The word “apostolic” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? For Christians, all of whom use it in reference to the Church when saying the Creed, it is a crucial word. While being apostolic can’t be reduced to apostolic succession, apostolic succession isn’t just vital, it is necessary for the Church, if she js to be the Church of Christ, if she is to be fully apostolic.
It bears noting that there is no higher sacramental office in the Church of Christ than bishop. As successors of the apostles, each bishop, particularly those who are ordinaries, that is, those who head dioceses, which are local churches, enjoys the fullness of the sacrament of orders. Episcopal ministry has a threefold munera: to teach, to govern, and to sanctify.
Priests and deacons receive their authority to minister from their bishop or, if not a member of the clergy of a diocese, then from the bishop in whose jurisdiction they serve. For those of us who are diocesan clergy, it is no exaggeration to say that our ministries are extensions of the bishop’s apostolic ministry.
As our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which tells of Paul’s arrival in Rome as a prisoner, apostolic succession centers in Rome, the imperial capital of ancient world. The pope holds his office by virtue of being the Bishop of Rome. Rome being the “See” of the Apostles Peter & Paul. Because all the sees subject to Rome are suburbican (i.e., they are Roman suburbs), Rome is designated a diocese and not an archdiocese.
Saint Peter's Basilica
Today, the Church celebrates the dedication of two Roman Basilicas: Saint Peter’s in the Vatican and Saint Paul Outside the Walls. Believe it or not, Saint Peter’s in not the Mother Church of Christendom because it is not the Bishop of Rome’s cathedral. Saint John Lateran, the dedication of which the Church celebrates each year on 9 November, is the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, where his cathedra, or chair, can be found. Unlike today’s observance, which is an optional memorial, the Church’s celebration of the Dedication of Saint John Lateran is a universal feast.
Both the Basilicas are built over the tombs of their namesake. Saint Peter was crucified in Rome during the persecution of the Emperor Nero in AD 64. Saint Paul, being a Roman citizen, was beheaded in Rome sometime between AD 62-67. If you remember, Paul used his prerogative as a Roman citizen to appeal his case to the emperor, despite a good likelihood of being acquitted. Fully believing he would be exonerated, Paul, as his Letter to the Romans indicates, was planning to evangelize westward from Rome.
As Church father Tertullian observed: the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church. Rome is proof of this. While the pope is the successor of Peter, who is revered as the first Bishop of Rome, the papacy has a missionary aspect, which is its Pauline. dimension. It wasn’t really until modern times, until the papacy of the aptly named Pope Paul VI, that popes really began to travel around the world. This is an important part of the papal office, which is why popes go to such great lengths to do it.
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
Whether we’re talking about Peter or Paul we’re talking about evangelization, about spreading the Gospel, the Good News that is Jesus Christ. More than a program, evangelization is about telling others what Jesus has done for you, what difference knowing Jesus makes in your life. To mistake apologetics for evangelization is to risk addressing questions no one is asking, or to reduce an encounter to a formula.
As he was sinking in waters of the Sea of Galilee, Peter called out “Lord, save me” and “Immediately,” without hesitation, the Lord “stretched out his hand and caught him.”1
In his Letter to the Romans, it was Paul the prisoner who wrote:
What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?2This brings us to the other dimension of what it means for the Church to be apostolic. An apostle is one who is sent. In a Christian context, it is one who is sent to testify about Jesus Christ. You can’t testify to an experience you have never had.
Both Peter and Paul had direct encounters with the Risen Lord. Their apostolic ministries, therefore, are about proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. At the end of Mass, this is what you are sent to do.
1 Matthew 14:30-31.↩
2 Romans 8:35.↩
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