The Church of Christ rises on the firm foundation of Peter's faith

Today, February 22nd, as our church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of Peter, our Church invites us to read reflect on a passage from the Acts of the Apostles (11:1-18), entitled "Peter tells of the conversion of the Gentiles". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope. The "chair" to which this feast refers is the cathedra, or office, of the Apostle Peter. Given by Christ to St. Peter (see Matthew 16:13-18), Peter's supreme pastoral office is passed to each of his successors as Bishop of Rome, that is, where Peter last served and where he died a martyr. Throughout the 2,000-year history of the Church, there have been 266 popes, beginning with Peter. Among them are many saints and martyrs who have devoted themselves to the Gospel. The Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter each year on February 22. While an actual chair exists in Rome that some believe was used by St. Peter, the Chair of St. Peter represents the papacy, the unbroken succession of popes throughout the Church's 2,000-year history. Given by Christ Himself to St. Peter in the Gospel of Matthew, Peter's supreme pastoral office is passed to each of his successors as Bishop of Rome.   The Acts of the Apostles, the second volume of Luke's two-volume work, continues Luke's presentation of biblical history, describing how the salvation promised to Israel in the Old Testament and accomplished by Jesus has now under the guidance of the holy Spirit been extended to the Gentiles. This was accomplished through the divinely chosen representatives whom Jesus prepared during his historical ministry and commissioned after his resurrection as witnesses to all that he taught. Luke's preoccupation with the Christian community as the Spirit-guided bearer of the word of salvation rules out of his book detailed histories of the activity of most of the preachers. Only the main lines of the roles of Peter and Paul serve Luke's interest.