Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

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Chur ch Mat ter s : Ret r i ev i ng the Great Trad i t i on

not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. [18] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [19] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and what ever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”) (3) In a real sense, it is Peter who is acting and speaking through the pope, placing the bishop of Rome on a different level than that of all other bishops. (4) The pope is not merely the first or chief bishop; rather, all other bishops derive their authority and legitimacy from the pope, who can remove them at will, since he is the leader of the church entire all over the world.

6. The Apostles’ Creed

a. Ancient legend of the 4th century: this was composed by the twelve apostles, each of whom wrote one clause. (Note: the creed does not naturally divide into twelve clauses! This legend, although not questioned until the 15th century, was abandoned in the 16th century)

b. Is the end-product of Western creeds, which developed gradually. Their common ancestor – the ‘Old Creed,’ probably dates from 2nd century.

c. Some changes occurred in wording over the years, and today’s version dates from the 6th or 7th century. This became the accepted version, which Rome adopted sometime between 800 and 1100.