My Dear People,

The region of Caesarea Philippi was an area where they worshiped pagan gods, so, when they were there, they must have been discussing these pagan gods that the Romans worshiped. The Romans worshiped several gods and Jupiter was the main one, and they wanted the Christians to worship Jupiter as a sign of loyalty to Rome. What the Roman rulers did not like about the Christians was primarily not that they worshiped a God which was different from their gods and not familiar to them, it was because when the Romans were celebrating their festivities, of course it was for their pagan gods, and the Christian would not participate. This is one of the reasons that the Christians chose to celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord on a day that the Romans were celebrating one of their pagan celebrations (it was in honor of Saturn, called Saturnalia. Saturn was supposed to help women to be fertile.) Since the date of the exact birth of Christ was not known, the feast of Christmas was put on that day. So, the Christians were celebrating on that day, however not the pagan fest but the Christian feast of the birth of our Lord.

In the winter before His death Jesus Christ brought His disciples to Caesarea Philippi where He revealed to His disciples for the first time that He was indeed the Jewish Messiah. The city of Caesarea Philippi, also known as ancient Paneas was situated way in the north about 30 miles past the Sea of Galilee on a terrace at the foot of Mount Hermon on its southern slope, about 1150 feet above sea level. The area had an unusually beautiful setting. It was very lush and full of life, and it has always been one of the main sources of the Jordan River, Josephus saying that it was the chief source. The ancient Canaanites built a sanctuary to Baal at Paneas, the Greeks and Romans both built sanctuaries there because of the cave of Pan. Inside the cave was a seemingly bottomless pit with an unlimited quantity of water which made the pagans marvel.

When Jesus revealed that he was the Messiah, he did not just say to them, but asked them, “Who do the people think that the Son of Man is?” Then Jesus asked to the apostles directly: “Who do you say that I am?” This is where Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ (Greek for anointed or Messiah), son of the Living God”. Matthew specifically puts these words in the mouth of Peter, which is very significant. Also, Peter, being the leader of the apostles, is the one to whom Jesus said, “You are Peter and on this rock (Peter) I will built my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” This gave Peter and his successors authority, and this authority is where the church rests, so much so that the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. So, the Church was built on Peter, and he became the first Pope. Then Jesus adds one very important thing: “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” For that reason, whatever deals with the papacy has the symbol of the keys. What do the keys represent? Matthew is writing to ‘Christian’ Jews who understood the power of the keys very well. In David’s house the one who had the keys was the one who had authority, and he decided when the doors were opened and when they were closed. It was a very important office, whereby if that authority was not done properly, the authority of the office would be stripped from that individual and given to someone else.

When Peter has the keys, this means he is responsible and he is custodian of the teachings of the church, and so are all the popes who sit on the chair of Peter. This is the passage of the Bible where Jesus establishes the office of the papacy. Since Peter was not going to live forever, after his death a successor had to be elected and it has continued to this day. To this office is added the authority of “Whatever you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” This means that the office of the papacy has the authority to permit and to restrict.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente