3-Papacy
<http://www.cin.org/users/jgallegos/contents.htm> The Bible states in1 Timothy 3:15, "The church is the pillar and foundation of truth."
Cardinal Henery Neuman was a convert from Calvinism to the Anglican Church and finally to the Catholic Church. He stated “to be deep in the study of the History of the church is to cease to be Protestant”. Its Collary is also true, “to be deep in the study of the History of the church is to become Catholic”.
Rules for interpreting Scripture: Established by Pope Leo XIII in Providentissimus Deus (1893) seconded and confirmed by Pope Benedict XV in Spiritus Paraclitus (1920) and by Pope Pius XII in Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) Pope Pius XII declared in Divino... that Leo’s encyclical Providentisisimus for interpreting the bible to "the supreme guide in Biblical studies"
Four rules for interpreting the Bible for the Catholic Church 1. Always pay attention to the Magisterium the authority of the Church 2. Beguided by what the early fathershad to say about a particular passage.
3. Always to be guided by what the Bible has to say as a whole (not key phrases here and there for defining ones theology and ignoring passages which do not fit one’s theology, see opening quote) 4. Always take the Bible Literally unless it is reasonably unattenable
I will maintain that a anyone who follows the last three rules will well over 90% of the time arrive at the same truths as the Catholic Church!! The true church must be that church which follows the teachings of those immediate successors of the Apostles. These are the Apostolic fathers who learned the faith at the foot of the Apostles. The Catholic church teaches the same things as those taught by the Apostolic fathers. It has not veered to the left or ritght but teaches the same today. If a Church comes a long 1,500 years later and teaches something different how can they have the truth. They claim truth based on their own authority yet teach things that are in contradiction to the Apostolic fathers. While they maintain a portion of the same teachings as the Apostolic teachings professing Christ as redeemer and savior and hence have portion of the Catholic heritage never the less they only have a portion of the loaf of bread. For since the Catholic churche teaches the same as the Apostolic Fathers only they have the complete loaf of bread.
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Papacy: This section will deal with various aspects of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome in patristic thought. Corunum will include such things as: Peter’s presence in Rome, Peter’s primacy amongst the apostles, and the primacy of the Apostolic See.
Peter in Rome: Documents illustrating St. Peter’s presence in Rome Peter in Patristic: Thought Documents illustrating the position of St. Peter in Patristic Thought.
Primacy of the Apostolic See in Patristic Thought: Documents illustrating the jurisdictional primacy of the Bishop of Rome through both the Western and Eastern Fathers Primacy of the Apostolic See in Papal Thought: Documents illustrating the self-claimed authority of the
Bishop of Rome. Rome has always considered herself as the head of Christendom and the primary expositor of the Apostolic heritage.
Authority Claimed by the Bishop of Rome,The Pope Peter’s Presence in Rome
"Through envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars[of the Church] have been persecuted and put to death. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labours and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him. " Clement of Rome,The First Epistle of Clement,5(c.A.D. 96),in ANF,I:6
"I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you." Ignatius of Antioch,Epistle to theRomans 4:1-25(c.A.D. 110),in ANF,I:75 ’You have thus by such an admonition bound together the plantings of Peter and Paul at Rome and Corinth."
Dionysius of Corinth, Epistle to Pope Soter,fragment in Eusebius’ Church History,II:25(c.A.D. 178),in NPNF2,I:130 "Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome,and laying the foundations of the Church."Irenaeus,Against Heresies,3:1:1(c.A.D. 180),in ANF,I:414
"As Peter had preached the Word publicly at Rome, and declared the Gospel by the Spirit, many who were present requested that Mark, who had followed him for a long time and remembered his sayings, should write them out." Clement of Alexandria, fragment in Eusebius Church ’We read the lives of the Caesars: At Rome Nero was the first who stained with blood the rising blood. Then is
Peter girt by another(an allusion toJohn 21:18), when he is made fast to the cross." Tertullian, Scorpiace,15:3(A.D. 212),in ANF,III:648 "[W]hat utterance also the Romans give, so very near(to the apostles), to whom Peter and Paul conjointly bequeathed the gospel even sealed with their own blood." Tertullian, Against Marcion,4:5(inter A.D. 207-212),in ANF,III:350
"It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero. This account of Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names are preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present day. It is confirmed likewise by Caius, a member of the Church, who arose under Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome. He, in a published disputation with Proclus, the leader of the Phrygian heresy, speaks as follows concerning the places where the sacred corpses of the aforesaid apostles are laid: ’But I can show the trophies of the apostles. For if you will go to the Vatican or to the Ostian way, you will find the trophies of those who laid the foundations of this church.’ " Gaius, fragment in Eusebius’ Church History,2:25(A.D. 198),in NPNF2,I:129-130 "Peter...at last, having come to Rome, he was crucified head-downwards; for he had requested that he might suffer this way." Origen,Third Commentary on Genesis,(A.D. 232) fragment in Eusebius 3:1:1,in NPNF2,X:132 "Thus Peter, the first of the Apostles, having been often apprehended, and thrown into prison, and treated with igominy, was last of all crucified at Rome." Peter of Alexandria,The Canonical Epistle,Canon 9(A.D. 306),in ANF,VI:273 "[W]hich Peter and Paul preached at Rome..." Lactantius,The Divine Institutes,4:21(A.D. 310),in ANF,VII:123
"Peter...coming to the city of Rome, by the mighty cooperation of that power which was lying in wait there..."
Eusebius,Ecclesiastical History,II:14,5 (A.D. 325),in NPNF2,X:115
"This man[Simon Magus],after he had been cast out by the Apostles,came to Rome...Peter and Paul,a noble pair,chief rulers of the Church, arrived and set the error right...For Peter was there, who carrieth the keys of heaven..."Cyril of Jerusalem,Catechetical Lectures,6:14-15(c.A.D. 350),in NPNF2,VII:37-38 "And Peter, who had hid himself for fear of the Jews, and the Apostle Paul who was let down in a basket, and fled, when they were told, ’Ye must bear witness at Rome,’ deferred not the journey; yea, rather, they departed rejoicing..." Athanasius,Defence of his Flight,18(c.A.D. 357),in NPNF2,IV:261
"I think it my duty to consult the chair of Peter, and to turn to a church whose faith has been praised by Paul...My words are spoken to the successor of the fisherman, to the disciple of the cross." Jerome,To Pope Damasus,Epistle 15 (A.D. 377),in NPNF2,VI:18
"Where the Cherubim sing the glory, where the Seraphim are flying, there shall we see Paul, with Peter, and as a chief and leader of the choir of the Saints, and shall enjoy his generous love. For if when here he loved men so, that when he had the choice of departing and being with Christ, he chose to be here, much more will he there display a warmer affection. I love Rome even for this, although indeed one has other grounds for praising it, both for its greatness, and its antiquity, and its beauty, and its populousness, and for its power, and its wealth, and for its successes in war. But I let all this pass, and esteem it blessed on this account, that both in his lifetime he wrote to them, and loved them so, and talked with them whiles he was with us, and brought his life to a close there.
Wherefore the city is more notable upon this ground, than upon all others together. And as a body great and strong, it hath as two glistening eyes the bodies of these Saints. Not so bright is the heaven, when the sun sends forth his rays, as is the city of Rome, sending out these two lights into all parts of the world. From thence will Paul be caught up, from thence Peter. Just bethink you, ... what a sight Rome will see, when Paul ariseth suddenly from that deposit, together with Peter, and is lifted up to meet the Lord. What a rose will Rome send up to Christ! what two crowns will the city have about it! what golden chains will she be girded with! what fountains possess! Therefore I admire the city, not for the much gold, not for the columns, not for the other display there, but for these pillars of the Church."Chrysostom,Epistle to the Romans,Homily 32 (c.A.D. 391),in NPNFI,XI:561-562
"Which was mere to the interest of the Church at Rome, that it should at its commencement be presided over by some high-born and pompous senator, or by the fisherman Peter, who had none of this world’s advantages to attract men to him?" Gregory of Nyssa,To the Church at Nicodemia,Epistle 13 (ante A.D. 394),NPNF2,V:535
"For if the lineal succession of bishops is to be taken into account, with how much more certainty and benefit to the Church do we reckon back till we reach Peter himself, to whom, as bearing in a figure the whole Church, the Lord said: ’Upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it !’ The successor of Peter was Linus, and his successors in unbroken continuity were these: -- Clement, Anacletus, Evaristus, Alexander, Sixtus, Telesphorus, Iginus, Anicetus, Pius, Soter, Eleutherius, Victor, Zephirinus, Calixtus, Urbanus, Pontianus, Antherus, Fabianus, Cornelius, Lucius, Stephanus, Xystus, Dionysius, Felix, Eutychianus, Gaius, Marcellinus, Marcellus, Eusebius, Miltiades, Sylvester, Marcus, Julius, Liberius, Damasus, and Siricius, whose successor is the present Bishop Anastasius. In this order of succession no Donatist bishop is found. But, reversing the natural course of things, the Donatists sent to Rome from Africa an ordained bishop, who, putting himself at the head of a few Africans in the great metropolis, gave some notoriety to the name of ’mountain men,’ or Cutzupits, by which they were known." Augustine,To Fortunatus,Epistle 53(A.D. 400),in NPNFI,I:298 "But some people in some countries of the West, and especially in the city,[ie. Rome] not knowing the reason of this indulgence, think that a dispensation from fasting ought certainly not to be allowed On the Sabbath, because they say that on this day the Apostle Peter fasted before his encounter with Simon[Magus]." John Cassian,Institutes,X(ante A.D. 435),in NPNF2,XI:218
"The whole world, dearly-beloved, does indeed take part in all holy anniversaries[of Peter & Paul], and loyalty to the one Faith demands that whatever is recorded as done for all men’s salvation should be everywhere celebrated with common rejoicings. But, besides that reverence which to-day’s festival has gained from all the world, it is to be honoured with special and peculiar exultation in our city, that there may be a predominance of gladness on the day of their martyrdom in the place where the chief of the Apostles met their glorious end. For these are the men, through whom the light of Christ’s gospel shone on thee, ORome, and through whom thou, who wast the teacher of error, wast made the disciple of Truth. These are thy holy Fathers and true shepherds, who gave thee claims to be numbered among the heavenly kingdoms, and built thee under much better and happier auspices than they, by whose zeal the first foundations of thy walls were laid: and of whom the one that gave thee thy name defiled thee with his brother’s blood." Pope Leo the Great(regn. A.D. 440-461),Sermon LXXXII(ante A.D. 461),in NPNF2,XII:194 Some non-Catholic historians
"Some Protestant controversialists have asserted that Peter was never in Rome...I think the historical probability is that he was...Protestant champions had undertaken the impossible task of proving the negative, that Peter was never in Rome. They might as well have undertaken to prove out of the Bible that St. Bartholomew never preached in Pekin...For myself, I am willing, in absence of any opposing tradition, to accept the current account that Peter suffered martyrdom at Rome. If Rome, which early laid claim to have witnessed that martrydom, were not the scene of it, where then did it take place? Any city would be glad to claim such a connexion with the name of the Apostle, and none but Rome made the claim...If this evidence for Peter’s martydom be not be deemed sufficient, there are few things in the history of the early Church which it will be possible to demonstrate" G. Salmon "Infallibilty of the Church" (Grand Rapids:Baker,1959) pp. 348-9(a critic of the Catholic faith)
"...to deny the Roman stay of Peter is an error which today is clear to every scholar who is not blind. The Martyr death of Peter at Rome was once contested by reason of Protestant prejudice.’ A. Harnack
’It is sufficient to let us include the martyrdom of Peter in Rome in our final historical picture of the early Church, as a matter of fact which is relatively though not absolutely assured. We accept it, however facts of antiquity that are universally accepted as historical. Were we to demand for all facts of ancient history a greater degree of probability, we should have to strike from our history books a large portion of their contents." Oscar Cullman "Peter, Disciple, Apostle, Martyr" (London:SCM,1962) p. 114
"That Peter and Paul were the most eminent of many Christians who suffered martyrdom in Rome under Nero is certain..." F.F. Bruce "NT History" (New York:Doubleday,1971) p. 410
"It seems certain that Peter spent his closing years in Rome" JND Kelly "The Oxford Dictionary of Popes" (Oxford:Oxford,1986) p. 6
"The martrydom of both Peter and Paul in Rome...has often been questioned by Protestant critics, some of whom have contended that Peter was never in Rome. But the archeaological researches of the Protestant Historian Hans Lietzmann, supplemented by the library study of theProtestant exegete Oscar Cullman, have made it extremelydifficult to deny the tradition of Peter’s death in Rome under the emperor Nero. The account of Paul’s martydom in Rome, which is supported by much of the sameevidence, has not called forth similar skepticism." Jaroslav Pelikan, "The Riddle of Catholicism", (New York:Abingdon,1959) p. 36 This text may downloaded and viewed for private reading only. This text may not be used by another Web site or published, electronically or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Joseph A. Gallegos © 1997 All Rights Reserved.
Peter in Patristic thought
"Peter was proncounced blessed by the Lord...the duty of feeding the spiritual sheep of the Church under whose protecting shield, this Apostolic Church of his has NEVER turned away from the path of truth in ANY direction of ERROR, whose AUTHORITY, as that of the Prince of all the Apostles, the whole Catholic Church and the Ecumenical Synods have faithfully embraced..." Agatho Pope,To Ecumenical Council VI at Constantinople,(A.D. 680),in NPNF2,XIV:328-339
"It was right indeed that he(Paul) should be anxious to see Peter; for he was the first among the apostles, and was entrusted by the Savior with the care of the churches." Ambrosiaster,Commentary on Galatians,PL 17:344 (A.D. 384),in SPP,62
" ’Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church’, Wherefore where Peter the Church is..."
Ambrose,Commentary on the Psalms,40:30 ew:30 ew:30 (AD 395),in DOP,184
"At length, after being tempted by the devil, Peter is set over the Church." Ambrose,Commentary on the Psalms,43:40(AD 397),in GILES,145
"...the chief of the disciples...the Lord accepted him, set him up as the foundation, called him the rock and structureof the church."Aphraates, De Paenitentibus Homily 7:15(A.D. 337),in SPP,58 "In order that he may show his power, God has endowed none of his disciples with gifts likePeter.But, having raised him with heavenly gifts, he has set him above all. And, as first disciple and greater among the brethren, he has shown, by the test of deeds, the power of the Spirit. The first to be called, he followed at once....The Saviour confided to this man, as some special trust, the whole universal Church, after having asked him three times ’Lovest thou me?’. And he receive the world in charge..." Asterius,Homily 8(A.D. 400),in GILES,145-146
"Number the priests even from that seat of Peter. And in that order of fathers see to whom succeeded: that is the rock which the proud gates of hades do not conquer."Augustine,Psalmus contr Partem Donati(A.D. 393),in
GILES,182 "Peter bore the person of the church" Augustine, Sermon 149:7(inter A.D. 391-430),in SPP,69
"Peter upon which rock the Lord promised that he would build his church." Basil,In Isaias,2:66(A.D. 375),in SPP,55
"Peter is again called ’the coryphaeus of the Apostles" Basil of Seleucia,Oratio 25(ante A.D. 468),in FOC,II:49
" ’Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and to thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven’? When Wilfrid spoken thus, the king said, ’It is true, Colman, that these words were spoken to Peter by our Lord?’ He answered, ’It is true O king!’ Then says he, ’Can you show any such power given to your Columba?’ Colman answered, ’None.’ Then added the king,"Do you both agree that these words were principally directed toPeter, and that the keys of heaven were given to him by our Lord?’They both answered,’We do.’ " Bede Venerable, AD 700, Ecclesiastical History,3:5(A.D. 700),in RCH,I:271 "[B]ut that great man, the disciple of disciples, that master among masters, who wielding the government of the Roman Church possessed the authority in faith and priesthood. Tell us therefore, tell us we beg of you, Peter, prince of the Apostles, tell us how the churches must believe in God." Cassian John,Contra Nestorium,3:12(A.D. 430),in SPP,61 "A copy of the letter sent by the holy and Ecumenical: Sixth Council to Agatho, the most blessed and most holy pope of Old Rome...Serious illnesses call for greater helps, as you know, most blessed (father); and therefore Christ our true God, who is the creator and governing power of all things, gave a wise physician, namely your God-honoured sanctity, to drive away by force the contagion of heretical pestilence by the remedies of orthodoxy, and to give the strength of health to the members of the church. Therefore to thee, as to the bishop of the first see of the Universal Church, we leave what must be done, since you willingly take for your standing ground the firm rock of the faith, as we know from having read your true confession in the letter sent by your fatherly beatitude to the most pious emperor: and we acknowledge that this letter was divinely written (perscriptas) as by the Chief of the Apostles, and through it we have cast out the heretical sect of many errors which had recently sprung up.." Constantinople III Council to Pope Agatho,(A.D. 680),NPNF2,XIV:349
"Wherefore the most holy and blessed Leo, archbishop of the great and elder Rome, through us, and through this present most holy synod together with the thrice blessed and all-glorious Peter the Apostle, who is the rock and foundation of the Catholic Church, and the foundation of the orthodox faith..." Council of Chalcedon,Session III (A.D. 451),in NPNF2,XIV:259-260
" ’...thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church’ ...It is on him that he builds the Church, and to him that he entrusts the sheep to feed. And although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single Chair, thus establishing by his own authority the source and hallmark of the (Church’s) oneness...If a man does not fast to this oneness of Peter, does he still imagine that he still holds the faith. If he deserts the Chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, has he still confidence that he is in the Church?" Cyprian, De Unitate Ecclesiae(Primacy text),4(A.D. 251),in NE,228-229
"He promises to found the church, assigning immovableness to it,as He is the Lord of strength, and over this he sets Peter as shepherd." Cyril of Alexandria,Commentary on Matthew (A.D. 428),in SPP,74
"Peter, the foremost of the Apostles, and Chief Herald of the Church..." Cyril of Jerusalem,Catechetical Lectures,11:3(A.D. 350),in NPNF2,VIII:64 "(Peter)The first of the Apostles, the foundation of the Church, the coryphaeus of the choir of disciples."
Chrysostom John,Ad eos qui scandalizati 17(ante A.D. 407),in SEP,74
"Peter, that head of the Apostles, the first in the Church, the friend of Christ, who recieved revelation not from manbut from the Father...this Peter, and when I say Peter, I mean that unbroken Rock, the unshaken foundation, the great Apostle, the first of the disciples, the first called, the first to obey" Chrysostom John, De Eleemosyna,3:4(ante A.D. 407),in SEP,74
"[W]e have considered that it ought be announced that although all the Catholic Churches spread abroad through the world comprise one bridal chamber of Christ, nevertheless, the holy Roman Church has been placed at the forefront not by conciliar decisions of other churches, but has received the primacy by the evangelic voice of our Lord and Savior, who says: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it..."...The first see, therefore, is that of Peter the Apostle, that of the Roman Church, which has neither the stain nor blemish nor anything like it" Damasus Pope, Decree of Damasus,3(A.D. 382), in JUR,I:406
"[T]he first of the apostles, the solid rock on which theChurch was built."Epiphanius, In Ancorato,9:6 (A.D. 374),in SPP,in 57
"Simon, My follower, I have made you the foundation of the Holy Church. I betimes called you Peter(Kepha-- hebrew), because you will support all its buildings. You are the inspector of those who will build on earth a Church for me...I have given you the keys of my kingdom. Behold, have given you authority over all my treasures." Ephraim, Homily 4:1,(A.D. 373),JUR,I:11
"...Peter, that strongest and greatest of all the apostles, and the one who on account of his virtue was the speaker for all the others..." Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History,2:14 (A.D. 325),in NPNF2,I:115
"And Peter,on whom the Church of Christ is built, ’against which the gates of hell shall not prevail’ "
Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History,6:25 (A.D. 325),in NPNF2,I:273 "...folly of (Pope) Stephen, that he who boasts of the place ofthe episcopate, and contends that he holds the succession from Peter,on whom the foundation of the Church were laid..." Firmilian,Epistle To Cyprian,Ephesians 75(74):17(A.D. 256),in ANF,V:394
"To Peter,that is, to his church, he gave the power ofretaining and forgiving sins on earth."Fulgentius, De Remissione Peccatorum,2:20(A.D. 523),in SPP,71
"The holy Roman Church is senior to the other churches not by virtue of any synodal decrees, but obtained the primacy from Our Lord and Savior in the words of theGospel,’Thou art Peter...’ " Gelasius Pope,Decree of Gelasium(A.D. 492),in SPP,166
"Who could be ignorant of the fact that the holy church is consolidated in the solidity of the prince of the Apostles, whose firmness of character extended to his name so that he should be called Peter after the ’rock’, when the voice of the Truth says, ’I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven’. To him again is said "When after a little while thou hast come back to me, it is for thee to be the support of thy brethren." Gregory the Great Pope,Epistle 40(A.D. 604),in SPP,66 "Seest thou that of the disciples of Christ, all of whom were exalted and deserving of choice, one is called rock, and is entrusted with the foundations of the church."Gregory of Nazianzen,Oration 32:18(A.D. 380),in SPP,56
"The memory of Peter, who is the head of the apostles...he is the firm and most solid rock, on which the savior built his Church." Gregory of Nyssa,Panegyric on St. Stephen,3(ante A.D. 394),in SPP,56
"[B]lessed Simon, who after his confession of the mystery was set to be the foundation-stone of the Church, and received the keys of the kingdom..."Hilary de Poiters,On the Trinity,6:20(A.D. 359),in NPNF2,IX:105
"By this Spirit Peter spake that blessed word, ’Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ By this Spirit the rock of the Church was stablished." Hippolytus,Discourse on the Holy Theophany,9(ante A.D. 235),ANF,V:237 "[T]he statement of Our Lord Jesus Christ who said, ’Thou art Peter,and upon this rock I will build my
Church,’...These (words) which were spoken, are proved by the effects of the deeds, because in the Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always been preserved without stain.’ Hormisdas Pope,Libellus professionis fidei,(A.D. 519),in DEN(171),73 "The decrees of the Roman Pontiff, standing upon thesupremacy of the Apostolic See, are unquestionable."
Isidore of Seville,(ante A.D. 636),in PL:84 "But you say, the Church was founded upon Peter: although elsewhere the same is attributed to all the
Apostles, and they all receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the strength of the Church depends upon them all alike, yet one(ie. Peter)among the twelve is chosen so that when a head has been appointed, there may be no occasion for schism." Jerome,Against Jovinianus,1 (A.D. 393),in NPNF2,VI:366
"As I follow no leader save Christ, so I communicate with none but your blessedness, that is with the chair of Peter. For this, I know, is the rock on which the church is built!"Jerome,To Pope Damasus,Epistle 15(A.D. 375),in NPNF2,VI:18
"[B]lessed Peter preserving in the strength of the Rock, which he has received, has not abandoned the helm of the Church, which he under took...And so if anything is rightly done and rightly decreed by us, if anything is won from the mercy of God by our daily supplications,it is of his work and merits whos power lives and whose authority prevails in his See...to him whom they know to be not only the patron ofthis See, but also primate of all bishops. When therefore...beleive that he is speaking whose representative we are:..."Leo the Great(Pope),Sermon 3:3-4(A.D. 442),in NPNF2,XII:117 "[T]he Lord wished to be indeed the concern of all the Apostles: and from him as from the Head wishes His gifts to flow to all the body: so that any one who dares to secede from Peter’s solid rock may understand that he has no part or lot in the divine mystery." Leo the Great(Pope),To Bishops of Vienne,Epistle 10 (A.D. 450),in NPNF2,XII:8
"For the extremities of the earth, and all in every part of it who purely and rightly confess the Lord, look directly towards the most holy Roman Church and its confession and faith, as it were a sun of unfailing light, awaiting from it the bright radiance of our fathers, according to what the six inspired and holy Councils have purely and piously decreed, declaring most expressly the symbol of faith. For from the coming down of the Incarnate Word among us, all the churches in every part of the world have possessed that greatest church alone as their base and foundation, seeing that, according to the promise of Christ Our Savior, the gates of hell do never prevail against it, that it possesses the Keys of right confession and faith in Him, that it opens the true and only religion to such as approach with piety, and shuts up and locks every heretical mouth that speaks injustice against the Most High"
Maximus the Confessor,Opuscula theologica et polemica(A.D. 650),in PG(91:137-144) "This Peter on whom Christ freely bestowed a sharing in his name. For just as Christ is the rock, as the Apostle
Paul taught, so through Christ Peter is made rock, when the Lord says to him: "Thou art Peter and upon this rock Iwill build my church..."’Maximus of Turin,Homily 63(A.D. 408),in SPP,61-62 "[F]or the good of unity blessed Peter, for whom it would have been enough if after his denial he had obtained pardone only, deserved to be placed before all the apostles, and alone received the keys of the kingdom of heaven, to be communicated to the rest." Optatus of Milevis, De Schismate Donatistorum,7:3(A.D. 370),in GILES,120 "And Peter, on whom the Church of Christ is built, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail..."
Origen,Commentary on John,5:3(c.A.D. 232),in ANF,X:347 "[T]he Lord spoke to Peter a little earlier; he spoke to one, that from one he might found unity, soon delivering the same to all." Pacian,To Sympronianus,Epistle 3:2(AD 372),in GILES,123
"Wherefore the most holy and blessed Leo, archbishop of the great and elder Rome, through us, and through this present most holy synod together with the thrice blessed and all-glorious Peter the Apostle, who is the rock and foundation of the Catholic Church, and the foundation of the orthodox faith, hath stripped him of the episcopate, and hath alienated from him all hieratic worthiness.’Peter, the apostle, who is the rock and support of the Catholic Church’ " Paschasinus, Council of Chalcedon,Session III(A.D. 451)in NPNF,XIV:259-260
"You know that the Lord proclaims in the Gospel: ’Simon, Simon, behold:Satan has desired to possess you,so that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you,that your faith may not fail. And you,once you have converted, confirm your brethren!’(Luke 22:31-32). Consider that the truth could not have lied,nor will the faith of Peter be able to be shaken or changed forever. For, although the devil desired to sift all the disciples,the Lord testifies that He Himself asked for Peter alone,and wished that the others be confirmed my him;and to Peter also was committed the care of ’feeding the sheep’(John 21:15);and to him also did the Lord hand over the ’keys of the kingdom of heaven’(Matthew 16:19),and upon him did He promise to ’build His Church’ (Matthew 16:18);and He testified that ’the gates of Hell would not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:19)." Pelagius II(Pope),Quod Ad Dilectionem(c.A.D. 685),in DNZ(246),95
"We exhort you, honourable brother, to submit yourself in all things to what has been written by the blessed Bishop of Rome,because St. Peter, who lives and presides in his see, gives the true faith to those who seek it. For our part,for the sake of peace and the good of the faith, we cannot judge questions of doctrine without the consent of the Bishop of Rome." Peter Chrysologus,Epistle 25 of Leo from Peter(A.D. 449),in SPP,215
"There is no doubt, and in fact it has been known in all ages, that the holy and most blessed Peter, prince and head of the Apostles, pillar of faith, and foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the human race, and that to him was given the power of loosing and binding sins: who down even to to-day and forever, lives and judges in his successors. The holy and most blessed Pope Celestine,according to due order,is his successor and holds his place..." Philip,Council of Ephesus,Session III (A.D. 431),in NPNF,XIV:223 "...the most firm rock, who(Peter) from the principal Rock recieved a share of his virtue and his name"
Prosper of Aquitaine,The Call of All Nations,2:28(A.D. 426),in SPP,71
"Peter, who is called ’the rock on which the church should be built,’ who also obtained ’the keys of the kingdom of heaven...’ " Tertullian,On the Prescription Against the Heretics,22(c.A.D. 200),in ANF,III:253
"If Paul, the herald of the truth, the trumpet of the Holy Ghost, hastened to the great Peter in order that he might carry from him the desired solution of difficulties to those at Antioch who were in doubt about living in conformity with the law, much more do we, men insignificant and small, hasten to your apostolic see in order to receive from you a cure for the wounds of the churches. For every reason it is fitting for you to hold the first place, inasmuch as your see is adorned with many privileges." Theodoret of Cyrus,To Pope Leo,Epistle 113(A.D.
449),in NPNF2,III:293 This text may downloaded and viewed for private reading only. This text may not be used by another Web site or published, electronically or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Joseph A. Gallegos © 1997 All Rights Reserved.