SAINT PETER IN WEST SYRIAC LITURGICAL TRADITION
(Fr.B.Varghese)
The idea
of the Primacy of the Pope set forth in the decrees of the first Vatican
Council of 1870 is perhaps the most crucial subject discussed in the dialogues
between the Catholics and the eastern and the Oriental Orthodox Christians.
[E.g. XIth session of the Plenary of the International mixed Commission for the
Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church,
Patmos, Greece, 16-23 October 2009 & XIIth Session in Vienna, 20 to 27
September 2010][1]
Since its
promulgation, the Catholic theologians have defended it, quoting evidences from
the biblical, patristic, canonical and liturgical sources, often reading into
the texts a developed concept of primacy. The Syrian Catholic Bishop H.E.Cyril
Behnam Benni [Arch bishop of Mosul 1861-92; Syrian catholic Patriarch 1892-97]
an ardent defender of the Petrine primacy at the first Vatican Council of 1870,
had made an impressive collection of Syriac sources, in order to support his
arguments[2]. For
the past 140 years, Mgr.Benni’s work was
never been the subject of a critical evaluation.
The West
Syriac liturgical tradition acknowledges St Peter as the first among the
apostles. Thus he is called ‘the chief of the apostles’ (risho d-slihe).
The so-called Petrine texts (Math. 16:18-19; Luke 22:32; John 21:15-17) are
often quoted in the prayers and hymns along with other New Testament allusions
to St Peter. Thus the key words in the Catholic teaching on ‘Petrine Primacy’
such as ‘keys’, ‘faith of Peter’ and ‘rock’ occur in the Syriac liturgical
texts.
Syriac
tradition speaks of ‘the place of honour’ that St Peter occupied among the
apostles. But he was never seen as ‘superior’ to his fellow apostles. The texts that speak of ‘the place of honour’
that St Peter occupied shall be understood in relation to numerous other
passages that highlight the ministry of the apostles and various ministers.
Sometimes the encomium or eulogy of Peter is part of the poetical style of the
prayers and other liturgical texts, which compare and contrast biblical figures
precisely to meditate on the mystery of salvation and to praise God.
In the Weekly Breviary Shehimo or
the Book of Common Prayer the Evening (Ramso) and Morning
(Sapro) have certain themes that recur: e.g. Mother of God, Saints, and
Penitence, departed. Occasional references to St Peter appear under the section
‘Saints’, along with other apostles, especially with St Paul or St John the
Baptist. A prayer of Monday evening provides the example:
“Simon the head of the apostles, and Paul the elect and John
who baptized your Lord, be intercessors on behalf of the flock which you fed by
the waters of faith, and lead it to pasture”[3].
The main themes of the texts are not often St Peter and
never his primacy. Let us quote a text from Monday Night Second Qaumo:
“We remember Moses the fountainhead of prophecy and Simon,
head of the apostles, and Paul the master-builder, who wrote to us in a letter
to the Romans, that we should take part in the remembrance of the just, who
loved God with all their heart; by their prayer and their petition may mercy be
shown to us, halleluiah, may their prayer assist us.
Moses is the head of the Old, Simon of the New; both
resemble one another and God dwelt in them. Moses brought down the tables of
the Law, Simon received the keys of the kingdom; Moses built the earthly
tabernacle, Simon built the Church, for the Old and the New, glory to you, O
Lord, halleluiah, may their prayer assist us”[4].
[The next two stanzas speak of the martyrs, St Stephen, George, Sergius,
Kuriakose, Julitta, Shmouni and the forty martyrs]
The theme of Monday Night Second Qaumo
is the saints. It is in that context that St Peter is remembered. Here the
imagery of building the Church has been associated to St Paul as well as St
Peter. In fact these two apostles appear together in a number of liturgical
texts. Thus the fourth diptych speaks of “the exalted chiefs of the apostles St
Peter and St Paul”. It shall be noted that the main goal of this diptych is not
to teach the doctrine of the ‘primacy’ of these two apostles, but to
commemorate the Mother of God, the prophets and the apostles, the preachers and
Evangelists, the martyrs and confessors. Along with them St John the Baptist,
St Stephen and St Peter and St Paul are commemorated. In the inaudible prayer that accompanies the
fourth diptych, there is no reference to Peter and Paul. The prayer simply
speaks of the ‘apostles’. In fact in the Syrian Orthodox anaphoras, the
inaudible prayer that accompanies the fourth diptych does not mention St Peter
by name. The Anaphora of Julius of Rome is an exception. The inaudible prayer
reads:
“Remember O Lord, all the bishops, orthodox doctors of Your
Holy Church who have already departed…. From Peter, the chief of the apostles
until today”[5].
This is an isolated example and cannot support the any
argument related to the primacy of Peter. In the Anaphora of Abraham
Nahshirtono (‘the Hunter’), the same prayer reads:
“Remember O Lord, all those who have ruled over Your Holy
Church from Mar Jacob until today”[6].
The Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles ( St Luke) speaks of
“John the Baptist and Stephen the head of the deacons”. (also the anaphoras
of St John Chrysostom and the Mkanashto)
The
fourth diptych provides the key to understand the question of Peter’s position.
The Blessed apostle Peter is commemorated as one of the leading figures among
the saints, but not as their head. The ‘General prayer’ of the preparation
rites (which commemorates “all those who, since the world began, have been
well-pleasing to Thee from our father Adam even unto this day”) does not speak
of Peter.
A text in the liturgy of the marriage speaks Christ
entrusting the care of the Church to St Peter along with St John: “When the heavenly Bridegroom betrothed the
faithful Holy Church, he called Simon and John and entrusted her to both of
them (aga’el w-yahboh lathraihun). He made Simon the steward of
the House (rab baitho) and John the preacher (of the Gospel). He called
them and commanded them: you shall guard diligently the (church) that I have
purchased with my precious blood”[7].
When the Malayalam translation was rendered into verses, the
original sense was completely lost, which is often quoted by those who defend
the doctrine of Petrine primacy.
St Peter in the Liturgical year
It is
interesting to note that in the Syrian Orthodox liturgical year there is no
feast of St Peter. The ‘chief of the apostle’ is commemorated along with St
Paul on June 29. There are a good number of ancient Syriac calendars that have
come down to us. None of them contains a feast of St Peter. There is even a
feast of St Andrew, brother of St Peter (Nov. 30). There are feasts of St
Thomas (July 3; Sept 10); John the Evangelist (Sept. 26; Oct 5; Dec. 15; May
8); Philip (Nov. 14), Simon the Zealot (May 10), Mathew (Nov 16), Judas (Jan
27). The New Testament figures such as Philemon (Nov 22), Timothy (Jan 21), Onesimos (Feb
15), Jason (April 28) are commemorated as apostles.. Even the Old Testament
minor prophets are commemorated: Nahum (Dec.1); Habakkuk (Dec 2); Zephaniah
(Dec.3).
In the
earliest arrangement of the liturgical calendars, the most important feasts are
placed closer to the feasts of Nativity and Epiphany. Thus the glorification of
Theotokos (Dec. 26), the beheading of John the Baptist (Jan. 7) and the
martyrdom of St Stephen (Jan 8), the oldest among the feasts of the saints are
widely celebrated. According to a number of ancient sources, the feast of
Jacob, brother of our Lord was celebrated on 28th December. The
position of the feast of St Peter and St Paul outside this cycle is not without
significance.
125
Homilies of Severus of Antioch (d. 536) have come down to us. Apparently a
feast of St Peter did not exist in his days. Severus had preached homilies on
John the Baptist (Hom. 32; 61) and on the memory of St Thomas (Hom. 28 preached
on July 3, 513) . We have three homilies on ‘Golden Friday (Hom. 74; 92 )
Homily 74 is based on Acts 3:1-2. But no special honour has been attributed to
St Peter. Homily 124 is on Math. 16:13 (‘Who do men say that the Son of man
is?). No primacy is attributed to St Peter and to the see of Antioch. In homily
124, the main emphasis is on the orthodox faith and in it, Severus says: “ If
some one confesses Christ in the say was as Peter had confessed, he removes the
‘veil of flesh’ (spread) on his heart, and associates with the revelation of
the Father in heaven”[8].
Homily 81 (on Mathew 17:23: on paying didrachma) makes no
special comments on the role of Peter in paying the didrachma[9].
St Peter as one among the twelve apostles
In the New Testament, the titles
‘rock’, ‘head’, ‘shepherd’ and ‘bridegroom’ are used for Christ and some of
them are associated with the ministry of the apostles and later with that of
the bishops. The metaphors ‘son’ and ‘anointed’ are used for the believers. The
title “only begotten” (Ihydoyo) is used for the monks. Among these
titles, ‘rock’ is often discussed in relation to the ‘Petrine primacy’. In the
liturgical texts, the imagery of rock is used with different meanings.
The
liturgical texts unequivocally say that the Church is founded upon Christ, the
Rock (cfr. 1Cor. 10:4). In the Sedro of the Kudosh ‘edtho (Consecration
of the Church), we find:
“ Praise to You and thanksgiving to You, Jesus Christ, the
unshakable rock of truth on which the holy Church is established, rock of Moses
which gave forth twelve streams to quench the thirst of Israel”[10].
The same idea is found in the inaudible prayer that
accompanies the lifting up of the veil in the anaphora: “Thou art the rock of
flint, sent forth twelve streams of water for the twelve tribes of Israel”.
Elsewhere, the imagery of rock is used to refer to the
faith: “Your Holy Church, which is firmly established on the rock of faith”[11].
The Church says: “ On that rock (i.e. faith) at the house of
Simon, the head of the apostles, I am built and I am not afraid, the Church
answered and said..”[12].
The rock which brought forth the streams is the image of
Mary:
“ The rock which brought forth streams in the desert was
clearly a figure (tupso) of you, holy virgin, from whom came forth in the creation the Son of God, who is the
true rock, as Paul said”[13].
The title rock is used for St Peter as well:
“ On Simon, the rock, our Lord built the Church and on
seventy two pillars he set it up; it is more high and lofty that the mountain
of Cardu; the architect, who built it, has his dwelling on high, halleluiah,
blessed is he who built the Church and set up the altar in it”[14].
This passage is part of the section on the saints. The text
is a meditation on the mystery of the Church and the place of the saints in it.
Thus in the previous stanza we find:
“At your door, O Church, watchers stand by night and by day,
and guard you from the evil one; Simon, the foundation, and Paul, the
architect, and John, who was the friend of the bridegroom, halleluiah, and
David, the harp of the Holy Spirit”[15].
These texts do not signify any primacy of Peter, for
elsewhere the same ideas are used in a general sense:
“ Peace be with the prophets, apostles and martyrs, builders
of faith and pillars of the holy Church, who endured all torments for the sake
of our Lord…”[16].
A text paraphrased from the biblical accounts speaks of
Peter’s privileged position in the Church:
“Simon Peter was catching fish in the sea, when his Lord called him and
thus said to him: Come, Simon, and I will give you a catch of the Spirit and
you shall draw men, from death to life; and on you, Simon, I will build the
holy Church, and the bars of Sheol shall not be able to prevail against it”[17].
This is an isolated example and shall be understood in relation to other texts
on Peter and the apostles.
In
several passages, Simon Peter is presented as one of the apostles, without
attributing any special significance to his place among the twelve. Thus in a
prayer of the Holy Week we find a lamentation on Judas:
“O dishonest (Judas), why have you disregarded the gift that
the Master has given you, as He gave it to Simon or John?[18]”
Again in a passage
addressed to Judas: “I have elected you like Simon and loved like Thomas and
honoured like John”[19].
Judas had the same dignity as Peter and John:
“O dishonest (Judas), why have you disregarded the gift that
the Master has given you, as He gave it to Simon and John?”[20]
Simon is presented along with other apostles:
Again: “Simon wept along with John. Mathew and Bartholomew
cried out. With pain they mourned for their teacher who was about to die, and
for the companion who mingled with the wicked”[22].
Simon Peter and Judas were compared and contrasted and even
put at the same level:
“One slaps on His cheek, and another spits on His face. One
kisses (Him) and betrays. Another says that he does not know Him”[23].
On one occasion, the faith of the thief is said to be
greater than that of Peter and John:
“How great is the faith of the thief, who asked forgiveness
to His Lord suspended on the tree, with nails on His hands and feet. He told
Him: Forgive me my iniquity! Simon who saw Him renounced Him and John stood
afar, but the thief cried out, saying: ‘Remember me O Lord, when You come!”[24].
Thus any
reference to Peter shall be understood in the context of the idea of the ‘cloud
of witnesses’ who are regularly evoked in the liturgical texts. In a Sedro of
the Kudosh ‘edtho we find: “The Lord of the world is her (= Church’s)
Bridegroom. John is the Bridegroom’s friend, the apostles and the martyrs are
the wedding guests”[25].
It is
interesting to note that the ‘priority’ of women as the first witnesses of the
resurrection in contrast to St Peter is underscored: “He sent word to His
apostles, that He had risen, by the women; it was not from Simon that the women
received the tidings, but they who gave them to Simon; from women was the
beginning of his course, His birth, His resurrection and the news of His
resurrection”[26].
It is
certain that the goal of the text is to emphasis the reality of the
resurrection. Similarly, the texts on St Peter are aimed at narrating the
experiences of the apostles or to point out their place in the Church as the
prime witnesses to the mystery of Christ. This explains the usual references to
St Peter along with St Paul or other apostles.
The West
Syriac weekly breviary always commemorates the apostles along with the saints
of the Old and the New dispensations.
In the evening of Tuesday we find (section on the saints):
“At all time we remember the prophets and apostles with the
blessed martyrs; may their prayers be a strong hold to us. Prophets, apostles
and holy fathers, may your prayers be to us a high wall and a house of refuge”[27].
The saints are the foundations of the Church: “ Blessed is
he, who built the holy Church on the palm of his hands, and placed as its
foundations the prophets, apostles and holy martyrs and assembled and filled
her with all peoples; and behold, they offer praise in her by night and day.
Blessed is he, who magnified you, prophets, apostles and holy martyrs, and
placed your bones like lights within the holy Church, and honoured and
magnified your memory here and above in heaven; may your prayers assist us”[28].
There
are isolated examples in which Peter is singled out:
“ In the company of Peter, we shall see you, our father, Mar
(X), when you will say to him with open face; these you gave me, Lord,
acknowledge them before your Father, even as they have acknowledge you”[29].
Peter is
an example of repentance and is alluded to along with the thief, publican and
the sinful woman:
“Open to us, Lord, the door of your mercy, as you did to the
thief, and accept our repentance, as you did that of the publican and the
sinful woman, and as you pardoned Simon after he had denied you, pardon our
offences and sins….”[30].
The repentance of Peter is described vividly:
“Simon was sitting at the outer door and was weeping at the
outer door and was weeping: Open Your door, O my master, for I am your
disciple. Heaven and earth shall weep for me, for I have made the keys of the
kingdom to be lost”[31].
Unlike
the Latin tradition, the Syriac fathers do not say that ‘the keys’ are the sole
privilege of St Peter. According to Moses Bar Kepha, every bishop holds the
keys. Thus in his commentary on Holy Myron Bar Kepha writes: “Again (the Myron)
is given with the permission of the bishops, because he holds the keys of Peter
and opens the treasury to whom he pleases”[32].
For Bar Kepha, ‘the keys’ is a poetical expression implying no primacy
whatsoever. Thus in the same work he writes: “(Myron) holds the keys of the
kingdom of heaven”[33].
The
theme of the first Qaumo of Monday of the Holy Week is “the Parable of the
Vineyard” The prayers of this qaumo are the exposition of the parable and they
represent an important source for ecclesiology. There is no reference to St
Peter. He is not refereed to as the guardian or the keeper of the vineyard. The
Sedro of this qaumo presents the Church as the vine planted in the place of
Israel. After having narrated the planting of Israel, the spiritual vineyard
and its destruction, the Sedro continues:
“And You have planted in its place the glorious Vine, the
Holy Church, chosen from among the gentiles. And You have made a fence of the
Gospel Law around it, and adorned it with the angelic priesthood. You have
established t with the high tower of the cross, and entrusted it to the
labourers: the apostles, evangelists, shepherds, doctors and chosen priests,
that through them she might offer spiritual fruits worthy of Your divinity. You
have established Christ, the stone, rejected by the sons – that is by the
Jewish leaders – the corner stone, which joins and unites the heavenly with the
earthly beings, the people with the gentiles, which shakes and breaks into
pieces, and shatters all who stumble against it”[34].
Conclusion
In the
prayers, St Peter is never qualified as the ‘the Shepherd of Christ’s flock’,
nor Church is called ‘Peter’s flock’. He is never qualified as the ‘vicar of
Christ’ or as the representative of Christ to whom other disciples are
subjected to.
The
liturgical references to St Peter are far from being all of equal value, and it
is not always possible to deduce from them a consistent ecclesiology. However,
they ignore altogether Peter’s primacy or of his successors.
Scriptural references to Peter have been used to illustrate the place of the apostles and
the saints in the Church, and to speak of the reality of resurrection, firm
faith, human weakness, fall and repentance. The references to St Peter are to
be understood as part of the narratives on the apostles’ experience of the
mystery of Christ and their reaction to it. Peter is rarely singled out, but
never placed above the apostolic college. His title risho daslihe (chief
of the apostles) is to be understood not in terms of primacy whatsoever, but rather
as the chief among the apostles. It implies a ‘place of honour’ which is not
defined by the New Testament or by the early Christian fathers. Apparently,
early Eastern Christian liturgical tradition did not attribute a privileged
position to St Peter, similar to that of Theotokos, St John the Baptist and
even St Stephen. Thus no separate feast of St Peter is attested in the Eastern
liturgical calendars. In the Byzantine tradition, the icons of Theotokos and
John the Baptist (‘the friend of the bridegroom’) occupy a special place on the
iconostasis, a place never attributed to St Peter. Likewise the Syrian Orthodox
Pre-anaphora (‘Public celebration’) begins with the acclamation: “ Mary who
brought Thee forth, and John who baptized Thee shall be suppliants unto Thee in
our behalf. Have mercy upon us”. Even in the fourth diptych, the saints are
enumerated in the following order, “Mother of God, prophets, apostles,
preachers, Evangelists, martyrs, confessors, John the Baptist, St Stephen and
the “exalted chiefs of the apostles St Peter and St Paul”.
Thus the
anaphora, the prayer par excellence of the Church completely ignores the
doctrine of Petrine primacy.
[1] F.Bouwen, “ Patmos 2009. XIe session
plénière de la Commission mixte internationale pour le dialogue théologique
entre l”Eglise catholique et l’Eglise orthodoxe” , Proche Orient Chrétien
60 (2010), 78-99 ;
ID.,
« XIIe Session….. », POC 60 (2010), 335-351.
[2] Cyril Benham
Benni, Syriac Church of Antioch, concerning the Primacy and Prerogatives of
Peter and of His Successors the Roman Pontiffs, London, 1871 ( This work
was not available to me).
[4] BCP p.
239-241.
[5]
Pampakuda, 1986, p. 199.
[6] Ibid. p.
256.
[7]
Translated from the Syriac text, Pampakuda (1982), p. 76.
[8] Hom.
124, in Patrologia Orientalis 29, pp. 208-231; here, p. 219.
[9] Hom. 81,
in PO. 20, pp. 344-370.
[10] Sedro,
Evening, Kudosh ‘edtho, Prayer with the Harp of the Spirit, Vol.
II, (Vagamon, 1982), p.3.
[11]
Anaphora of St James, Prayer after the Epiclesis.
[12]
Saturday Morning, BCP, p. 929.
[13] Ibid..
[14] Friday
Morning, BCP p. 819.
[15] Friday,
Morning, BCP, p. 819.
[16]
Thursday Evening, BCP, p. 593.
[17]
Thursday Lilyo, Second Qaumo, BCP, p. 643.
[18] Holy
Week, Thursday Night, Second Qaumo, Bo’utho of Mar Jacob, Syriac Text, in Ktobo
d-sabtho rabtho d-hasho porukoyo (Pampakuda, 1958), p. 168.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Holy
Week, Thursday Night, Second Qaumo, Bo’utho of Mar Jacob, Syr. P. 168-169.
[21] Holy
Week, Tuesday Night , Second Qaumo, Syriac. p. 70.
[22] Holy
Week, Thursday Night, Second Qaumo, Mad rosho: Qum Paulose, Syriac, p. 173.
[23] Sedro,
Good Friday, Night, Fourth Qaumo. Tr. B.Varghese, Promioun-Sedro of the Holy Week,
(Kottayam,2011), p.139.
[24] Service of the adoration of the cross,
in Fr.B.Varghese (tr), Order of the Prayers of Good Friday, (Kottayam,
2001), p. 91.
[25] Crown
of the Year Vol .II, p. 3.
[26] Sunday
night, Second Qaumo, BCP, p. 95.
[27] BCP. p.
335.
[28] Ibid.
p. 343.
[30]
Thursday Evening, BCP, p. 595-97.
[32] Bar
Kepha, Commentary on the Consecration of Holy Myron, ch. 38
(ed.W.Strothmann, p. 102).
[33] Ibid.
ch. 49. p. 122.
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