Peter, Popes, Churches, and the Church

[theophiletos]

Okay, I do have a bit of time, so here is a sketch. I could add more exegetical detail, but if I did, I wouldn't finish until after I returned from Europe, if ever.

So for those who are interested:

Comments

[takolaura]

I like what you have written, it makes a lot sense. It allows for primacy of the Pope without infalability.

I do not think that Protestants (can't really speak for Orthodox) would have a problem with the office of the Pope in the realms of the Pope being a servant to the servants of Christ.

I think maybe I'll email it to my aunt and see what she has to say about it :) It would at least make for an interesting conversation.

[theophiletos]

Is your aunt Catholic, or something else? I'd be interested in her response as well (she could even respond here anonymously if she doesn't have an account). Thanks for your response, and I'm glad you like it. I'd also be interested in your husband's response, too. =-)

[takolaura]

My aunt is Catholic, and below is her response:
I THINK IT AN EXCELLENT THOUGHT PROVOKING PIECE ABOUT THE PRIMACY OF THE POPE AND VERY NEAR THE CURRENT THINKING OF ECUMENICAL THINKING CATHOLIC THEOLOGIANS. IT REALLY DOESN'T ADDRESS THE INFALLIBILITY ISSUE HOWEVER.

my aunt's response continued

[takolaura]

THE POPES HAVE MADE ONLY 2 EXCATHEDRA (INFALLIBLE) ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT I AM AWARE OF.THEY ARE DOCTRINES HELD LONG BY THE CHURCH AND ACCEPTED AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND BY ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS,BUT REJECTED BY PROTESTANS AS A RULE. THEYARE THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY AND HER ASSUMPTION INTO HEAVEN. I THINK INFALLIBILITY WILL AVE TO BE ADRESSED BEFORE OTHER DENOMINATIONS WILL ACCEPT EVEN THE DEF OLF PAPAL PRIMACY, "SERVANT OF SERVANTS", OFFERED BY YOUR FRIEND . UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T SEE ANY DENOMINATION ROMAN CATHOLICS OR OTHERS CEDING MUCH ON THIS ISSUE SHORT OF JESUS RETURN. BUT WE CAN PRAY FOR UNITY. OUR GOD IS A GOD OF MIRACLES.

[verdanthe]

as an infant in the study of Syriac, I can't help noticing the similarity between peter's name and the verbs 'to hear' and 'to deny'. Would an Aramaic speaker of the time hear the same similarity?
No point, just an aside.
But while I'm here - what manuscripts are you going to see? I hope you have time there to tell us all about it.

[theophiletos]

You mean Shem`un/shma` and Kefa/kfar? The first pair is in fact etymologically related (Shem`un being the name for the Hebrew patriarch Simeon, and shama` being the cognate Hebrew verb to hear), and a Syriac speaker could perhaps spot that relation. (Although we often miss obvious connections linguistically, as for instance how many English speakers realize that the word "extraordinary" is "extra-ordinary" with a Latin meaning of "extra" as "beyond"?) The second pair, Kefa/kfar, I don't think would sound so similar to a Syriac speaker. They have two consonants and one vowel in common, but the long ee vowel in Kefa and the final resh in kfar are both root elements, and thus would automatically be categorized as significant. But I could be wrong.

I could post about my manuscripts, but I figure that would mostly bore people. If there is interest, though, I can wax eloquent at great length.

[verdanthe]

Maybe I've been reading too many Ephrem-puns, but "k-f(a)" is rare enough that it struck my eye. I understand what you mean about the etymology and the importance of the 'ee' and the 'r' as significance-bearing elements. "Notable" doesn't sound at all like "no table" to English-speakers.

I would love to hear about the manuscripts. If you're worried about boring other readers, just use an lj-cut (like in this entry) and the uninterested can skip right over.