Chair of St Peter the Apostle | Feast | February 22

THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER the APOSTLE
Feast
February 22

Today’s feast places the Chair or “Cathedra” of Saint Peter at the center of our attention – or rather the specific mission Jesus entrusted to Peter. The feast dates back to the 3rd century and is to be distinguished from the day of Peter’s martyrdom celebrated on 29 June. The feast originated around the “cathedra” of Peter, the place where the Bishop of Rome resided and governed. The “cathedra”, was a fixed “seat” of the Bishop, placed in the mother church of the Diocese – hence the word “cathedral” – which was the symbol of the Bishop’s authority who, as a successor of the Apostles, is called to protect the flock and transmit the teaching of the Gospel to the Christian community. We can say that the first “cathedral” was the Upper Room where Jesus gathered His disciples for the Last Supper and where they, along with the Virgin Mary, received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Later, Peter moved to Antioch, the city evangelized by Barnabas and Paul, where Jesus’ disciples were first given the name “Christians” (cf. Acts 11:6). Peter was the first Bishop of Antioch which explains why they celebrated the Feast of the Chair of Peter on 22 February. Later, Peter arrived in Rome where his life ended in martyrdom. Precisely for this “glorious” death, it was decided to consider Rome as the official location of the “Cathedra” of Saint Peter, with a celebration fixed on 18 January. Pope John XXIII united these two feasts, abolishing the latter.