Thoughts on the Chair of Saint Peter

Today is the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. Since Carmel has a great post about the feast, I thought I would just add some thoughts.

The Church has a definate heirarchical structure that baffles many in the modern world. There are many who wonder why the Church has a heirarchy at all. They see the Church as being under one absolutist ruler and would rather it be a "democracy". Why should we have a "Chair of Peter"? Why bother with a Pope in this day and age?

Without a Pope, we would have a church ruled by committee. Not the best idea, IMO. It becomes a "politically correct" church whose doctrine and practice change with every fad that comes down the pike. Its members can never be sure of what the teachings of a so-called "democratic" church would be at any one time, since popular opinion can change at a moment's notice.

Many outside the Church see the Papacy as a "one man rule" type of thing. It is far, far from that. Churches and organizations that rely on the charasmatic personality of one leader alone are cults. One man, whether it be the Pope, or a priest or a lay person, does not and should not, "make up the rules" in the Catholic Church.

The Chair of Peter does not depend on any one person, on any one pope. There have been holy popes and unholy ones. The doctrine of the Church is passed down from generation to generation through the teaching authority of the Magesterium (the pope in union with the bishops) and has been guaranteed by Christ.

Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

That is what the term "Apostolic" means. The teachings of the Church have been passed down, unchanged from the time of the Apostles, beginning with Saint Peter.