This week we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, a day when we commemorate the authority of St. Peter as head of the Apostles, and his faithful helper St. Paul, the great evangelizer of the Gentiles. If St. Peter is our leader in the faith, then St. Paul is his fearless soldier. Peter, one of the 12 apostles, was made the head of the 12 by Jesus Himself. St. Paul is considered an apostle in the Roman Liturgy, even though he was not one of the twelve, because of his extensive apostolic work. He makes mention of his unusual status in 1 Corinthians 15 where he said that he was ‘born out of the normal course of time’, because he came to know Jesus only after he had risen from the dead, and after having himself persecuted the Church. Paul was miraculously converted by Christ in Damascus and went from being the greatest persecutor to arguably the greatest evangelist.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once remarked that “a very ancient tradition which dates back to apostolic times claims that [St. Peter and St. Paul’s] last meeting before their martyrdom actually took place not far from [St. Peter’s Basilica]: the two are supposed to have embraced and blessed each other. [And so] on the main portal of this Basilica they are depicted together, with scenes of both martyrdoms. Thus, from the outset, Christian tradition has considered Peter and Paul to have been inseparable, even if each had a different mission to accomplish. [As St. Augustine said]: “One day is assigned for the celebration of the martyrdom of the two Apostles. But those two were one. Although their martyrdom occurred on different days, they were one” (Sermon 295, 7, 8).
St. Paul says in Galatians that after he was converted to Christ he went to consult with St. Peter for 15 days, and he said he saw none of the other Apostles except for James the Less. Isn’t that interesting. This is one of many passages which indicates that Peter had a chief position of authority among the Apostles. If Peter was in charge of them he was in charge of the whole church.
We know that familiar passage in Matthew when Our Lord Jesus asked the disciples: “Who do men say that the son of man is? And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”. Simon Peter replied, “Thou art the Christ the son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to thee, but my father who is in heaven. And I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Upon what rock? Upon the rock of Peter, who because he professed the faith that Jesus was the son of God, by a revelation of God the Father, would become the one responsible for the preserving of the profession of faith until the end of time by some special gift of God.
There’s an old expression: Ubi Petrus ibi ecclesia, where Peter is, there is the Church. God has blessed all the popes with a special protection to preserve the doctrines on faith and morals, so much so that even when we had really bad Popes, and we have had about 6 or 7 of those in the history of the Church, somehow the doctrine was preserved unstained and the Church continued. It’s a miracle really, a protection of the Holy Spirit.
Knowing this we can better understand why an “autocephalous” mentality is incompatible with our Catholic faith. What is meant by “autocephalous”? It’s the attitude of the Orthodox Churches – and other so-called “traditional” societies, who operate independently of the Holy See. In doing so they consider themselves self-sufficient — as a result the Pope, the successor of St. Peter, is reduced to holding a mere primacy of honour. They pray for him, sure, but refuse to submit to his authority in any practical way. In other words, they make themselves their own heads.
But we know this is contrary to our Catholic Faith. We cannot operate independently of the successor of St. Peter, independently of the Holy See, without eventually falling into schism, whether material or formal. At its core is a protestant principle – this idea that we do not really need a visible head for the Church. This leads to a sense that the hierarchy is simply not relevant. It explains why they are so divided as each community makes itself its own separate community. By making themselves autocephalous they end up making the Church as a whole essentially headless. As if the Body can operate apart from the head. No we need to remain united to the visible Church, or, as Fr. Mole used to say, remain at the heart of the Church, despite the storms the Church experiences from within and from without. Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesiae.
So as we honour Ss. Peter & Paul this week, let us renew our commitment to the Gospel by imitating St. Paul and staying united to Peter, confident in Jesus’ promise that the Gates of Hell will no prevail. And let us renew our understanding of the faith by opening up our catechisms and studying them again, so that we too can know the faith and be apostles in our own way to those around us and under our care so that it may be passed on and preserved, so that as Catholics we may have that unity of faith so desired by Our Lord who said: “May they be One, as the Father and I are One”. Peter and Paul were one in the Faith. Let us ask them to pray for us, on this their feast day, for that same unity of faith.
