Tag: KEEPER OF THE KEYS

ST EVARISTUS (96/99 – 108)

The Liber Pontificalis notes that Evaristus was, “by nationality a Greek of Antioch, son of a Jew named Judah, from the city of Bethlehem.” Memmo Caporilli, in his chart of The Roman Pontiffs says that Evaristus was the founder of the first seven diaconates in Rome which were entrusted to senior priests. These were given the task of keeping a watch over the doctrinal correctness of the bishop’s preaching! This group of seven priests is believed to be the origin of the present College of Cardinals. How careful were the pastors of the early Church to make sure that they were teaching the doctrine of Christ and not their own!

We have seen previously (Keeper, 4) that through the centuries, some Fathers of the Church have provided us with a record of the list of the Popes until their times. But we have not only the list of names, but also the biographies of the Popes through the centuries. The recognized source of these biographies, especially of the first 15 centuries of Christianity, is the Liber Pontificalis.

The New Testament shows us how Jesus gave special treatment to Peter, how he chose him from among the twelve. Does the New Testament also tell us about how Peter played his role? Yes, it does.

Jewish tradition prepared the first Christians of Jewish background to understand the “new” teachings of Jesus such as the Eucharist, the priesthood, the papacy, and the role of the Blessed Virgin. Last time we studied the meaning of the terms ‘rock’ and ‘keys’ in the Old Testament and other Jewish writings.