Chair of St. Peter

THE CHAIR OF ST PETER

By St John Henry Newman 5
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The very first act of the Apostles after Christ was gone out of their sight, was the
ordination of Matthias in the place of the traitor Judas. That ordination is related very
minutely. Every particular of it is full of instruction; but at present I wish to draw attention
to one circumstance more especially: namely, the time when it occurred. It was contrived
(if one may say so) exactly to fall within the very short interval which elapsed between the
departure of our Lord, and the arrival of the Comforter in His place: on that ‘little while,’
during which the Church was comparatively left alone in the world. Then it was that St
Peter rose and declared with authority, that the time was come for supplying the vacancy
which Judas had made. ‘One,’ said he, ‘must be ordained;’ and without delay they proceeded
to the ordination. Of course, St Peter must have had from our Lord express authority for
this step. Otherwise it would seem most natural to defer a transaction so important until the
unerring Guide, the Holy Spirit, should have come among them, as they knew he would in
a few days.

On the other hand, since the Apostles were eminently Apostles of our Incarnate
Lord, since their very being, as Apostles, depended entirely on their personal mission from
him…one should naturally have expected that he himself before his departure would have
supplied the vacancy by personal designation. But we see it was not his pleasure to do so.
As the Apostles afterwards brought on the ordination sooner, so he had deferred it longer
than might have been expected. Both ways it should seem as if there were a purpose of
bringing the event within those ten days, during which, as I said, the church was left to
herself; left to exercise her faith and hope, much as Christians are left now, without any
miraculous aid or extraordinary illumination from above. Then, at that moment of the New
Testament history in which the circumstances of believers corresponded most nearly to
what they have been since miracles and inspiration ceased, — just at that time it pleased our
Lord that afresh Apostle should be consecrated, with authority and commission as ample
as the former enjoyed. In a word, it was his will that the eleven Disciples alone, not himself
personally, should name the successor of Judas; and that they chose the right person, he
gave testimony very soon after, by sending his Holy Spirit on St Matthias, as richly as on
St John, St James, or St Peter.

5 Tracts For the Times, Vol.ii No.52.