1- Peter's
primacy. (Him being the prince of the apostles, him being the Rock in Matt
16:18, him being the head of the Church). Example quotes 166, 170 and 178
2- The
Supremacy and Jurisdiction he has over all the churches in the whole world.
Take quotes 39, 41, 44, 65, 85, 121, 123, 166 and 167 as an example.
3-
Infallibility in my opinion can be found in some quotes. Take quotes 46, 124,
125 and 132.
4- The Pope's
role in the early church. Quotes 47 and 167
5- The
Importance of the see of Rome in early history. Example quotes 8, 30, 34 and
128
6- The Power
of Peter's successors (in Rome) have. Examples 65, 67, 137 and 138
7- The
Importance of being in unity with Peter's successors. Examples are quotes: 33,
58, 110, 111
8- The
obedience one must have to the Bishop of Rome. Examples: 45, 79, 186
"How can
you call a council Ecumenical when The Bishop of Rome has not given his
consent? And the canons forbid ecclesiastical affairs to be decided without The
Pope of Rome?" [8th Century, Pope Stephen III to the heretical
"bishops" at the robber council of Hieria, PG 100,1144]
St.
Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople (758-828):
"Without
whom (the Romans presiding in the seventh Council) a doctrine brought forward
in the Church could not, even though confirmed by canonical decrees and by
ecclesiastical usuage, ever obtain full approval or currency. For it is they
(the Popes of Rome) who have had assigned to them the rule in sacred things,
and who have received into their hands the dignity of headship among the Apostles."
(Nicephorus, Niceph. Cpl. pro. s. imag. c 25 [Mai N. Bibl. pp. ii. 30]).
1-
"Since the East, shattered as it is by the long-standing feuds, subsisting
between its peoples, is bit by bit tearing into shreds the seamless vest of the
Lord, woven from the top throughout,' since the foxes are destroying the
vineyard of Christ, and since among the broken cisterns that hold no water it
is hard to discover the sealed fountain' and the garden inclosed,' I think it
my duty to consult the chair of Peter, and to turn to a church
whose faith has been praised by Paul. I appeal for spiritual food to the church
whence I have received the garb of Christ. The wide space of sea and land that
lies between us cannot deter me from searching for the pearl of great price.'
Wheresoever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together.' Evil
children have squandered their patrimony; you alone keep your heritage intact.
The fruitful soil of Rome, when it receives the pure seed of the Lord, bears
fruit a hundredfold; but here the seed corn is choked in the furrows and
nothing grows but darnel or oats. In the West the Sun of righteousness is even
now rising; in the East, Lucifer, who fell from heaven, has once more set his
throne above the stars. Ye are the light of the world,' ye are the salt of the
earth,' ye are "vessels of gold and of silver." Here are vessels of
wood or of earth, which wait for the rod of iron, and eternal fire. Yet, though
your greatness terrifies me, your kindness attracts me. From the priest I demand
the safe-keeping of the victim, from the shepherd the protection due to the
sheep. Away with all that is overweening; let the state of Roman majesty
withdraw. My words are spoken to the successor of the fisherman, to the
disciple of the cross. 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! This is the
house where alone the paschal lamb can be rightly eaten. This is the ark of
Noah, and he who is not found in it shall perish when the flood prevails. But
since by reason of my sins I have betaken myself to this desert which lies
between Syria and the uncivilized waste, I cannot, owing to the great distance
between us, always ask of your sanctity the holy thing of the Lord.
Consequently I here follow the Egyptian confessors who share your faith, and
anchor my frail craft under the shadow of their great argosies. I know nothing
of Vitalis; I reject Meletius; I have nothing to do with Paulinus. He that
gathers not with you scatters; he that is not of Christ is of Antichrist."
Jerome, To
Pope Damasus,Epistle 15:1-2(A.D. 375),in NPNF2,VI:18
2- "The
church here is split into three parts, each eager to seize me for its own. . .
. Meanwhile I keep crying, ‘He that is joined to the chair of Peter is accepted
by me!’ . . . Therefore, I implore your blessedness [Pope Damasus I] . . . tell
me by letter with whom it is that I should communicate in Syria" (ibid.,
16:2).
3-
"‘But,’ you [Jovinian] will say, ‘it was on Peter that the Church was
founded’ [Matt. 16:18]. Well . . . one among the twelve is chosen to be
their head in order to remove any occasion for division"
(Against Jovinian 1:26 [A.D. 393]).
4- Because
the statement of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He said, “Thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build My Church,” etc., cannot be set aside; this, which is
said, is proved by the results; for in the Apostolic See religion has always
been preserved without spot.... In which (See) is set the perfect and true
solidity of the Christian religion. (from the “Formula of Pope Hormisdas”,
accepted and signed by eastern bishops, AD 519)
5- In the
Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always been kept undefiled and her holy
doctrine proclaimed. Desiring, therefore, not to be in the least degree
separated from the faith and doctrine of that See, we hope that we may deserve
to be in the one communion with you which the Apostolic See preaches, in which
is the entire and true solidity of the Christian religion: promising also that
the names of those who are cut off from the communion of the Catholic Church,
that is, not consentient with the Apostolic See, shall not be recited during
the sacred mysteries. This is my profession, I have subscribed with my own
hand, and delivered to you Hormisdas, the holy and venerable pope of the city
of Rome. (from the “Formula of Pope Hormisdas”, accepted and signed by eastern
bishops, AD 519, p. 344)
1. After all
these [writings of] the prophets and the evangelical and apostolic scriptures
which we discussed above, on which the catholic church is founded by the grace
of God, we also have thought necessary to say what, although the universal
catholic church diffused throughout the world is the single bride of Christ,
however the holy Roman church is given first place by the rest of the churches
without [the need for] a synodical decision, but from the voice of the Lord our
saviour in the gospel obtained primacy: 'You are Peter,' he said, 'and upon
this rock I shall build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it; and to you I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever
you shall bind upon Earth shall be bound also in heaven and whatever you
release upon Earth shall also be released in heaven'.
2. In
addition there is also the presence of the blessed apostle Paul, 'the chosen
vessel', who not in opposition, as the heresies jabber, but on the same date
and the same day was crowned in glorious death with Peter in the city of Rome
suffering under Nero Caesar; and equally they made the above-mentioned holy
Roman church special in Christ the Lord and gave preference in their presence
and veneration-worthy triumph before all other cities in the whole world.
3. Therefore
first is the seat at the Roman church of the apostle Peter 'having no spot or
wrinkle or any other [defect]'.
However the
second place was given in the name of blessed Peter to Mark his disciple and
gospel-writer at Alexandria, and who himself wrote down the word of truth
directed by Peter the apostle in Egypt and gloriously consummated [his life] in
martyrdom.
Indeed the
third place is held at Antioch of the most blessed and honourable apostle
Peter, who lived there before he came to Roma and where first the name of the
new race of the Christians was heard.
(Decree of
Damasus 3 [A.D. 382]).
7- "Rome
the See of Peter, which has been made to the whole world the head of the
pastoral office." St. Prosper of Acquitaine (450 A.D.)
8- "The
Roman Church, which is the head of all the churches." (Victor of Vita,
circa AD 485)
9- "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 the
Gospel,'Thou art Peter...' " (A.D. 492)
10 -The
canons themselves willed the appeals of the whole Church to be referred to the
examination of this See. From it they decreed also that no appeal whatever
ought to be made; and thereby that it judged of the whole Church, and that
itself passed under the judgment of none.... (St. Pope Gelasius, circa AD 492)
11 -The first
See both confirms every synod by its authority, and guards by its continuous
rule, by reason, to wit, of its supremacy, which, received by the Apostle Peter
from the mouth of the Lord, the Church nevertheless seconding, it both always
has held and retains.... (St. Pope Gelasius, circa AD 492).
By this
continual assertion of supremacy the Popes spread their decrees far and wide
and it was Gelasius who asserted that it was the duty of kings to learn their
duty from bishops but especially from "the Vicar of the Blessed
Peter."
494-495
Gelasius wrote to the Byzantine Emperor, Anastasius I, sketching his famous two
power theory. He wrote "There are two authorities by which the world is
governed, the Pontifical and the Royal; the sacerdotal order being that which
has charge of the sacraments of life and from which thou must seek the causal
of thy salvation. Hence in Divine things it becomes kings to bow the neck to
priests, especially to the head of priests, whom Christ's own voice has set
over the universal church." At the close of the Council of Rome in 495
when Gelasius had finished asserting Rome's supremacy, the assembled bishops
shouted 6 times, "We see that thou art the Vicar of Christ."
12 -We who
desire to serve the Apostolic see without blame, according to the divine
precepts and statutes of the Fathers. (The bishops of Dardania to Pope
Gelasius, circa AD 494).
13-
"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 [Dioscorus] of the episcopate, and hath alienated from him
all hieratic worthiness. Therefore let this most holy and great synod sentence
the before mentioned Dioscorus to the canonical penalties." (Bishop
Paschasinus, legate of the Apostolic See at the Council of Chalcedon, AD 451,
p. 265).
14- "We
will that all people who are governed by our clemency should practice the same
religion as the divine Apostle Peter delivered to the Romans, as the religion
proclaimed by him up to this time declares it; and which it is clear the
Pontiff Damasus follows, and Peter, the Bishop of Alexandria.... Those who
follow this law we order to take the name of Catholic Christians." ( AD
380) -Emperor Theodosius
15-
"They [the Novatian heretics] have not the succession of Peter, who hold
not the chair of Peter, which they rend by wicked schism; and this, too, they
do, wickedly denying that sins can be forgiven [by the sacrament of confession]
even in the Church, whereas it was said to Peter: ‘I will give unto thee the
keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound also in heaven, and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed
also in heaven’[Matt. 16:19]" (Penance 1:7:33 [A.D. 388]). -St. Ambrose of
Milan
16-
"[Christ] made answer: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock will I build my
Church. . . .’ Could he not, then, strengthen the faith of the man to whom,
acting on his own authority, he gave the kingdom, whom he called the rock,
thereby declaring him to be the foundation of the Church [Matt. 16:18]?"
(The Faith 4:5 [A.D. 379]).
-St. Ambrose
of Milan
17- "It
is to Peter that he says: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
Church’ [Matt. 16:18]. Where Peter is, there is the Church. And where the
Church is, no death is there, but life eternal" (Commentary on Twelve
Psalms of David 40:30 [A.D. 389]).
-St. Ambrose
of Milan
18 - From
this Church [of Rome] the rights of venerable communion flow unto all. (St.
Ambrose of Milan, AD 385)
-St. Ambrose
of Milan
19- "We
recognize in the letter of your holiness [Pope Siricius] the vigilance of the good
shepherd. You faithfully watch over the gate entrusted to you, and with pious
care you guard Christ’s sheepfold [John 10:7ff], you that are worthy to have
the Lord’s sheep hear and follow you" (Synodal Letter to Pope Siricius
[A.D. 389]). - Synod of Ambrose
20- "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
21 -
"But he was not so eager as to lay aside caution. He called the bishop to
him, and esteeming that there can be no true thankfulness except it spring from
true faith, he enquired whether he agreed with the Catholic bishops, that is,
with the Roman Church?"
Ambrose, The
death of his brother Satyrus,1:47(A.D. 378),in NPNF2,X:168
22 -
"Your grace must be besought not to permit any disturbance of the Roman
Church, the head of the whole Roman World and of the most holy faith of the
Apostles, for from thence flow out to all (churches) the bonds of sacred
communion."
Ambrose,To
Emperor Gratian,Epistle 11:4(A.D. 381),in SPP,160
- Ambrose of
Milan
23- "To
be unwilling to give the primacy to the Roman Church either stems from the
utmost impiety or from rash arrogance."(A.D.400)
-St.
Augustine
24-
"Number the bishops from the See of Peter itself. And in that order of
Fathers see who has succeeded whom. That is the rock against which the gates of
hell do not prevail" (Psalm against the Party of Donatus, 18 [A.D. 393])
-St.
Augustine
25 -
"There are many other things which rightly keep me in the bosom of the
Catholic Church. The consent of the people and nations keeps me, her authority
keeps me, inaugurated by miracles, nourished in hope, enlarged by love, and
established by age. The succession of priests keep me, from the very seat of
the apostle Peter (to whom the Lord after his resurrection gave charge to feed
his sheep) down to the present episcopate [of Pope Siricius]" (Against the
Letter of Mani Called "The Foundation" 5 [A.D. 397]).
-St.
Augustine
26 - "If
all men throughout the world were such as you most vainly accuse them of having
been, what has the chair of the Roman church done to you, in which Peter sat,
and in which Anastasius [39th pope] sits today?" (Against the Letters of
Petilani 2:118 [A.D. 402]).
- St.
Augustine
27- "In
the Catholic Church I adhere to the Chair of Peter. Whoever does not wish to
stray from the true fold, must follow this voice of Peter." (Apostolic
Digest pg 251, [A.D. 411])
-St.
Augustine
28 -
"Who is ignorant that the first of the apostles is the most blessed
Peter?" (Commentary on John 56:1 [A.D. 416]).
-St.
Augustine
29 -
"The Roman Church, in which the primacy of the Apostolic See has always
been in force" (AD 354-450 Epist. xlii).
-St.
Augustine
30 - "To
be unwilling to give the primacy to the Roman Church either stems from the
utmost impiety or from rash arrogance" (Augustine. De Util. Cred. c.17).
- St.
Augustine
31 -
"Peter...head of the Apostles, doorkeeper of heaven and foundation of the
church." (Augustine. Ep 36)
-St.
Augustine
32 -
"This same Peter...bearing the figure of the Church...holding the chief
place in the Apostleship..." (Augustine. Sermon XXVI)
-St.
Augustine
33 - "If
the very order of episcopal succession is to be considered, how much more
surely, truly, and safely do we number them from Peter himself, to whom, as to
one representing the whole Church, the Lord said, "Upon this rock I will
build my church . . . " [Matt. 16:18]. 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
(36th Pope). In this order of succession no Donatist bishop is found."
(Letters 53:1:2 [A.D. 412]).
-St.
Augustine
34 -
"Carthage was also near the countries over the sea, and distinguished by
illustrious renown, so that it had a bishop of more than ordinary influence,
who could afford to disregard a number of conspiring enemies because he saw
himself joined by letters of communion to the Roman Church, in which the
supremacy of an apostolic chair has always flourished"
Augustine,To
Glorius et.al,Epistle 43:7(A.D. 397),in NPNF1,I:278
-St.
Augustine
35 -
"And since these heretics were trying to bring the Apostolic See round
their view, African councils of holy bishops also did their best to persuade
the holy Pope of the city(first the venerable Innocent, and afterwards his
successor Zosimus) that this heresy was to be abhorred and condemned by
Catholic faith. And these bishops so great a See successively branded them, and
cut them off from the members of the Church, giving letters to the African
Churches in the West, and to the Churches of the East, and declared that they
were to be anathemized and avoided by all Catholics. The judgment pronounced
upon them by the Catholic Church of God was heard and followed also by the most
pious Emperor Ho they had wandered, and are yet returning, as the truth of the
right faith becomes known against this detestable error."
Possidius,
Life of Augustine,18(A.D. 437),in GCC,80-81
-St.
Augustine
36 -
"[On this matter of the Pelagians] two councils have already been sent to
the Apostolic See [the bishop of Rome], and from there rescripts too have come.
The matter is at an end; would that the error too might be at an end!"
(Sermons 131:10 [A.D. 411]).
-St.
Augustine
37 -
"Reminding Justinian of God's judgment for the exile of Pope Silverius,
'In this world there are many kings, not one, like that Pope who is over the
church of the whole world.'" (c. A.D. 525)
-Bishop of
Patara writing to Emperor Justinian.
38 -
"Nor do we allow that any of these things, concerning ecclesiastical
institution, should fail to be brought before his Holiness, as being the head
of all the holy Priests of God...." (Emperor Justinian I, AD 520-533)
-Emperor
Justinian
39 - Writing
to the Pope:
Yielding
honor to the Apostolic See and to Your Holiness, and honoring your Holiness, as
one ought to honor a father, we have hastened to subject all the priests of the
whole Eastern district, and to unite them to the See of your Holiness, for we
do not allow of any point, however manifest and indisputable it be, which
relates to the state of the Churches, not being brought to the cognizance of
your Holiness, since you are the Head of all the holy Churches. (Justinian
Epist. ad. Pap. Joan. ii. Cod. Justin. lib. I. tit. 1, AD 520-533)
- Emperor
Justinian
40 -
"Macedonius declared, when desired by the Emperor Anastasius to condemn
the Council of Chalcedon, that 'such a step without an Ecumenical Synod
presided over by the Pope of Rome is impossible.'" (Macedonius, Patr.
Graec. 108: 360a (Theophan. Chronogr. pp. 234-346 seq. A.D. 520-533)
-Emperor
Justinian
41 -
"Let your Apostleship show that you have worthily succeeded to the Apostle
Peter, since the Lord will work through you, as Supreme Pastor, the salvation
of all." (Coll. Avell. Ep. 196, July 9th, 520, Justinian to Pope
Hormisdas).
-Emperor
Justinian
42 - Peter,
Head of the choir of Apostles. (Nilus, Lib. ii Epistl. A.D. 466-516)
- Macedonius,
Patriarch of Constantinople
43 - Peter,
who was foremost in the choir of Apostles and always ruled amongst them.
(Nilus, Tract. ad. Magnam. A.D. 466-516)
-Macedonius,
Patriarch of Constantinople
44 -
"The primacy of the Apostolic See having been established by the merit of
the Apostle Peter, by dignity of the city of Rome, and by the authority of the
Holy Synod, no pretended power shall arrogate to itself anything against the
authority of that See. For peace can be universally preserved only when the
whole Church acknowledges its ruler." (Valentinian III A.D. 445)
-Valentinian
III
45 - "We
know who is in charge in the Church of Christ to the extent that we
reverently, humbly and devoutly profess more especially to give due obedience
in all things to the Roman Pontiff as God's Vicar. Whoever proudly resists this
principle, we decree, is altogether outside the fellowship of the faithful, as
a heretic." St. Isidore of Seville (620 A.D.)
- St. Isidore
of Seville
46 -
"The decrees of the Roman Pontiff, standing upon the supremacy of the
Apostolic See, are unquestionable." (ante A.D. 636),in PL:84
-St. Isidore
of Seville
47 -
"Why did He shed His blood? That He might gain possession of those sheep
which He intrusted to Peter and to his successors." (St. John Chrysostom,
AD 387)
-St. John
Chrysostom
48 -
"Peter himself the Head or Crown of the Apostles, the First in the Church,
the Friend of Christ, who received a revelation, not from man, but from the
Father, as the Lord bears witness to him, saying, 'Blessed art thou, This very
Peter and when I name Peter I name that unbroken Rock, that firm Foundation,
the Great Apostle, First of the disciples, the First called, and the First who
obeyed he was guilty ...even denying the Lord." (Chrysostom, T. ii. Hom
St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople (c. 387))
-St. John
Chrysostom
49 -
"Peter, the Leader of the choir of Apostles, the Mouth of the disciples,
the Pillar of the Church, the Buttress of the faith, the Foundation of the
confession, the Fisherman of the universe." (Chrysostom, T. iii Hom St.
John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople (c. 387)).
-St. John
Chrysostom
50 -
"Peter, that Leader of the choir, that Mouth of the rest of the Apostles,
that Head of the brotherhood, that one set over the entire universe, that
Foundation of the Church." (Chrys. In illud hoc Scitote St. John Chrysostom,
Patriarch of Constantinople (c. 387))
-St. John
Chrysostom
51 -
"(Peter), the foundation of the Church, the Coryphaeus of the choir of the
Apostles, the vehement lover of Christ ...he who ran throughout the whole
world, who fished the whole world; this holy Coryphaeus of the blessed choir;
the ardent disciple, who was entrusted with the keys of heaven, who received
the spiritual revelation. Peter, the mouth of all Apostles, the head of that
company, the ruler of the whole world." (De Eleemos, iii. 4; Hom. de decem
mille tal. 3 St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople (c. 387)).
-St. John
Chrysostom
52 - "In
those days Peter rose up in the midst of the disciples (Acts 15), both as being
ardent, and as entrusted by Christ with the flock ...he first acts with
authority in the matter, as having all put into his hands ; for to him Christ
said, 'And thou, being converted, confirm thy brethren." (Chrysostom, Hom.
iii Act Apost. tom. ix. St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople (c. 387))
-St. John
Chrysostom
53 - "He
passed over his fall, and appointed him first of the Apostles; wherefore He
said: ' 'Simon, Simon,' etc. (in Ps. cxxix. 2). God allowed him to fall,
because He meant to make him ruler over the whole world, that, remembering his
own fall, he might forgive those who should slip in the future. And that what I
have said is no guess, listen to Christ Himself saying: 'Simon, Simon,
etc.'" (Chrys, Hom. quod frequenter conveniendum sit 5, cf. Hom 73 in Joan
5 St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople (c. 387)).
-St John
Chrysostom
54 -
"And why, then, passing by the others, does He converse with Peter on
these things? (John 21:15). He was the chosen one of the Apostles, and the
mouth of the disciples, and the leader of the choir. On this account, Paul also
went up on a time to see him rather than the others (Galatians 1:18). And
withal, to show him that he must thenceforward have confidence, as the denial
was done away with, He puts into his hands the presidency over the brethren.
And He brings not forward the denial, nor reproches him with what had past, but
says, 'If you love me, preside over the brethren ...and the third time He gives
him the same injunction, showing what a price He sets the presidency over His
own sheep. And if one should say, 'How then did James receive the throne of
Jerusalem?,' this I would answer that He appointed this man (Peter) teacher,
not of that throne, but of the whole world." (Chrysostom, In Joan. Hom.
1xxxviii. n. 1, tom. viii St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople (c.
387))
-St John
Chrysostom
55 - "Or
rather, if we hear him here, we shall certainly see him hereafter, if not as
standing near him, yet see him we certainly shall, glistening near the Throne
of the king. 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, and shudder (frixate) at the thought of
what a sight Rome will see, when Paul ariseth suddenly from that deposit,
together with Peter, and is lifted up to meet the Lord. (1 Thess. iv. 17.) What
a rose will Rome send up to Christ! (Is. xxxv. 1) 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.
(1 Cor. xv. 38.) Would that it were now given me to throw myself round
(pericuqhnai) the body of Paul, and be riveted to the tomb, and to see the dust
of that body that "filled up that which was lacking" after
"Christ" Col. i. 24), that bore "the marks" (stigmata,)
(Gal. vi. 17) that sowed the Gospel everywhere yea, the dust of that body
through which he ran to and fro everywhere!"
(Chrysostom,Epistle
to the Romans,Homily 32:24 (c.A.D. 391), in NPNF1,XI:561-562)
-St. John
Chrysostom
56 - "We
will that all people who are governed by our clemency should practice the same
religion as the divine Apostle Peter delivered to the Romans, as the religion
proclaimed by him up to this time declares it; and which it is clear the
Pontiff Damasus follows, and Peter, the Bishop of Alexandria.... Those who
follow this law we order to take the name of Catholic Christians."
(Emperor Theodosius, AD 380)
-Emperor
Theodosius
57 - "In
this chair in which he himself had sat, Peter in mighty Rome commanded Linus
[2nd pope], the first elected, to sit down. After him, Cletus [3rd pope, also
known as Anacletus] too accepted the flock of the fold. As his successor,
Anacletus was elected by lot. Clement [4th pope] follows him, well-known to
apostolic men. After him Evaristus [5th pope] ruled the flock without crime.
Alexander [6th pope], sixth in succession, commends the fold to Sixtus [7th
pope]. After his illustrious times were completed, he passed it on to
Telesphorus [8th pope]. He was excellent, a faithful martyr . . . " (Poem
Against the Marcionites 276–284 [A.D. 267]).
-The Poem
Against the Marcionites
58 -
"You cannot deny that you are aware that In the city of Rome the episcopal
chair was given first to Peter; the chair in which Peter sat, the same who was
head—that is why he is also called Cephas [‘Rock’]—of all the apostles, the one
chair in which unity is maintained by all. Neither do the apostles proceed
individually on their own, and anyone who would [presume to] set up another
chair in opposition to that single chair would, by that very fact, be a
schismatic and a sinner. . . . Recall, then, the origins of your chair, those
of you who wish to claim for yourselves the title of holy Church" (The
Schism of the Donatists 2:2 [A.D. 367]).
-St. Optatus
of Milevus
59 -
"For the good of unity Blessed Peter deserved to be preferred before the
rest, and alone received the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, that he might
communicate them to the rest." (Optatus of Mileve,The Schism of
Donatists,7:3 (c.A.D. 367),in GCC,50)
- St. Optatus
of Mileve
60 -
"[Jesus said:] Simon, my follower, I have made you the foundation of the
holy Church. I betimes called you Peter, because you will support all its buildings.
You are the inspector of those who will build on Earth a Church for me. If they
should wish to build what is false, you, the foundation, will condemn them. You
are the head of the fountain from which my teaching flows; you are the chief of
my disciples. Through you I will give drink to all peoples. Yours is that
life-giving sweetness which I dispense. I have chosen you to be, as it were,
the firstborn in my institution so that, as the heir, you may be executor of my
treasures. I have given you the keys of my kingdom. Behold, I have given you
authority over all my treasures" (Homilies 4:1 [A.D. 351]).
-St. Ephraim
the Syrian
61 -
"The blessed Apostle Peter, in his Successors, has transmitted what he
received. Who would separate himself from his doctrine, whom the Master Himself
declared to be the First amongst the Apostles?" (St. Pope Sixtus III, AD
434).
-St. Pope
Sixtus III
62 - "If
Paul, the herald of the truth, the trumpet of the Holy Spirit, hastened to the
great Peter, to convey from him the solution to those in Antioch, who were at
issue about living under the law, how much more do we, poor and humble, run to
the Apostolic Throne (Rome) to receive from you (Pope Leo) healing for wounds
of the Churches. For it pertains to you to have primacy in all things; for your
throne is adorned with many prerogatives. (Theodoret Ibid, Epistle Leoni).
(Theodoret of Cyrus, circa AD 450, p. 333)
- Theodoret
of Cyrus
63 -
"The great foundation of the Church was shaken, and confirmed by the
Divine grace. And the Lord commanded him to apply that same care to the
brethren. 'And thou,' He says, 'converted, confirm thy brethren.'"
(Theodoret, Tom. iv. Haeret. Fab. lib. v.c. 28 circa AD 450).
- Theodoret
of Cyrus
64-
"'For as I,' He says, 'did not despise thee when tossed, so be thou a
support to thy brethren in trouble, and the help by which thou was saved do
thou thyself impart to others, and exhort them not while they are tottering,
but raise them up in their peril. For this reason I suffer thee also to slip,
but do not permit thee to fall, thus through thee gaining steadfastness for
those who are tossed.' So this great pillar supported the tossing and sinking
world, and permitted it not to fall entirely and gave it back stability, having
been ordered to feed God's sheep." (Theodoret, Oratio de Caritate in J. P.
Minge, ed., Partrologiae Curses Completus: Series Graeca AD 450).
- Theodoret
of Cyrus
65 - "I
therefore beseech your holiness to persuade the most holy and blessed bishop
(Pope Leo) to use his Apostolic power, and to order me to hasten to your
Council. For that most holy throne (Rome) has the sovereignty over the churches
throughout the universe on many grounds." (Theodoret, Tom. iv. Epist.
cxvi. Renato, p. 1197 AD 450).
- Theodoret
of Cyrus
66 - "Yet,
at the very outset, error was so far set right by the bishops on whom the
attempt was made at Ariminum to compel them to manipulate or innovate on the
faith, that they confessed themselves seduced by opposite arguments, or owned
that they had not perceived any contradiction to the opinion of the Fathers
livered at Nicaea. No prejudice could arise from the number of bishops gathered
at Ariminum, since it is well known that neither the bishop of the Romans,
whose opinion ought before all others to have been waited for, nor Vincentius,
whose stainless episcopate had lasted so many years, nor the rest, gave in
their adhesion to such doctrines. And this is the more significant, since, as
has been already said, the very men who seemed to be tricked into surrender,
themselves, in their wiser moments, testified their disapproval."
-Pope Damasus
[regn. A.D. 366-384],About Council at Arminum,Epistle 1 (A.D. 371),in
Theodoret's Church History,in NPNF2,III:83
The correspondences between Pope
Celestine and Cyril of Alexandria are in reference to an earlier council, and
not Ephesus (431). There is no direct link between Celestine and Cyril in
regards to Ephesus (431).
67 -
"Therefore let all those whom he has separated from his communion
understand that they continue in ours, and that from this time he himself
(Nestorius) cannot continue in communion with us, if he persists in opposing
the Apostolic doctrine. Wherefore you shall execute this Judgment with the Authority
of our See, acting in our Stead, and having our Power delegated to you; and
that if, in the space of ten days after he has received this admonition, he
does not expressly anathematize his impious doctrines, and promise to confess,
for the future, that faith which the Roman Church and your Church and all
Christendom teach concerning the generation of Jesus Christ our God, your
Holiness may forthwith set about to provide for this Church (of Constantinople)
under the full assurance that in such a case it is necessary that he should be
utterly separated from our body." (St. Pope Celestine to St. Cyril of
Alexandria, AD 430).
-St. Pope
Celestine
68 -
"Joining to yourself, therefore, the sovereignt of our See, and assuming
our place with
authority,
you will execute this sentence with accurate rigour: that within ten days,
counted from
the day of
your notice, he shall condemn his[Nestorius'] false teachings in a written
confession."
Pope
Celestine[regn. A.D. 422-432],To Cyril of Alexandria,Epistle 11(A.D. 430),in
GCC,88
- St. Pope
Celestine
69 -
"The Holy Synod said:' Since most impious Nestorius will not obey our
citation, and has not received the most holy and God-fearing bishops whom we
sent to him, we have necessarily betaken ourselves to the examination of his
impieties; and having apprehended from his letters, and from his writings, and
from his recent sayings in this metropolis, which have been reported, that his
opinions and teachings are impious, we being necessarily compelled thereto by
the canons and by the letter of our most holy father and colleague, Celestine,
bishop of the Roman Church, with many tears, have arrived at the following
sentence against him:--'Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has been blasphemed by him,
defines by this present most holy synod that the same Nestorius is deprived of
Episcopal dignity and of all sacerdotal intercourse."
-Council of
Ephesus, Session I(A.D. 431),in GCC,89-90
70 -
"And all the most reverend bishops at the same time cried out. This is a
just judgment. To Celestine [43rd Pope],
a new Paul! To Cyril a new Paul! To Celestine the guardian of the faith! To
Celestine of one mind with the synod! To Celestine the whole Synod offers its
thanks! One Celestine! One Cyril! One faith of the Synod! One faith of the
world!.... Arcadius... said:... Wherefore we desire to ask your blessedness,
that you command that we taught what has been already decreed by your
holiness.... Theodotus...said: The God of the whole world has made manifest the
justice of the judgment pronounced by the holy Synod by the writings of the
most religious bishop Celestine, and by the coming of your holiness. For ye
have made manifest the zeal of the most holy and reverend bishop Celestine, and
his care for the pious faith. And since very reasonably your reverence is
desirous of learning what has been done from the minutes of the acts concerning
the deposition of Nestorius your reverence will be fully convinced of the
justice of the sentence, and of the zeal of the holy Synod, and the symphony of
the faith which the most pious and holy bishop Celestine has proclaimed with a
great voice, of course after your full conviction, the rest shall be added to
the present action."
-Council of
Ephesus, Session II (A.D. 431),in NPNF2,XIV:222-223
71 -
"Philip, presbyter and legate of the Apostolic See, said: 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 the faith, and
foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour 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 both lives and judges in his successors. Our holy and most blessed Pope
Celestine the bishop is according to due order his successor and holds his
place....Accordingly the decision of all churches is firm, for the priests of
the eastern and western churches are present....Wherefore Nestorius knows that
he is alienated from the communion of the priests of the Catholic Church."
-Council of
Ephesus, Session III (A.D. 431),in GILES,252
72 - "We
enjoin upon you [my legates to the Council of Ephesus] the necessary task of
guarding the authority of the Apostolic See. And if the instructions handed to
you have to mention this and if you have to be present in the assembly, if it
comes to controversy, it is not yours to join the fight but to judge of the
opinions [on my behalf]" (Letters 17 [A.D. 431]).
- Pope Celestine
I
73 -
"Wherefore, assuming to yourself the authority of our see and using our
stead and place with power, you will deliver this sentence with utmost
severity." (Celestine [regn A.D. 422-427],To Cyril of Alexandria, Epistle
11(A.D. 430),in SPP,208)
- Pope
Celestine
74 -
"Philip, presbyter and legate of [Pope Celestine I] said: ‘We offer our
thanks to the holy and venerable synod, that when the writings of our holy and
blessed pope had been read to you, the holy members, by our holy voices, you
joined yourselves to the holy head also by your holy acclamations. For your
blessedness is not ignorant that the head of the whole faith, the head of the
apostles, is blessed Peter the apostle. And since now [we], after having been
tempest-tossed and much vexed, [have] arrived, we ask that you order that there
be laid before us what things were done in this holy synod before our arrival;
in order that according to the opinion of our blessed pope and of this present
holy assembly, we likewise may ratify their determination’" (Acts of the
Council, session 2 [A.D. 431]).
- Council of
Ephesus
"62.
" That these things really are so, let us produce a witness most worthy of
faith, a most holy man, and ***Archbishop of all the habitable world, that
Celestine***, who is both Father and Patriarch of the mighty city of Rome who
himself also exhorted thee by letters, bidding thee desist from that maddest of
blasphemies, and thou didst not obey him." T. v. P. ii. Encom. in S.
Mariam Deip. p. 384."
75 -
"Bishop Paschasinus, guardian of the Apostolic See, stood in the midst [of
the Council Fathers] and said, ‘We received directions at the hands of the most
blessed and apostolic bishop of the Roman city [Pope Leo I], who is the head of
all the churches, which directions say that Dioscorus is not to be allowed to
sit in the [present] assembly, but that if he should attempt to take his seat,
he is to be cast out. This instruction we must carry out" (Acts of the
Council, session 1 [A.D. 451]).
-Bishop
Paschasinus, Council of Chalcedon
76 -
"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 [Dioscorus] of the episcopate, and hath alienated from him
all hieratic worthiness. Therefore let this most holy and great synod sentence
the before mentioned Dioscorus to the canonical penalties." (Bishop
Paschasinus, legate of the Apostolic See at the Council of Chalcedon, AD 451,
p. 265)
- Bishop
Paschasinus, Council of Chalcedon
77 -
"After the reading of the foregoing epistle [The Tome of Leo], the most
reverend bishops cried out: ‘This is the faith of the fathers! This is the
faith of the apostles! So we all believe! Thus the orthodox believe! Anathema
to him who does not thus believe! Peter has spoken thus through Leo!’"
(The Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon, AD 451, p. 261,session 2).
-Council of
Chalcedon
78 -
"The great and holy and universal Synod...in the metropolis of
Chalcedon...to the most holy and blessed archbishop of Rome, Leo....being set
as the mouthpiece unto all of the blessed Peter, and imparting the blessedness
of his Faith unto all...and besides all this he [Dioscorus] stretched forth his
fury even against him who had been charged with the custody of the vine by the
Savior, we mean of course your holiness, ...."
-Council of
Chalcedon to Pope Leo, Epistle 98:1-2 (A.D. 451),in NPNF2,XII:72
79 - "We
exhort you in every respect, honorable brother, to heed obediently what has
been written by the most blessed pope of the city of Rome, for blessed Peter,
who lives and presides in his own see, provides the truth of faith to those who
seek it. For we, by reason of our pursuit of peace and faith, cannot try cases
on the faith without the consent of the bishop of Rome" (Letters 25:2
[A.D. 449]).
- Peter
Chrysologus
80 -
"Although the tradition of the Fathers has assigned so great an Authority
to the Apostolic See, that no one should dare to dispute about a Judgment given
by it, and that See, by laws and regulations, has kept to this; and the
discipline of the Church, in the laws which it yet follows, still pays to the
name of Peter, from whom that See (or discipline) descends, the reverence due,
— for canonical antiquity, by universal consent, willed that so great a Power
should belong to that Apostle, a Power also derived from the actual promise of
Christ our God, that it should be his to loose what was bound, and to bind what
was loosed, an equal state of Power being bestowed upon those who, by His will,
should be found worthy to inherit his See...." (St. Pope Zosimus, AD 417).
-St. Pope
Zosimus
81 -
"Although the tradition of the Fathers has attributed to the Apostolic See
so great authority that none would dare to contest its judgements...For(Peter)
himself has care over all the Churches, and above all that in which he sat nor
does he suffer any of its priveleges or decisions to be shaken". Pope
Zosimus[regn A.D. 417-418 ],To Aurelius and the Council of Carthage, Epistle
12(A.D. 418),in GCC,95,115
- St. Pope
Zosimus
82 - "I
appeal to the justice of your Holiness, my Lord Zosimus, venerable Pope. The
true faith is never troubled, and this especially in the Apostolic Church,
wherein the teachers of a corrupt faith are as easily detected as they are
truly punished... that they may have in them that true faith which the Apostles
taught, and which is held by the Roman Church, and by all the teachers of the
Catholic faith." (Paulinus Orosius, AD 418).
-Paulinus
Orosius
83 -
"If, for one man’s fault, the population of a whole province is to be
anathematised, then will be condemned also that most blessed disciple (of
Peter), Rome to wit, out of which there have sprung up not one, but two or
three, or even more heresies, and yet not one of them has been able either to
have possession, or to move the Chair of Peter, that is, the Seat of Faith....
Seeing that the institutes of the Apostolic doctrine exhort us, to produce to
all that ask us the reason of the faith and hope that is in us, we will not
delay to place the rule of our faith before your Holiness, who are the builder
of that edifice." (Bachiarius writing to the Pope, AD 420).
-Bachiarius
84 -
"None has ever been so rash as to oppose the apostolic primacy, the
judgement of which may not be revised; none rebels against it, unless he would
judge in his turn."
Boniface[regn
A.D. 418-422],To Rufus and bishops of Macedonia, in GILES,231
- Pope
Boniface
85 -
"The universal ordering of the Church at its birth took its origin from
the office of blessed Peter, in which is found both directing power and its
supreme authority. From him as from a source, at the time when our religion was
in the stage of growth, all churches received their common order. This much is
shown by the injunctions of the council of Nicaea, since it did not venture to
make a decree in his regard, recognizing that nothing could be added to his
dignity: in fact it knew that all had been assigned to him by the word of the
Lord. So it is clear that this church is to all churches throughout the world
as the head is to the members, and that whoever separates himself from it
becomes an exile from the Christian religion, since he ceases to belong to its
fellowship" Boniface reign A.D. 418-422],To the bishops of Thessaly,in
GILES,230
- Pope
Boniface
86 -
"For it has never been lawful to reconsider what has once been settled by
the apostolic see."
Boniface[regn
A.D. 418-422],To Rufus bishop of Thessalonica, in GILES,230
-Pope
Boniface
87 -
"Peter, Head of the choir of Apostles". (Nilus, Lib. ii Epistl.[A.D.
448]).
-Nilus of
Constantinople
88 -
"Peter, who was foremost in the choir of Apostles and always ruled amongst
them." (Nilus, Tract. ad. Magnam.)
-Nilus of
Constantinople
87 -
"The Chief, Peter." (Macarius, De Patientia, n. 3, p. 180).
-Macarius of
Egypt
88 -
"Moses was succeeded by Peter, who had committed to his hands the new
Church of Christ, and the true priesthood." (Macarius, Hom. xxvi. n. 23,
p. 101[A.D. 371]).
-Macarius of
Egypt
89 - "He
suffers him no longer to be called Simon, exercising authority and rule over
him already having become His own. By a title suitable to the thing, He changed
his name into Peter, from the word 'petra' (rock); for on him He was afterwards
to found His Church." (Cyril, T. iv. Comm. in Joan., p. 131 [A.D. 424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
90 - "He
(Christ) 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,
Comm. on Matt., ad loc. [A.D. 424).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
91 -
"Therefore, when the Lord had hinted at the disciple's denial in the words
that He used, 'I have prayed for thee that thy faith not fail,' He at once
introduced a word of consolation, and said (to Peter): 'And do thou, when once
thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.' That is, 'Be thou a support and a
teacher of those who through faith come to me.' Again, marvel also at the
insight of that saying and at the completeness of the Divine gentleness of
spirit. For so that He should not reduce the disciple to despair at the thought
that after his denial he would have to be debarred from the glorious
distinction of being an Apostle, He fills him with good hope, that he will
attain the good things promised. ...O loving kindness! The sin was not yet
committed, and He already extends His pardon and sets him (Peter) again in his
Apostolic office." (Cyril Comm. on Luke's Gospel [A.D. 424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
92 -
"For the wonderous Peter, overcome by uncontrollable fear, denied the Lord
three times. Christ heals the error done, and demands in various ways the
threefold confession ... For although all the holy disciples fled, ...still
Peter's fault in the threefold denial was in addition, special and peculiar to
himself. Therefore, by the threefold confession of blessed Peter, the fault of
the triple denial was done away. Further, by the Lord's saying, Feed my lambs,
we must understand a renewal as it were of the Apostleship already given to
him, washing away the intervening disgrace
of his fall, and the littleness of human infirmity." (Cyril, Comm.
on John's Gospel [A.D. 424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
93 -
"They (the Apostles) strove to learn through one, that preeminent one,
Peter." (Cyril, Ib. 1. ix. p. 736[A.D. 424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
94 -
"And even blessed Peter, though set over the holy disciples, says 'Lord,
be it far from Thee, this shall be done to Thee." (Cyril, Ibid. 924[A.D.
424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
95 - "If
Peter himself, that prince of the holy disciples, was, upon an occasion,
scandalized, so as suddenly to exclaim, 'Lord, be it far from Thee,' what
wonder that the tender mind of woman should be carried away?" (Cyril,
Ibid, p. 1064[A.D. 424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
96 -
"That the Spirit is God we shall also learn hence. That the prince of the
Apostles, to whom 'flesh and blood,' as the Savior says, 'did not reveal' the
Divine mystery, says to Ananias, 'Why hath Satan tempted thy heart,"
(Cyril, T. v. Par. 1. Thesaur. p. 340[A.D. 424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
97 -
"Besides all these, let there come forward that leader of the holy
disciples, Peter, who, when the Lord, on a certain occassion, asked him, 'Whom
do men say that the Son of man is?' instantly cried out, 'Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God.'" (Cyril, T. v. P.2, Hom. viii. De Fest. Pasch.
p. 105[A.D. 424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
98 -
"'If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me.' When the
Coryphaeus (Peter) had heard these words, he began to change." (Cyril, Ib.
Hom. [A.D. 424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
99 -
"This bold man (Julian), besides all this, cavils at Peter, the chosen one
of the holy Apostles." (Cyril, T. vi.l. ix. Contr. Julian. p. 325 [A.D.
424]).
- St. Cyril
of Alexandria
100 -
"Peter, set above the Apostles." (Peter of Alexandria, Canon. ix,
Galland, iv. p. 98 [A.D. 306-311]).
- St. Peter,
Bishop of Alexandria
101 -
"Peter, the Prince of the Apostles" (Anthony, Epist. xvii. Galland,
iv p. 687 [A.D. 330]) - St. Anthony of Egypt
102 -
"Rome is called the Apostolic throne." (Athanasius, Hist. Arian, ad
Monach. n. 35 [A.D. 362]) -St. Athanasius
103 -
"The Chief, Peter." (Athan, In Ps. xv. 8, tom. iii. p. 106, Migne
[A.D. 362]) -St. Athanasius
104 - Writing
to Pope Leo III:
"Since
to great Peter Christ our Lord gave the office of Chief Shepherd after
entrusting him with the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, to Peter or his
successor must of necessity every novelty in the Catholic Church be referred.
[Therefore], save us, oh most divine Head of Heads, Chief Shepherd of the
Church of Heaven". (Theodore, Bk. I. Ep. 23 [A.D. 759-826]) -St. Theodore the Studite of Constantinople
105 - Writing
to Pope Paschal:
"Hear, O
Apostolic Head, divinely-appointed Shepherd of Christ's sheep, keybearer of the
Kingdom of Heaven, Rock of the Faith upon whom the Catholic Church is built.
For Peter art thou, who adornest and governest the Chair of Peter. Hither,
then, from the West, imitator of Christ, arise and repel not for ever (Ps.
xliii. 23). To thee spake Christ our Lord: 'And thou being one day converted,
shalt strengthen thy brethren.' Behold the hour and the place. Help us, thou
that art set by God for this. Stretch forth thy hand so far as thou canst. Thou
hast strength with God, through being the first of all." (Letter of St.
Theodore and four other Abbots to Pope Paschal, Bk. ii Ep. 12, Patr. Graec. 99,
1152-3 [A.D. 759-826]) -St. Theodore the
Studite of Constantinople
106 - Writing
to Emperor Michael:
"Order
that the declaration from old Rome be received, as was the custom by Tradition
of our Fathers from of old and from the beginning. For this, O Emperor, is the
highest of the Churches of God, in which first Peter held the Chair, to whom
the Lord said: Thou art Peter ...and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." (Theodore, Bk. II. Ep. 86 [A.D. 759-826]).
107 - "I
witness now before God and men, they have torn themselves away from the Body of
Christ, from the Supreme See (Rome), in which Christ placed the keys of the
Faith, against which the gates of hell (I mean the mouth of heretics) have not
prevailed, and never will until the Consummation, according to the promise of
Him Who cannot lie. Let the blessed and Apostolic Paschal (Pope St. Paschal I)
rejoice therefore, for he has fulfilled the work of Peter." (Theodore Bk.
II. Ep. 63 [A.D. 759-826]).
108 -
"In truth we have seen that a manifest successor of the prince of the
Apostles presides over the Roman Church. We truly believe that Christ has not
deserted the Church here (Constantinople), for assistance from you has been our
one and only aid from of old and from the beginning by the providence of God in
the critical times. You are, indeed the untroubled and pure fount of orthodoxy
from the beginning, you the calm harbor of the whole Church, far removed from
the waves of heresy, you the God-chosen city of refuge." (Letter of St.
Theodor and Four Abbots to Pope Paschal [A.D. 759-826]).
109 -
"Let him (Patriarch Nicephorus of Constantinople) assemble a synod of
those with whom he has been at variance, if it is impossible that
representatives of the other Patriarchs should be present, a thing which might
certainly be if the Emperor should wish the Western Patriarch (the Roman Pope)
to be present, to whom is given authority over an ecumenical synod; but let him
make peace and union by sending his synodical letters to the prelate of the
First See." (Theodore the Studite, Patr. Graec. 99, 1420 [A.D. 759-826]) .
110a -
"The Lord speaks to Peter, saying, “I say unto thee, that thou art Peter;
and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven,
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” and again
He says to him after His resurrection: "Feed my sheep." On him he
builds his Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep; and
although He assigns a like power to all the Apostles, yet He founded a single
chair, and He established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason
for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was; but a
primacy was given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one
Church and one chair. So too, all are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be
one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold
fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If
he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be
confident that he is in the Church?"
(The Unity of
the Catholic Church 4; first edition [A.D. 251).
-St. Cyprian
of Carthage
110b -
"The Lord speaks to Peter, saying, “I say unto thee, that thou art Peter;
and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven,
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. It is on
one man that He builds the Church; and although He assigns a like power to all
the Apostles after His resurrection, when He says, "As the Father has sent
me, so also do I send you; receive the Holy Spirit: if any man his sins, they
shall be forgiven; and if you retain any man's sins the shall be retained.
(3)," nevertheless, in order that unity, which takes its beginning from
one man alone. Indeed, the other Apostles were that also which Peter was, being
endowed with an equal portion of dignity and power; but the origin is grounded
in unity, so that it may be clear that there is but one Church of Christ.....
If someone does not hold fast to this unity of the Church, can he imagine that
he still holds the faith? If he resists and withstands the Church, can he still
be confident that he is in the Church, when the blessed Apostle Paul teaches
this very thing and displays the sacred sign of the unity when he says:
"One body and one Spirit, one hope of your calling, one Lord one faith,
one baptism, one God (5)?" (The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; second
edition [A.D. 251).
-St. Cyprian
of Carthage
111 -
"With a false bishop appointed for themselves by heretics, they dare even
to set sail and carry letters from schismatics and blasphemers to the chair of
Peter and to the principal church [at Rome], in which sacerdotal unity has its
source" (Letters 59:14 [A.D. 253]).
-St. Cyprian
of Carthage
112 -
"There is one God and one Christ, and one Church, and one chair founded on
Peter by the word of the Lord. It is not possible to set up another altar or
for there to be another priesthood besides that one altar and that one
priesthood. Whoever has gathered elsewhere is scattering" (Letters
43[40]:5 [A.D. 253]).
-St. Cyprian
of Carthage
113 -
"Cyprian to [Pope] Cornelius, his brother. Greeting. . . . We decided to
send and are sending a letter to you from all throughout the province [where I
am] so that all our colleagues might give their decided approval and support to
you and to your communion, that is, to both the unity and the charity of the
Catholic Church" (Letters 48:1, 3 [A.D. 253]).
-St. Cyprian
of Carthage
114 -
"Cyprian to Antonian, his brother. Greeting ... You wrote ... that I
should forward a copy of the same letter to our colleague [Pope] Cornelius, so
that, laying aside all anxiety, he might at once know that you held communion
with him, that is, with the Catholic Church" (Letters, 55[52]:1).
-St. Cyprian
of Carthage
115 -
"Pope Stephen of blessed memory, Prelate of the Apostolic See, in
conjunction indeed with his colleagues but yet himself the foremost, withstood
it [rebaptism], thinking it right, I doubt not, that as he exceeded all others
in the authority of his place, so he should also in the devotion of his
faith." (St. Vincent of Lerins, AD 445, p. 331)
-St. Vincent
Lerins
116 - This
same norm of apostolic doctrine persists in the successors of him to whom the
Lord enjoined the care of the entire sheepfold. (St. Pope Simplicius, AD 468,
p. 301).
- St. Pope
Simplicius
---
117 -
"That which the Roman Church — which is the summit of the world
enlightened with resplendent rays by the words of two great luminaries, namely
Peter and Paul, and decorated with their bodies — holds and teaches, the entire
Christian world unhesitatingly believes and professes with her, unto
righteousness and salvation." (St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, AD 523).
- Fulgentius
of Ruspe
118 -
"Since the authority of convoking General Synods by a singular privilege
has been delivered to the Apostolic See of Blessed Peter, and we do not read
that any synod was ever considered ratified which was not supported by
Apostolic authority." (Pope Pelagius II, circa AD 579-590).
- Pope
Pelagius
119 -
"No one can doubt that there is in the Apostolic See a great unfailing
fountain, pouring forth waters for all Christians; whence rich streams proceed,
bountifully irrigating the whole Christian World; to which See also, in honour
of blessed Peter, the decrees of the Fathers gave special veneration in
searching out the things of God, which ought by all means to be carefully
examined; and above all, and justly, by the Apostolic Head of Bishops, whose
care from of old it is, as well to condemn evils as to commend the things that
are to be praised. For by the ancient discipline it is ordained that whatsoever
be done, even in provinces remote and afar off, shall neither be treated of nor
accepted, unless it be first brought to the knowledge of your August See, so
that a just sentence may be confirmed by its authority, and that the other
Churches may thence receive the original preaching as from its native source,
and that the mysteries of saving faith may remain in uncorrupt purity
throughout the various regions of the world".
-(Three
Councils of Africa, in their Synodical letter sent to Pope Theodore, and read
in the Council of Rome under Martin I, AD 646)
120 - "O
holy Head, Christ our God hath destined thy Apostolic See to be an immovable
foundation, and a pillar of the faith. For thou art, as the divine Word truly
saith, Peter, and on thee as a foundation-stone have the pillars of the Church
been fixed." (Metropolitan Sergius of Cyprus to Pope Theodore, AD 649).
- Sergius of
Cyprus
121 -
"How much more in the case of the clergy and Church of the Romans, which
from old until now presides over all the churches which are under the sun?
Having surely received this canonically, as well as from councils and the
apostles, as from the princes of the latter (Peter and Paul), and being
numbered in their company, she is subject to no writings or issues in synodical
documents, on account of the eminence of her pontificate .....even as in all
these things all are equally subject to her (the Church of Rome) according to
sacerodotal law. And so when, without fear, but with all holy and becoming
confidence, those ministers (the popes) are of the truly firm and immovable
rock, that is of the most great and Apostolic Church of Rome." (Maximus,
in J.B. Mansi, ed. Amplissima Collectio Conciliorum, vol. 10 (AD 650))
- St. Maximus
the Confessor
122 -
"The extremities of the earth, and everyone in every part of it who purely
and rightly confess the Lord, look directly towards the Most Holy Roman Church
and her confession and faith, as to a sun of unfailing light, awaiting from
there the brilliant radiance of the sacred dogmas of our Fathers, according to
that which the inspired and holy Councils have stainlessly and piously decreed.
For, from the descent of the Incarnate Word amongst us, all the churches in
every part of the world have held that greatest Church alone to be their base
and foundation, seeing that, according to the promise of Christ Our Savior, the
gates of hell never prevail against her, that she has the keys of orthodox
confession and right faith in Him, that she opens the true and exclusive
religion to such men as approach with piety, and she shuts up and locks every
heretical mouth which speaks against the Most High." (Maximus, Opuscula
theologica et polemica, Migne, Patr. Graec. vol. 90, St. Maximus the Confessor,
of Constantinople, AD 650).
- St. Maximus
the Confessor
123 -
"If the Roman See recognizes Pyrrhus to be not only a reprobate but a
heretic, it is certainly plain that everyone who anathematizes those who have
rejected Pyrrhus also anathematizes the See of Rome, that is, he anathematizes
the Catholic Church. I need hardly add that he excommunicates himself also, if
indeed he is in communion with the Roman See and the Catholic Church of God
...Let him hasten before all things to satisfy the Roman See, for if it is
satisfied, all will agree in calling him pious and orthodox. For he only speaks
in vain who thinks he ought to persuade or entrap persons like myself, and does
not satisfy and implore the blessed Pope of the most holy Catholic Church of
the Romans, that is, the Apostolic See, which is from the incarnate of the Son
of God Himself, and also all the holy synods, according to the holy canons and
definitions has received universal and supreme dominion, authority, and power
of binding and loosing over all the holy churches of God throughout the whole
world." (Maximus, Letter to Peter, in Mansi x, 692, AD 650).
- St. Maximus
the Confessor
124 -
"This Apostolic Church never turned away from the way of truth nor held
any kind of error. This is the rule of faith. All who wish to please God must
study to conform the Apostolic rule of the primitive faith founded on the rock
Peter, and kept by him from error." (St. Pope Agatho, AD 680).
- St. Pope
Agatho
125 -
"Peter was pronounced 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
- St. Pope
Agatho
126 -
"Without whom (the Romans presiding in the seventh Council) a doctrine
brought forward in the Church could not, even though confirmed by canonical
decrees and by ecclesiastical usage, ever obtain full approval or currency. For
it is they (the Roman Pontiffs) who have had assigned to them the rule in
sacred things, and who have received into their hands the dignity of headship
among the Apostles." (St. Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, AD
758-828).
- St.
Nicephorus
127 -
"Lest he be found a schismatic or a non-Catholic, let him follow the most
approved authority of the Roman Church, so that we may ever have the examples
of our salvation from the same place we received the beginnings of the Catholic
faith. Let not the members be separated from the Head; let not the key-bearer
of the heavenly kingdom cast out those whom he knows have deviated from his
teachings." (Alcuin, AD 780)
- Alcuin
128 -
"Likewise it is decreed . . . that it ought to be announced that . . . the
holy Roman Church has been placed at the forefront not by the 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; and I
will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall have
bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall have loosed on
earth shall be loosed in heaven’ [Matt. 16:18–19]. The first see, therefore, is
that of Peter the apostle, that of the Roman Church, which has neither stain
nor blemish nor anything like it" (Decree of Damasus 3 [A.D. 382]).
- St. Pope
Damasus, council of Rome
129 -
"The bishop of Constantinople shall have the primacy of honor after the
bishop of Rome, because his city is New Rome" (canon 3 [A.D. 381]).
- Council of
Constantinople I
130 -
"It is therefore with due care and propriety that you consult the secrets
of the Apostolic office that office, I mean, to which belongs, besides the
things which are without, the care of all the Churches...Especially as often as
a question of faith is discussed, I think that all our brothers and fellow
bishops should refer to none other than to Peter, the author of their name and office."
Innocent
I[regn A.D. 401-417],To the Council of Mileve,2 (A.D. 417), in SEP,147-148
- St. Pope
Innocent I
131 -
"For who knows not, or notices not, that what was delivered to the Roman
Church by Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and is to this day guarded, ought
to be observed by all men, and that nothing ought to be superinduced (or,
introduced), which has not (that) authority, or which may seem to derive its
precedent elsewhere.... " (St. Pope Innocent I, AD 410)
- St. Pope
Innocent I
132 - "In
making inquiry with respect to those things that should be treated with all
solicitude by bishops, and especially by a true and just and Catholic Council,
by preserving, as you have done, the example of ancient tradition, and by being
mindful of ecclesiastical discipline, you have truly strengthened the vigour of
our religion, no less now in consulting us than before in passing sentence. For
you decided that it was proper to refer to our judgement, knowing what is due
to the Apostolic See, since all we who are set in this place, desire to follow
the Apostle from the very episcopate and whole authority of this name is
derived. Following in his footsteps, we know how to condemn the evil and to
approve the good. So also, you have by your sacerdotal office preserve the
customs of the Fathers, and have not spurned that which they decreed by a
divine and not human sentence, that whatsoever is done, even though it be in
distant provinces, should not be ended without being brought to the knowledge
of this See, that by its authority the whole just pronouncement should be
strengthened, and that from it all other Churches (like waters flowing from
their natal source and flowing through the different regions of the world, the
pure streams of one incorrupt head), should receive what they ought to enjoin,
whom they ought to wash, and whom that water, worthy of pure bodies, should
avoid as defiled with uncleansable filth. I congratulate you, therefore,
dearest brethren, that you have directed letters to us by our brother and
fellow-bishop Julius, and that, while caring for the Churches which you rule,
you also show your solicitude for the well-being of all, and that you ask for a
decree that shall profit all the Churches of the world at once; so that the
Church being established in her rules and confirmed by this decree of just
pronouncement against such errors, may be unable to fear those men, etc."
Pope Innocent
[regn A.D. 401-417],To the Council of Carthage, Epistle 29(A.D. 417),in
SEP,146-147
- St. Pope
Innocent
133 -
"Yea, why have you confirmed this by your own act, but that you know that,
throughout all the provinces, answers to questions always emanate from the
Apostolic Spring.... For the authors of these evils must needs be more
cautious, in seeing themselves, upon the report of two synods, separated from
the communion of the Church, by the Decree of our sentence." (St. Pope
Innocent I, AD 410)
- St. Pope
Innocent I
134 -
"If cases of greater importance are to be heard [at a council], they are,
as the synod decrees and as happy custom requires, after episcopal judgment, to
be referred to the Apostolic See" (Letters2:3:6 [A.D. 408]).
- St. Pope
Innocent I
135 -
"In seeking the things of God . . . following the examples of ancient
tradition . . . you have strengthened . . . the vigor of your religion with
true reason, for you have acknowledged that judgment is to be referred to us,
and have shown that you know what is owed to the Apostolic See, if all of us
placed in this position are to desire to follow the apostle himself [Peter]
from whom the episcopate itself and the total authority of this name have
emerged. Following him, we know how to condemn evils just as well as we know
how to approve what is laudable. Or rather, guarding with your priestly office
what the Fathers instituted, you did not regard what they had decided, not by
human but by divine judgments, as something to be trampled on. They did not
regard anything as finished, even though it was the concern of distant and
remote provinces, until it had come to the notice of this See [Rome], so that
what was a just pronouncement might be confirmed by the authority of this See,
and thence other churches—just as all waters proceed from their own natal
source and, through the various regions of the whole world, remain pure liquids
of an incorrupted head. . . ." (Letters 29:1[A.D. 408]).
- St. Pope
Innocent I
136 -
"But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the
succession of all the churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever
manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness
and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out
here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church
known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles,
Peter and Paul, that church which has the tradition and the faith which comes
down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles. With that
church, because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree, that is,
all the faithful in the whole world, and it is in her that the faithful
everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition" (Against Heresies
3:3:2 [A.D. 189]).
- St.
Irenaeus
137 - "A
question of no small importance arose at that time [A.D. 190]. For the parishes
of all Asia [Minor], as from an older tradition held that the fourteenth day of
the moon, on which the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be
observed as the feast of the Savior’s Passover. . . . But it was not the custom
of the churches in the rest of the world . . . as they observed the practice
which, from apostolic tradition, has prevailed to the present time, of
terminating the fast [of Lent] on no other day than on that of the resurrection
of the Savior [Sunday]. Synods and assemblies of bishops were held on this
account, and all, with one consent, through mutual correspondence drew up an
ecclesiastical decree that the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord should
be celebrated on no other but the Lord’s day and that we should observe the
close of the paschal fast on this day only. . . . Thereupon [Pope] Victor, who
presided over the church at Rome, immediately attempted to cut off from the
community the parishes of all Asia [Minor], with the churches that agreed with
them, as heterodox. And he wrote letters and declared all the brethren there
wholly excommunicate. But this did not please all the bishops, and they
besought him to consider the things of peace and of neighborly unity and love.
. . . [Irenaeus] fittingly admonishes Victor that he should not cut off whole
churches of God which observed the tradition of an ancient custom" (Church
History 5:23:1–24:11 [A.D. 312]).
- Eusebius of
Caesarea
138 -
"Thus then did Irenaeus entreat and negotiate [with Pope Victor] on behalf
of the peace of the churches—[Irenaeus being] a man well-named, for he was a
peacemaker both in name and character. And he corresponded by letter not only
with Victor, but also with very many and various rulers of churches" (Church
History, 5:24:18 [A.D. 312]).
- Eusebius of
Caesarea
139 -
"...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,
Church History,2:14 (A.D. 312),in NPNF2,I:115
- Eusebius of
Caesarea
140 -
"[Pope] Stephen ... boasts of the place of his episcopate, and contends
that he holds the succession from Peter, on whom the foundations of the Church
were laid [Matt. 16:18]. ... Stephen ... announces that he holds by succession
the throne of Peter" (collected in Cyprian’s Letters 74[75]:17 [A.D.
253]).
- Firmilian
141 -
"[I]f any bishop loses the judgment in some case [decided by his fellow
bishops] and still believes that he has not a bad but a good case, in order
that the case may be judged anew . . . let us honor the memory of the apostle
Peter by having those who have given the judgment write to Julius, Bishop of
Rome, so that if it seem proper he may himself send arbiters and the judgment
may be made again by the bishops of a neighboring province" (canon 3 [A.D.
342]).
"[I]f
some bishop be deposed by the judgment of the bishops sitting in the
neighborhood, and if he declare that he will seek further redress, another
should not be appointed to his see until the bishop of Rome can be acquainted
with the case and render a judgment" (canon 4).
- Council of
Sardica
142 -
"Bishop Hosius said: This also it is necessary to add, that no bishop pass
from his own province to another province in which there are bishops, unless
indeed he be called by his brethren, that we seem not to close the gates of
charity. And this case likewise is to be provided for, that if in any province
a bishop has some matter against his brother and fellow-bishop, neither of the
two should call in as arbiters bishops from another province. But if perchance
sentence be given against a bishop in any matter and he supposes his case to be
not unsound but good, in order that the question may be reopened, let us, if it
seem good to your charity, honour the memory of Peter the Apostle, and let
those who gave judgment write to Julius, the bishop of Rome, so that, if
necessary, the case may be retried by the bishops of the neighbouring provinces
and let him appoint arbiters; but if it cannot be shown that his case is of
such a sort as to need a new trial, let the judgment once given not be
annulled, but stand good as before."
Council of
Sardica, Canon III (A.D. 343/344),in NPNF2,XIV:416-417
- Council of
Sardica, Canon III
143 -
"Bishop Gaudentius said: If it seems good to you, it is necessary to add
to this decision full of sincere charity which thou hast pronounced, that if
any bishop be deposed by the sentence of these neighbouring bishops, and assert
that he has fresh matter in defence, a new bishop be not settled in his see,
unless the bishop of Rome judge and render a decision as to this."
-Council of
Sardica, Canon IV (A.D. 343/344),in NPNF2,XIV:418
144 -
"Bishop Hosius said: Decreed, that if any bishop is accused, and the
bishops of the same region assemble and depose him from his office, and he
appealing, so to speak, takes refuge with the most blessed bishop of the Roman
church, and he be willing to give him a hearing, and think it right to renew
the examination of his case, let him be pleased to write to those
fellow-bishops who are nearest the province that they may examine the
particulars with care and accuracy and give their votes on the matter in
accordance with the word of truth. And if any one require that his case be
heard yet again, and at his request it seem good to move the bishop of Rome to
send presbyters a latere, let it be in the power of that bishop, according as
he judges it to be good and decides it to be right that some be sent to be
judges with the bishops and invested with his authority by whom they were sent.
And be this also ordained. But if he think that the bishops are sufficient for
the examination and decision of the matter let him do what shall seem good in
his most prudent judgment. The bishops answered: What has been said is
approved." (Council of Sardica,Canon V (A.D. 343/344),in NPNF2,XIV:419)
- Council of
Sardica, Canon V
145 -
"What we have always believed, that we now know, for experience is proving
and confirming for each of us what he has heard with his ears. It is true what
the Apostle Paul, the most blessed teacher of the Gentiles, said of himself:
'Do ye seek a proof of him who speaks in me?' For, since the Lord Christ dwelt
in him, there can be no doubt that the Spirit spoke by through his soul and animated
the instrument of his body. And thus you, dearly beloved brother, though
distant in body, have been with us in unison of mind and will. The reason for
your absence was both honorable and imperative, that the schismatic wolves
might not rob and plunder by stealth nor the heretical dogs bark madly in the
rapid fury nor the very serpent, the devil, discharge his blasphemous venom. So
it seems to us right and altogether fitting that priests of the Lord from each
and every province should report to their head, that is, to the See of Peter,
the Apostle."
Council of
Sardica, To Pope Julius (A.D. 342),as cited by James T. Shotwell and Louise
Ropes Loomis The See of Peter (New York:Columbia,1927).
- Council of
Sardica, To Pope Julius
146 -
"Your most sweet holiness, [Bishop Eulogius of Alexandria], has spoken
much in your letter to me about the chair of Saint Peter, prince of the
apostles, saying that he himself now sits on it in the persons of his
successors. And indeed I acknowledge myself to be unworthy . . . I gladly
accepted all that has been said, in that he has spoken to me about Peter’s
chair, who occupies Peter’s chair. And, though special honor to myself in no
wise delights me . . . who can be ignorant that holy Church has been made firm
in the solidity of the prince of the apostles, who derived his name from the
firmness of his mind, so as to be called Peter from petra. And to him it is
said by the voice of the Truth, ‘To you I will give the keys of the kingdom of
heaven’ [Matt. 16:19]. And again it is said to him, ‘And when you are
converted, strengthen your brethren’ [Luke 22:32]. And once more, ‘Simon, son
of John, do you love me? Feed my sheep’ [John 21:17]" (Letters 40 [A.D.
597]).
- St. Pope
Gregory I
147 -
"Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . established the worship belonging to the
divine religion. . . . But the Lord desired that the sacrament of this gift
should pertain to all the apostles in such a way that it might be found
principally in the most blessed Peter, the highest of all the apostles. And he
wanted his gifts to flow into the entire body from Peter himself, as if from
the head, in such a way that anyone who had dared to separate himself from the
solidarity of Peter would realize that he was himself no longer a sharer in the
divine mystery. . . . [You, my brothers], must realize with us, of course, that
the Apostolic See—out of reverence for it, I mean—has on countless occasions
been reported to in consultation by bishops even of your own province [Vienne].
And through the appeal of various cases to this see, decisions already made
have been either revoked or confirmed, as dictated by long-standing
custom" (Letters 10:2–3 [A.D. 445]).
- St. Pope
Leo I
148 -
"As for the resolution of the bishops which is contrary to the Nicene
decree, in union with your faithful piety, I declare it to be invalid and annul
it by the authority of the holy apostle Peter" (Letters 110 [A.D. 445]).
- St. Pope
Leo I
149 -
"[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 whose
power lives and whose authority prevails in his See...to him whom they know to
be not only the patron of this See, but also primate of all bishops. When
therefore...believe that he is speaking whose representative we
are:..."(Leo the Great(Pope),Sermon 3:3-4(A.D. 442),in NPNF2,XII:117).
- St. Pope
Leo I
150 -
"[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).
- St. Pope
Leo I
151 -
"If in your view, [Anastasius of Thessalonica], in regard to a matter to
be handled and decided jointly with your brothers, their decision was other
than what you wanted, then let the entire matter, with a record of the
proceedings, be referred to us. . . . Although bishops have a common dignity,
they are not all of the same rank. Even among the most blessed apostles, though
they were alike in honor, there was a certain distinction of power. All were
equal in being chosen [to be apostles], but it was given to one to be
preeminent over the others. . . . [So today through the bishops] the care of
the universal Church would converge in the one see of Peter, and nothing should
ever be at odds with this head" (Letters., 14:11 [A.D. 445]).
- St. Pope
Leo I
152 -
"Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . has placed the principal charge on the
blessed Peter, chief of all the apostles, and from him as from the head wishes
his gifts to flow to all the body, so that anyone who dares to secede from
Peter’s solid rock may understand that he has no part or lot in the divine
mystery. He wished him who had been received into partnership in his undivided
unity to be named what he himself was, when he said: ‘You are Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my Church’ [Matt. 16:18], that the building of the
eternal temple might rest on Peter’s solid rock, strengthening his Church so
surely that neither could human rashness assail it nor the gates of hell
prevail against it" (Letters 10:1 [A.D. 445).
- St. Pope
Leo I
153 -
"And so he too rejoices over your good feeling and welcomes your respect
for the LORD'S own institution as shown towards the partners of His honor,
commending the well ordered love of the whole Church, which ever finds Peter in
Peter's See, and from affection for so great a shepherd grows not lukewarm even
over so inferior a successor as myself."
Pope Leo the
Great [regn. A.D.440-461],Sermon 2(A.D ante 461),in NPNF2,XII:116
- St. Pope
Leo
154 -
"'Thou an the Christ, the Son of the living God,' and every tongue which confesses
the Lord, accepts the instruction his voice conveys. This Faith conquers the
devil, and breaks the bonds of his prisoners. It uproots us from this earth and
plants us in heaven, and the gates of Hades cannot prevail against it. For with
such solidity is it endued by God that the depravity of heretics cannot mar it
nor the unbelief of the heathen overcome it."
Pope Leo the
Great[regn. A.D.440-461],Sermon 3:2-3(A.D ante 461),in NPNF2,XII:117
- St. Pope
Leo
155 -
"Who does not cease to preside in his see, who will doubt that he rules in
every part of the world."
Pope Leo the
Great[regn. A.D.440-461],Sermon 5(A.D ante 461),in GCC,95
- St. Pope
Leo
156 -
"Although, therefore, dearly beloved, we be found both weak and slothful
in fulfilling the duties of our office, because, whatever devoted and vigorous
action we desire to do, we are hindered by the frailty of our very condition;
yet having the unceasing propitiation of the Almighty and perpetual Priest, who
being like us and yet equal with the Father, brought down His Godhead even to
things human, and raised His Manhood even to things Divine, we worthily and
piously rejoice over His dispensation, whereby, though He has delegated the
care of His sheep to many shepherds, yet He has not Himself abandoned the
guardianship of His beloved flock. And from His overruling and eternal
protection we have received the support of the Apostles' aid also, which
assuredly does not cease from its operation: and the strength of the
foundation, on which the whole superstructure of the Church is reared, is not
weakened by the weight of the temple that rests upon it. For the solidity of
that faith which was praised in the chief of the Apostles is perpetual: and as
that remains which Peter believed in Christ, so that remains which Christ
instituted in Peter. For when, as has been read in the Gospel lesson, the Lord
had asked the disciples whom they believed Him to be amid the various opinions
that were held, and the blessed Peter bad replied, saying, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God,' the Lord says, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona,
because flesh and flood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father, which is
in heaven. And I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I
build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou
shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shall loose
on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. 'The dispensation of Truth therefore
abides, and the blessed Peter persevering in the strength of the Rock, which he
has received, has not abandoned the helm of the Church, which he undertook. For
he was ordained before the rest in such a way that from his being called the
Rock, from his being pronounced the Foundation, from his being constituted the
Doorkeeper of the kingdom of heaven, from his being set as the Umpire to bind
and to loose, whose judgments shall retain their validity in heaven, from all
these mystical titles we might know the nature of his association with Christ.
And still to-day he more fully and effectually performs what is entrusted to
him, and carries out every part of his duty and charge in Him and with Him,
through Whom he has been glorified. 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 whose power lives and whose
authority prevails in his See. For this, dearly-beloved, was gained by that
confession, which, inspired in the Apostle's heart by God the Father,
transcended all the uncertainty of human opinions, and was endued with the
firmness of a rock, which no assaults could shake. For throughout the Church
Peter daily says, Thou an the Christ, the Son of the living God,' and every
tongue which confesses the Lord, accepts the instruction his voice conveys.
This Faith conquers the devil, and breaks the bonds of his prisoners. It
uproots us from this earth and plants us in heaven, and the gates of Hades
cannot prevail against it. For with such solidity is it endued by God that the
depravity of heretics cannot mar it nor the unbelief of the heathen overcome
it."
Pope Leo the
Great [regn. A.D.440-461],Sermon 3:2-3(A.D ante 461),in NPNF2,XII:117
- St. Pope
Leo
157 -
"Who does not cease to preside in his see, who will doubt that he rules in
every part of the world." Pope Leo the Great [regn. A.D.440-461],Sermon
5(A.D ante 461),in GCC,95
- St. Pope
Leo
158 - Our
Lord Jesus Christ then became a man, but by the many He was not known. But
wishing to teach that which was not known, having assembled the disciples, He
asked, 'Whom do men say that the Son of man is?' ...And all being silent (for
it was beyond man to learn) Peter, the Foremost of the Apostles, the Chief
Herald of the Church, not using the language of his own finding, nor persuaded
by human reasoning, but having his mind enlightened by the Father, says to Him,
'Thou art the Christ,' not simply that, but 'the Son of the living God.' (Cyril,
Catech. xi. n. 3 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Patriarch (363)).
- St. Cyril
of Jerusalem
159 - For
Peter was there, who carrieth the keys of heaven. (Cyril, Catechetical Lectures
A.D. 350 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Patriarch).
- St. Cyril
of Jerusalem
160 - Peter,
the chief and foremost leader of the Apostles, before a little maid thrice
denied the Lord, but moved to penitence, he wept bitterly. (Cyril, Catech ii.
n. 15 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Patriarch (363))
- St. Cyril
of Jerusalem
161 - In the
power of the same Holy Spirit, Peter, also the foremost of the Apostles and the
key-bearer of the Kingdom of Heaven, healed Aeneas the paralytic in the name of
Christ. (Cyril, Catech. xviii. n. 27 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Patriarch (363)).
- St. Cyril
of Jerusalem
162 -
Teaching us all orthodoxy and destroying all heresy and driving it away from
the God-protected halls of our holy Catholic Church. And together with these
inspired syllables and characters, I accept all his (the pope's) letters and
teachings as proceeding from the mouth of Peter the Coryphaeus, and I kiss them
and salute them and embrace them with all my soul ... I recognize the latter as
definitions of Peter and the former as those of Mark, and besides, all the
heaven-taught teachings of all the chosen mystagogues of our Catholic Church.
(Sophronius, Mansi, xi. 461(c. 638)).
- St.
Sophronius
163 -
Transverse quickly all the world from one end to the other until you come to
the Apostolic See (Rome), where are the foundations of the orthodox doctrine.
Make clearly known to the most holy personages of that throne the questions
agitated among us. Cease not to pray and to beg them until their apostolic and
Divine wisdom shall have pronounced the victorious judgement and destroyed from
the foundation ...the new heresy. (Sophronius, [quoted by Bishop Stephen of
Dora to Pope Martin I at the Lateran Council], Mansi, 893(c. 638)).
- St.
Sophronius
164 -
"And for this cause, sometimes we ask for water to our head and to our
eyes a fountain of tears, sometimes the wings of a dove, according to holy
David, that we might fly away and announce these things to the Chair (the Chair
of Peter at Rome) which rules and presides over all, I mean to yours, the head
and highest, for the healing of the whole wound. For this it has been
accustomed to do from old and from the beginning with power by its canonical or
apostolic authority, because the truly great Peter, head of the Apostles, was
clearly thought worthy not only to be trusted with the keys of heaven, alone
apart from the rest, to open it worthily to believers, or to close it justly to
those who disbelieve the Gospel of grace, but because he was also commissioned
to feed the sheep of the whole Catholic Church; for 'Peter,' saith He, 'lovest
thou Me? Feed My sheep.' And again, because he had in a manner peculiar and
special, a faith in the Lord stronger than all and unchangeable, to be
converted and to confirm his fellows and spiritual brethren when tossed about,
as having been adorned by God Himself incarnate for us with power and
sacerdotal authority .....And Sophronius of blessed memory, who was Patriarch
of the holy city of Christ our God, and under whom I was bishop, conferring not
with flesh and blood, but caring only for the things of Christ with respect to
your Holiness, hastened to send my nothingness without delay about this matter
alone to this Apostolic see, where are the foundations of holy doctrine.
"(A.D. 645).
- Stephen,
Bishop of Dora in Palestine
165 -
"Peter, the coryphaeus of the disciples, and the one set over (or chief
of) the Apostles. Art not thou he that didst say, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God'? Thou Bar-Jonas (son of the dove) hast thou seen so many
miracles, and art thou still but Simon (a hearer)? He appointed thee the
key-bearer of Heaven, and has though not yet layed aside thy fisherman's
clothing?" (Proclus, Or. viii In Dom. Transfig. t. ix. Galland (A.D.
434)).
- St.
Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople, a disciple of St. John Chrysostom
166 -
"That great man, the disciple of disciples, that master among masters, who
wielding the government of the Roman Church possessed the principle authority
in faith and in priesthood. Tell us, therefore, we beg of you, Peter, prince of
Apostles, tell us how the Churches must believe in God" (Cassian, Contra
Nestorium, III, 12, CSEL, vol. 17, p. 276 (c. A.D. 430)).
- John
Cassian, Monk
167 - "The Pope of Rome, the head of the
Christian priesthood, whom in Peter, the Lord commanded to confirm his
brethren." (John VI, Epist. ad Constantin. Pap. ad. Combefis, Auctuar.
Bibl. P.P. Graec.tom. ii. p. 211, seq. (A.D. 715)).
- John VI,
Patriarch of Constantinople
168 -
"Neither to John, nor to any other of the disciples, did our Savior say,
'I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven,' but only to
Peter." (Eulogius, Lib. ii. Cont. Novatian. ap. Photium, Biblioth, cod.
280 (A.D. 581)).
- Eulogius of
Alexandria
169 -
"Holy men are therefore called the temple of God, because the Holy Spirit
dwells in them; as that Chief of the Apostles testifies, he that was found to
be blessed by the Lord, because the Father had revealed unto him. To him then
did the Father reveal His true Son; and the same (Peter) furthermore reveals
the Holy Spirit. This was befitting in the First of the Apostles, that firm
Rock upon which the Church of God is built, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. The gates of hell are heretics and heresiarchs. For in
every way was the faith confirmed in him who received the keys of heaven; who
looses on earth and binds in heaven. For in him are found all subtle questions
of faith. He was aided by the Father so as to be (or lay) the Foundation of the
security (firmness) of the faith. He (Peter) heard from the same God, 'feed my
lambs'; to him He entrusted the flock; he leads the way admirably in the power
of his own Master." (Epiphanius, T. ii. in Anchor (A.D. 385)).
- St.
Epiphanius, Archbishop of Salamis
170 "The
chief of the disciples...the Lord accepted him, set him up as the foundation,
called him the rock and structure of the church." (Aphraates, De
Paenitentibus Homily 7:15(A.D. 337),in SPP,5).
- Aphraates
171 -
"In order that he may show his power, God has endowed none of his
disciples with gifts like Peter. 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).
- Asterius
172 -
"...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).
- Prosper of
Aquitaine
173 -
"The rising pestilence was first cut short by Rome, the see of Peter,which
having become the head to the world of the pastoral office, holds by religion
whatever it holds not by arms."
Prosper of
Aquitaine, Song on the Enemies of Grace,1(A.D. 429),in GCC,79
- Prosper of
Aquitaine
174 -
"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!'(Lk 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
- Pope
Pelagius II
175 -
"[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).
- Pacian
176
-"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 I will build my church..."' (Homily 63(A.D. 408),in SPP,61-62).
- Maximus of
Turin
177 -
"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).
178 -
"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).
- Gregory of
Nyssa
179
-"[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
- Hilary de
Poiters
180 -
"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
established."
Hippolytus,
Discourse on the Holy Theophany,9(ante A.D. 235),ANF,V:237
- Hippolytus
181 - "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
-
Constantinople III Council
182 -
"One of these mountains was Peter, upon which rock the Lord promised to
build His Church (Comm. in Esai 2,66 [A.D. 373])
- Basil the
Great
183 -
"Peter is again called 'the coryphaeus of the Apostles"
Basil of
Seleucia,Oratio 25(ante A.D. 468),in FOC,II:49
-Basil of
Seleucia
184 -
"'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 to Peter, 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).
- Bede
185 -
"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
-
Ambrosiaster
186 -
"The Church of God which sojourns in Rome to the Church of God which
sojourns in Corinth....If anyone disobey the things which have been said by Him
through us, let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression
and in no small danger."
Clement of
Rome[regn. c A.D.91-101],1st Epistle to the Corinthians,1,59:1 (c.A.D. 96),in
JUR,I:7,12
- St. Pope,
Clement of Rome
187 -
"And why was nothing said to us concerning the Church of the Alexandrians
in particular? Are you ignorant that the custom has been for word to be written
first to us, and then for a just decision to be passed from this place? If then
any such suspicion rested upon the Bishop there, notice thereof ought to have
been sent to the Church of this place; whereas, after neglecting to inform us,
and proceeding on their own authority as they pleased, now they desire to
obtain our concurrence in their decisions, though we never condemned him. Not
so have the constitutions of Paul, not so have the traditions of the Fathers
directed; this is another form of procedure, a novel practice. I beseech you,
readily bear with me: what I write is for the common good. For what we have
received from the blessed Apostle Peter s, that I signify to you; and I should
not have written this, as deeming that these things were manifest unto all men,
had not these proceedings so disturbed us."Julius[regn A.D. 337-352],To
the Eusebians,fragment in Athanasius' Against the Arians,2:35,in NPNF2,IV:118
- Pope Julius
188 -
"To your inquiry we do not deny a legal reply, because we, upon whom
greater zeal for the Christian religion is incumbent than upom the whole body,
out of consideration for our office do not have the liberty to dissimulate, nor
to remain silent. We carry the weight of all who are burdened; nay rather the
blessed apostle Peter bears these in us, who, as we trust, protects us in all
matters of his administration, and guards his heirs."
Pope
Sircius[regn. A.D. 384-399],To Himerius,Epistle 1(A.D. 385),in DEN,36-37
- St. Pope
Sircius
189 -
"We bear the burdens of all who are heavy laden; nay, rather, the blessed
apostle Peter bears them in us and protects and watches over us, his heirs, as
we trust, in all the care of his ministry....Now let all your priests observe
the rule here given, unless they wish to be plucked from the solid, apostolic
rock upon which Christ built the universal Church....I think, dearest brother,
disposed of all the questions which were contained in your letter of inquiry
and have, I believe, returned adequate answers to each of the cases you
reported by our son, the priest Basianus, to the Roman Church as to the head of
your body....And whereas no priest of the Lord is free to be ignorant of the
statutes of the Apostolic See and the venerable provisions of the canons"
Sircius[regn
c A.D. 384-399],To Himerius,bishop of Tarragona(Spain),1,3,20,in SL,699,701,707
- St. Pope
Sircius
190 -
"There is extant also another epistle written by Dionysius to the Romans,
and addressed to Soter, who was bishop at that time. We cannot do better than
to subjoin some passages from this epistle, in which he commends the practice
of the Romans which has been retained down to the persecution in our own days.
His words are as follows: For from the beginning it has been your practice to
do good to all the brethren in various ways, and to send contributions to many
churches in every city. Thus relieving the want of the needy, and making provision
for the brethren in the mines by the gifts which you have sent from the
beginning, you Romans keep up the hereditary customs of the Romans, which your
blessed bishop Soter has not only maintained, but also added to, furnishing an
abundance of supplies to the saints, and encouraging the brethren from abroad
with blessed words, as a loving father his children.' In this same epistle he
makes mention also of Clement's epistle to the Corinthians, showing that it had
been the custom from the beginning to read it in the church. His words are as
follows: To-day we have passed the Lord's holy day, in which we have read your
epistle. From it, whenever we read it, we shall always be able to draw advice,
as also from the former epistle, which was written to us through Clement.' The
same writer also speaks as follows concerning his own epistles, alleging that
they had been mutilated: As the brethren desired me to write epistles, I wrote.
And these epistles the apostles of the devil have filled with tares, cutting out
some things and adding others. For them a woe is reserved. It is, therefore,
not to be wondered at if some have attempted to adulterate the Lord's writings
also, since they have formed designs even against writings which are of less
accounts.' "
Dionysius of
Corinth,To Pope Soter(A.D. 171),Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History,4:23,in
NPNF2:1:200-202
191 - "A
question of no small importance arose at that time. For the parishes of all
Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on
which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as
the feast of the Saviour's passover. It was therefore necessary to end their
fast on that day, whatever day of the week it should happen to be. But it was
not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at this time,
as they observed the practice which, from apostolic tradition, has prevailed to
the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of the
resurrection of our Saviour...Thereupon Victor, who presided over the church at
Rome, immediately attempted to cut off from the common unity the parishes of
all Asia, with the churches that agreed with them, as heterodox; and he wrote
letters and declared all the brethren there wholly excommunicate. But this did
not please all the bishops. And they besought him to consider the things of
peace, and of neighborly unity and love. Words of theirs are extant, sharply
rebuking Victor. Among them was Irenaeus, who, sending letters in the name of
the brethren in Gaul over whom he presided, maintained that the mystery of the
resurrection of the Lord should be observed only on the Lord's day. He
fittingly admonishes Victor that he should not cut off whole churches of God
which observed the tradition of an ancient custom ..." Pope Victor &
Easter(c.A.D. 195),Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History 5:23,24,in NPNF2,I:241-243
192 -
"Was anything withheld from the knowledge of Peter, who is called
"the rock on which the Church would be built" [Matt. 16:18] with the
power of "loosing and binding in heaven and on earth" [Matt.
16:19]"" (_Demurrer Against the Heretics_ 22 [A.D. 200]).
- Tertullian
193 - "I
now inquire into your opinion, to see whence you usurp this right for the
Church. Do you presume, because the Lord said to Peter, "On this rock I
will build my Church, I have given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven"
[Matt 16:18-19a] that the power of binding and loosing has thereby been handed
on to you, that is, to every church akin to Peter? What kind of man are you,
subverting and changing what was the manifest intent of the Lord when he
conferred this personally upon Peter? Upon you, he says, I will build my
Church; and I will give you the keys, not to the Church; and whatever you shall
have bound or you shall have loosed, not what they shall have bound or they
shall have loosed"" (_On Modesty_ 21:9-10_[A.D. 220]).
- Tertullian
194 -
"But if you are near Italy, you have Rome, where authority is at hand for
us too. What a happy church that is, on which the apostles poured out their
whole doctrine with their blood; where Peter had a passion like that of the
Lord, where Paul was crowned with the death of John [the Baptist, by being
beheaded]" (Demurrer Against the Heretics 36 [A.D. 200]).
- Tertullian
195 -
"When we hear the name of Peter, that name does not cause our minds to
dwell on his substance, but we figure to our minds the properties that are
connected with him. For we at once, on hearing that name, think of the son of
him that came Bethsaida, Andrew's brother; him that was called from amongst
fishermen unto the ministry of the Apostleship; him who on account of the
pre-eminence of his faith received upon himself the building of the
Church." (Adv. Eunom. 4 [A.D. 373])
- Basil the
Great
196 -
"It seemed to me to be desirable to send a letter to the bishop of Rome,
begging him to examine our condition, and since there are difficulties in the
way of representatives being sent from the West by a general synodial decree,
to advise him (the bishop of Rome) to exercise his personal authority in the
matter, choosing suitable persons to sustain the labours of a journey, -
suitable, too, by gentleness and firmness of character, to correct the unruly
among us here." (Letter 69 to Anathasius [A.D. 373]).
- Basil the
Great
197 -
"Therefore shall you [Hermas] write two little books and send one to
Clement [Bishop of Rome] and one to Grapte. Clement shall then send it to the
cities abroad, because that is his duty" (The Shepherd 2:4:3 [A.D. 80]).
- Hermas
198 -
"Ignatius . . . to the church also which holds the presidency, in the
location of the country of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honor, worthy
of blessing, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy of sanctification,
and, because you hold the presidency in love, named after Christ and named
after the Father" (Letter to the Romans 1:1 [A.D. 110]).
- Ignatius of
Antioch
199 -
"You [the church at Rome] have envied no one, but others you have taught.
I desire only that what you have enjoined in your instructions may remain in
force" (Letter to the Romans 3:1).
- Ignatius of
Antioch
200 -
"Be it known to you, my lord, that Simon [Peter], who, for the sake of the
true faith, and the most sure foundation of his doctrine, was set apart to be
the foundation of the Church, and for this end was by Jesus himself, with his
truthful mouth, named Peter" (Letter of Clement to James 2 [A.D. 221]).
- The Letter
of Clement to James
201 - "[Simon Peter said to Simon Magus
in Rome:] ‘For you now stand in direct opposition to me, who am a firm rock,
the foundation of the Church’ [Matt. 16:18]" (Clementine Homilies 17:19
[A.D. 221]).
- The Clementine
Homilies
No comments:
Post a Comment