What is the "stone" on which the Christian Church is founded?
In Matthew's Gospel we read: "And he (Jesus) said to them:" And you, who do you say I am? Simon Peter answering said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus replied: Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, because not flesh and blood have revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also tell you: you are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church " (Matthew 16: 14-18). (1)
The Catholic Church, in interpreting these words asserts that "the stone", that is the foundation of the Christian Church, is Peter, and on the erroneous interpretation of this passage it grounds and justifies the papacy.
Evangelical Christians interpret this passage in the light of other passages in the Bible that deal with the same subject. In God's Word we read: "For no one can lay any foundation other than that already laid, namely Christ Jesus" (1 Corinthians 3:11; see also 1 Peter 2: 4-8). Furthermore, Christ himself claims to be "the stone" (Mark 12: 1-11; see also 21: 42-44).
The apostle Peter explains: "He (Jesus) is the stone that was despised by you builders, and has become the cornerstone. And in no other is salvation; for there is no other name under heaven that is been given to men, by which we have to be saved " (Acts 4: 10-12).
The idea of the papacy, which is based precisely on the incorrect interpretation of the biblical passage in Matthew, has gradually acquired importance over the centuries. As for the infallibility of the pope, this dogma was sanctioned in 1870, despite strong opposition within Catholicism itself. That Peter, the first pope according to Catholic tradition, was far from being infallible, is shown by the following biblical passages, in which he was reproached: Galatians 2: 11-14; Matthew 26: 69-75.
Notes : 1. It is clear that "the stone" of which Christ speaks is not Peter but his confession of faith, that is, Christ himself. In fact, Peter says: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God". In the original the Greek word that is translated as "this" is taute, which grammatically indicates Peter's confession, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (verse 16) as the stone the verse speaks of. This is the meaning of Jesus' affirmation (to learn more click here ).
What, then, is the stone on which the Christian Church is founded?
The apostles are part of the foundation laid by Christ (Rev. 21:14), but the stone referred to in the verse is not a particular apostle, but is Jesus Christ:
"You were built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone , on which the whole building, well connected together, is being raised to be a holy temple in the Lord. In him you too become part of the building which is to serve as a dwelling for God through the Spirit " (Ephesians 2: 20-22).
"The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone ... Whoever falls on this stone will be broken; and it will crush him on whom it falls" (Matthew 21: 42-44).
What was the apostles' thinking regarding the foundation of the Church?
Both Peter (1 Peter 2: 4-5) and the apostle Paul confirm that the only stone upon which the Lord's Church is founded is Jesus Christ:
"According to the grace of God that has been given to me, as an expert architect, I have laid the foundation; another builds on it. But each one should take care how he builds on it; since no one can lay any other foundation than the one already laid, that is Christ Jesus " (1 Corinthians 3: 10-11).
Jesus would never have entrusted the leadership of His Church to fallible men, much less to their successors. He Himself is the rock upon which the Christian Church is built (Ephesians 2:20), He is its Head and directs it by His Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).
Even the so-called church fathers, such as St. Augustine (but also St. Jerome, St. Hilary, etc.), taught that the stone of which Jesus speaks is the confession of Peter. Let's read some of Augustine's statements:
"What do the words 'I will build my church on this rock mean?' On this faith, on what is said: You are the Christ, the son of the living God " ; and also: "On this stone that you confessed, I will build my church, for Christ was the stone . "
The Lord Jesus Christ did not leave the assembly of his faithful under human leadership. It is true that above the believers He has established bishops (or elders) who supervise them and shepherd them, but above them there is not the head of the Vatican State, but our Lord Jesus Christ whom Peter calls "the Pastor and Bishop of our souls ".
(The following article expresses the point of view of Orthodox Christians. In it we can substantially find the same position as other non-Catholic Christians regarding the correct interpretation of the words in Matthew's verse. The article is by P. Silvano (Livi ), abbot of the Holy Monastery of S. Serafino di Sarov.)
Chapter 16 of the Gospel of Matthew is commonly used today by Roman Catholics as proof of the primacy of the pope, together with that of the lambs and sheep that closes the Gospel of John (chapter 21). Now this Roman Catholic claim is unsustainable, in fact it presupposes some things that we will prove to be unfounded:
1. that with these words the Lord intended to promise Peter absolute authority over the Church;
2. that this authority is transmissible;
3. that this authority was transmitted to the pope as Bishop of Rome and successor of Peter.
Let's examine the three points:
1. it is not true that with these words Jesus intended to transmit this authority to Peter: in fact he says to Peter that he had confessed him shortly before as the Son of God (the chapter must be read in order to understand even those words: "you told me that I I am the Son of God - implied - and not flesh and blood have revealed it to you but my Father who is in heaven, and I say to you: you are Peter (name derived from "Stone") and on this Stone ( that is, on me whom you recognized as the Son of God) I will found my Church ".
It is on Peter's faith that Jesus builds his Church, not on his person: and Blessed Augustine (a Father so dear to Westerners) makes note that if he had founded it on Peter, he would have founded it on a very fragile stone,since Peter would have denied him three times!
This interpretation was the interpretation sustained in all antiquity and no one had ever dreamed of seeing in it a proof of the primacy of the Pope of Rome if St. Cyprian, great Bishop of Carthage and Martyr can write: "Every Bishop sits on the chair of Peter ", that is, every Bishop finds his foundation and the foundation of the faith he teaches in the faith that Peter professed, that is: that Jesus is the Son of God.
Even if we then wanted to refer to Peter the meaning of the stone on which the Church is founded, this should always be understood in the sense that Peter is the Stone because he confessed Christ. In fact, no other foundation can be laid on the Church than Jesus Christ as we clearly read in the New Testament. You can read in this regard the Gospel of St. Matthew chap. 21 to v.42, St. Mark chap. 12 to v. 10, S. Luca chap. 20 to v. 17; and again the Acts of the Apostles chap. 4 v. I and the first letter of St. Peter chap. 2 vv. from 4 to 10 where it is St. Peter who speaks of Christ as "a living stone that men have thrown away but that God has chosen as a precious stone", a stone on which if we are founded we all become (and not only Peter nor the Pope ) living stone, formed for the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Later we find fascinating texts by the great Origen, teacher of all the Fathers in the studies of the Holy Scriptures, and thus also by Pope Saint Leo the Great. The first states: "If we too say You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, then we too become Peter: because everyone who makes himself similar to Christ becomes" Peter "." And the second clearly states "the form of Peter, that is, a stone founded on faith is present in every local Church, and not only in that of Rome".
2. But even if we want to interpret this passage in the Roman way, that is by attributing to Peter a pre-eminence over the other Apostles in the New Testament - preeminence certainly not absolute authority (at the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem it was in fact the head of the city community, St. James, preside, and Paul openly resisted Peter's erroneous opinions, as he himself tells us in the Letter to the Galatians in chapter 2) - we certainly cannot think that this authority is transmissible. It is no more transmissible than that of being a witness of the risen Christ, since neither in the New Testament nor in the writings of the Fathers is there anything that can suggest such a possibility.
3. There is also no basis for thinking that this authority was in fact transmitted to the Bishop of Rome where the Church was founded by Paul. Furthermore, before going to Rome, Peter had presided over the Community of Antioch (where the followers of Jesus were for the first time called "Christians"); and then, why would Peter's "power" be transmitted to the Bishop of Rome and not to that of Antioch? Pope St. Gregory the Great himself identifies three "Pietrine seats": Rome, Alexandria and Antioch, equal in being the historical chair of the Apostle and is keen to emphasize that that of Rome has nothing more eminent than the other two.
As you can see, along this road you enter an inextricable labyrinth. The ancient Church had - fortunately - none of these problems; it was divided into local communities each fully CHURCH, each presided over by a bishop.
No comments:
Post a Comment