Whoever Believes
Piety
Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. (Acts 9:1-2)
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15-16
Study
What goes around, comes around. Despite Saul’s conversion, the Romans that he meets up with in Acts are the same ones he was conspiring with during his earlier (pre-conversion) days. At their hands, Paul meets other Romans who are “still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord.” At their hands, Paul meets the same fate that he was meting out to the early Christians. Arrest. Prison. Execution.
The Basilica Papale San Paolo Fuori le Mure, or “Saint Paul Outside the Walls,” is one of Rome's most important churches. The church's most important relic is a piece of the chain believed to have been used by (or more appropriately on) Saint Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome. It’s on display on a small altar above his tomb.
Historical accounts explain that Paul arrived in Rome in AD61 for the trial that sentenced him to death for being a Christian. (Would there be enough evidence to convict you?) He was beheaded later after spending four to six years on Emperor Nero’s Death Row. The chains believed to have been used to join Paul to the Roman soldier who guarded him have become an important relic.[i]
It is interesting to note that Paul could not be crucified, as Peter was, because he was a freeman of the city of Rome.[ii]
Do you find it ironic that our church is called the Roman Catholic Church after all this persecution and execution? Today, when you visit Rome, you can still encounter the remnants of this earlier path of persecution in churches and museums and sits like the Coliseum.
Despite all the rhetoric about equality, there remain hundreds or thousands of divisions in the Christian churches by social class, economic class, nationality, and other divisions between churches in different parts of the world. As late as the 1860’s church documents rejected the term “Roman Catholic.” Instead, the Church takes the position that "there is no other Catholic Church except that which is built on the one man, Peter." Today the Vatican officially still prefers the Catholic Church. When I was growing up studying via the Baltimore Catechism, we learned that we are called Roman Catholics to show that we are united to the real successor of St. Peter" (Question 118). However, the term “Roman Catholic” has not appeared again in the Catechism since it was revised in 1992.
The Catholic Church of today is composed of 24 autonomous particular churches: the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Catholic Church is considered by its members to be the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church that Christ founded, and which Saint Peter initiated along with the missionary work of Saint Paul and others. As such, the Catholic Church does not consider itself a denomination but rather considers itself pre-denominational, the original Church of Christ. Continuity is claimed based upon apostolic succession with the early church.
Action
Maybe the chains we see at Saint Paul Outside the Walls are the chains of the church, not just the martyr.
Do we still wear the chains of St. Peter and Paul? What chains chain you today to your views, your dogma, your actions?
The ONLY division Jesus recognized was between belief and non-belief. Once you are baptized, you are part of the church. How surprised would Jesus, Peter, and Paul be that we are not only named the Roman Church but there also are thousands of other Christian churches around the world?
How are you united with the early church?
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