity. Jesus predicted the
spread of Christianity as far as Rome – to the ends of the earth. But it was
not just because Rome was the capital of the empire that it came to have a
central place in the Christian Church.
Saint Peter and
Saint Paul preached the gospel, taught the faith, and witnessed to it by their
love and by their martyrdom. The Christian community at Rome was a privileged
one. It guarded the memory of these two great apostles. It protected and
venerated their tombs. It could trace its understanding of the faith back to
Peter and Paul.
Among the many
churches founded by the apostles, Rome thus came to have a special place
because its Christian life was founded on the preaching of Peter and Paul, and
on their blood shed out of love for Jesus. Other churches – founded by Saint
Andrew or Saint John, or some other apostle – deferred to Rome.
Saint Ignatius
of Antioch, writing to the Church of Rome about 110 AD described it as 'having
the chief place in love'. Seventy years later, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons referred
to the Church at Rome as 'the greatest and oldest Church'. Christian faith and
love were regarded as authentically taught in Rome if they were taught anywhere.
This was because the seed from which the Christian community in Rome grew was
the faith and love of Peter and of Paul.
When the
apostles died, their ministry in the Church was regarded as having been passed
on to bishops. So the bishops, the leaders of local Christian communities,
were regarded as the 'successors of the apostles'.
In the same way
as Peter and Paul were regarded as having a special place among the apostles,
and the Church at Rome regarded as having a special place among the Churches,
so the bishop of Rome was regarded as having a special place among the bishops.
As leader of the Christian community at Rome he was, in some sense, the successor of Saint Peter. He presided over the Church which was regarded as
the greatest and the oldest, and one holding the chief place in love, the one
referred to for help in times of disagreement or division or crisis in other
churches.
It is clear from
the gospels that Saint Peter was the spokesman among the apostles. Peter was
the first to express clearly his faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the
living God. On the rock of this faith, on Peter, Jesus said he would build his
church. In Saint John's gospel, it is on the strength of his love that Peter is
chosen. As a symbol of Jesus giving authority to Peter, there is a reference to
the keys of the kingdom. In the Jewish understanding, for Peter to hold the
keys meant for him to have the authority to decide what was in accordance with
the teaching of Jesus and what was not; and also to decide who should be
admitted to membership of the community.
The bishop of Rome, as successor of
Saint Peter, has inherited this special authority in the Church. It is not a
personal privilege for the man who happens to be Pope. It is an awesome
responsibility, to teach the message of Christ faithfully, to be the leader in
faith and in love, to preside over the Christian community at Rome, and,
together with his fellow bishops, over the whole family of believers throughout
the world.
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