The Chair of St. Peter.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 14, 3 April 1902, Page 3

The Chair of St. Peter.

Twice a year (writes the Rome correspondent of the New York Freeman's Journal"), in January and February, the people of Roma observe the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, and this year additional interest is attached to the occasion owing to a discovery recently made by Professor Marucchi. He has shown that the first ' Seat of Peter ' — that is, the place where he exercised his apostolic ministry in Rome — was in the ancient Church of St. Priscilla, and not at the catacombs of St. Agnes, as hitherto believed. The question is a very interesting one for those who have studied Christian archeology, and the traditions concerning St. Peter'B life and work in Rome ; but for the general reader it can hardly be as interesting aa an account of the chair in which St. Peter taught and which has for ages symbolised the infallible teaching of the Roman Churoh and Pontiff. A tradition dating back to the earliest times tells us that St. Peter Used the Chair which is contained in the great bronze frame, supported by the four most illustrious doctors of the Eastern and Western Chmchen, which rises in the apße at the extremity of St. Peter's. Ancient documents prove that the Chair of Peter used to be exposed for the veneration of the faithful in the century in which liberty waa granted to the Christians of the Roman Empire. Everything goes to show that previous to that time it was kept concealed in the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles. In the succeeding centuries it was moved from one part to another of the great Basilica which Constantino erected to St. Peter on the very site of hia crucifixion, until, in the seventeenth century, it found a permanent resting place iv its present prominent position at the end of the majestic temple, lighted from above by the aureole of the Dove, who seems to brood upon it, crowned by a host of joyous bronze angelf", lightly supported by St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Athanasius, nnd St. Chrysoetom, and raised above an altar dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and all the sainted Pontiffs.

For several centuries the Popes have ceased to use it on solemn feasts, principally, no doubt, because use would wear out or damage a relic too precious to be lost. But anybody who likes may still see a copy of it in the Vatican Sacristy, it is made of wood and richly decorated with ornaments in gold and ivory, cx n ctitcd with a perfection which enables us to date its origin to the be^t days of Roman art — that is, to the age of Augustus or Claudius. The little ivory sculpture? which adorn it repre-ent the labors of Hercules, and prove that it is of pagan origin. A glance serves to show that this chair was originally i^ed for carrying a distinguished rersonage from oue place to another. St. Peter came to Rome in the reign ot Claudius and received hospitality from the Senator Pu'3en°, whom he cai"Oit,t d to Christianity. In the house of this Roman nob'e vwre held tl a ursl meetings of the faithful, and here doubtless The Prince of the Apostles was presented with the chair from which he taught them. The chair in those days was an emblem of authority, the chair of state being eminently so and reserved for the emperor and the great functionaries of the empire. Hence the pagan ornaments which decorate the chair now held in veneration throughout the whole world. From the purely archaeological point of view it is interesting to find a chair made of wood which has been preserved practically intact for over 1 8 centuries. Even the veneration due to precious relics can hardly be regarded as an adequate explanation of the phenomenon in the case of the Chair of St. Peter. All the chairs of other apostles have perished either by the hands or by the negligence of men, while that of the Roman Pontiff has been preserved in a providential way. During the four centuries between Alaria and Totila The Eternal City was Sacked Four Times. An unworthy heir of the Great Constantine put himself at the head of barbarian kings to destroy the Imperial City, and then bade adieu forever to the Eternal City, carrying with him an immense quantity of booty, ranging from precious Greek statues to the bronze titles of the Pantheon. In the eleventh century the Emperor, Henry IV., had just ravaged the part of the city known as the Leonine Borough, which, contained the Basilica of St. Peter, when the army of Robert Guiscard, which came to expel him, wrought even greater havoc. The sack of Rome by the Lutheran hosts under the Constable of Bourbon destroyed an immense number of religious treasures which had escaped preceding invaders. During these disastrous epochs Rome saw her sacred treasures pillaged, her sacred relics scattered to the winds, her columns of granite lying broken in the dust — and yet the fragile seat in which St. Peter taught the infallible truths of the Catholic Church has come down to us through all the agee to represent Catholic truth. Before the time of Alexander VII., who transported the chair to its piesent position, it was venerated in the chapel which is now used as the baptistry of St. Peter's. Previous to this it had been in the Chapel of Relics in the old sacristy ; and there are document? to show that Pope Adrian 1., in the eighth century, had it placed in the chapel dedicated to his patron St. Adrian. In early centuries The Pope Always Sat in the Chair of Peter during the solemn services celebrated en the Feast of the Chair in January and February. Peter Manulius, iv th' thirteenth cen*;uy, relates having read in an earlier author how the Chair of i'eti r h.id been respected during a fire in the Basilica. From ehrmnoles belonging to the eighth and ninth centuri h w ' learn that n new]yelecced Pope was firnt onducted t,o the Later. m I'asilioa, where he occupied the Pontifical throne, and t lint o-i t'u 1 f illuming Sunday he proceeded to the Vatican Basilica r>b d in the Papal mantle and accompanied by sacred chnn's. a-id th it there he t'>ok his place on ' the Apostolic and Mont Holy Chair of Ie er.' In btiiJ earlur times the neophytes, robed in their white b .p! i^mal robe^ u-<ed to as-einble before the chair to venerate it and the Priuce of the Ap )st!"B. In short, we have authentic documents referring to ihe chair, dating from the fourth centuiy down to our own time. It would be a mistake to suppose that the custom o" attaching importance to a chair as an emblem of authority is couantd to the Chair of St. Peter. From the very b ginning of Chnstianiry tne bishops occupied special seats as a in irk of honor a/id a token of authority. At their death their chairs were sometimes placed in their tombs. The early Christians entertained the highest respect for the chairs of the Apostles, which were carefully pre-erved by them. In the second century Tertulli.m wrote : 'Go through the Apostolic churches in which the very chairs of the Apostles preside in their place, and where their authentic epibtles are read alnud.' Eusebius tells us that in his time the Chair of St James the Le=s was still to be seen in Jerusalem, and had been preserved by the Chribtians through all the disasters which overwhelmed the Holy City. We know also that the Church of Alexandria preserved for long ages tb.p chair of its first bishop, St, Mark. The Church of Rome naturally was very anxious to retain intact the Chair of the Prince of the Apostles, and in the catacombs they had a sate hiding place during the ages of pt rdecutioa for this and other precioua r-lica.