The Feast of Peter’s Confession.

Today, 18 January, is a feast day for Anglicans, Lutherans, and Orthodox Christians, held in memory of when Simon Peter first publicly identified as Messiah.

Weirdly, not Roman Catholics, even though they’re huge fans of St. Peter, whom they consider the first pope. They’re the ones who started the feast too. It was part of their Feast of St. Peter’s Chair—which honors, as the title plainly states, St. Peter’s chair. His literal chair. (But probably not—unless they swapped out broken parts of it until it was all swapped, Ship of Theseus style. The oldest parts of it date from the 500s.) It’s big, it’s wooden; they’ve got it in a place of honor in the Vatican. They think Peter sat on it when he ran the Roman church. Catholics moved that feast to 22 February, and dropped the Feast of the Confession, and celebrate his confession along with his chair. After all the chair didn’t confess anything.

The other liturgical churches kept the Feast of the Confession where it is, and celebrate it then. If you’ve read the gospels, you know the story. Here’s the Matthew version of it.

Matthew 16.13-20 GNT

13Jesus went to the territory near the town of Cæsarea Philippi, where he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14“Some say John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet.”

15“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17“Good for you, Simon son of John!” answered Jesus. “For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven. 18And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

20Then Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

These events took place near Cæsarea-Philippi, yet another one of the cities named for the Cæsars, but also named for Herod Philip, tetrarch of the Dekapolis, who founded it. (It’s now called Banias. It’s one of the sources of the Jordan River.) At the time Jesus and his Twelve were in the Dekapolis, which was largely populated by Syrian Greeks, who were less likely to recognize Jesus and his kids: Nobody would know their cultural background, nor what a Messiah is. So it was kind of a safe space for Peter to come right out and say Jesus is Messiah.

Even so, Jesus shushed them and told them not to repeat this. In their culture “Messiah” means king. If you claim you’re the king, anybody else who’s using or who covets the title, might object. Especially when you have a really good claim to the title, as Jesus does.

And how this statement makes Peter a big deal.

As you may know, Roman Catholics take Jesus’s statement to Peter, and use it as the basis of the papacy. If Peter was granted the keys to God’s kingdom, it implies he’s in charge of who gets in. It’s why, when people tell stories about people dying and going to heaven, St. Peter is guarding the Pearly Gates of New Jerusalem, Rv 21.21 screening everyone.

Once Peter relocated to Rome, and became the leader of that church, he supposedly brought that authority with him. When he was crucified and succeeded by Linus Herculanus (the Linus from 2 Timothy 4.21), supposedly that authority and those keys passed down to Linus. When Linus died and was succeeded by Anacletus, supposedly he got the authority and the keys; and so on to Clement, and all the way down to Leo 14. Catholics insist all these guys inherited Peter’s keys, by virtue of inheriting Peter’s office.

I would remind you, however, the popes were elected by men, not Jesus. True, men who figured they were following Jesus, and many of ’em were… but you might recall there were some profoundly awful popes in Christian history, and it’s a safe bet those guys were neither devout Jesus-followers, nor elected by devout Jesus-followers. If the keys were getting passed from pope to pope, it’s also a safe bet one of those popes dropped the keys along the road. Heck, they might still be in Avignon.

I’ve heard various Christians claim when Jesus told Peter, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom,” it was a plural you; it really means every Christian. Nope. That’s not what σοι/si, “to you¹,” means. Jesus only granted those keys, at that time, to Peter.

But Jesus also says this to his followers:

Matthew 18.18-20 GNT

18“And so I tell all of you: what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

19“And I tell you more: whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.”

It sounds mighty similar to when Jesus told Peter whatever he permits and prohibits on earth counts in heaven. Sounds a lot like Jesus does grant his kingdom’s keys to all his followers. Which only makes sense; we inherit this kingdom same as Jesus, right? We can debatably make the claim Jesus grants them to every Christian who confesses Jesus in the very same way as Peter.

But enough about that. Today’s Christians use the day as the beginning of an eight-day “week” of prayer, from the 18th to the Feast of Paul’s Conversion on the 25th. The week is dedicated to Christian unity—to Jesus’s prayer that all his followers would be one, rather than separate. Jn 17.21 It’s not so much about Protestants and Orthodox joining the Catholics; it’s about every Christian working together with every other Christian, regardless of church and tradition; and all of us following our Lord together.