ORIGEN. What was said to Peter, was applicable to all the Apostles. Ει δε επι τον ενα εκείνον Πετρον νομίζεις υπο του Θεου οικοδομείσθαι την πασαν εκκλησιαν μονον, τι αν φησεις περι Ιωαννου του της βροντης υιου, η εκάστου των Αποστόλων; αλλως τε αρα τολμησομεν λεγειν οτι Πετρου μεν ιδιως πυλαι αδου ου κατισχύσουσιν, των δε λοιπων αποστόλων και των τελειων κατισχυσουσιν, ουχι δε και επι παντων και εφ' εκαστω αυτών το προειρημένον, το πυ λαι αδου ου κατισχύσουσιν αυτ της; αρα δε τω Πέτρω μονω διδονται υπο του Κυριου αι κλειδες της των ουρανων βασιλειας, και ουδεις ετερος των μακαρίων αυτας ληψεται; ειδέ κοινον εστι και προς ετέρους το δωσω σοι τας κλείδας της βασιλειας των ουρανων, πως ουχι και παντα τα τε προειρημένα, και τα επιφερόμενα ως προς τον Πετρον λελεγμενα. But if you think that the whole Church is built by God upon Peter only, what will you say of John, the son of thunder, and of each of the Apostles ? Shall we dare to say that the gates of hell were not to prevail against Peter in particular, and that they should prevail against the rest of the Apostles and the perfect? and that it was not said concerning all and each of them that the gates of hell should not prevail against it? Are the keys of the kingdom of heaven given, indeed, by Christ to Peter only, and shall no other holy man receive them. But if this saying, "to thee will I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven," be common also to the rest, why not also those words which precede, and which seem directed to Peter? ATHANASIUS. Faith in the Trinity, the foundation of the Church. Epistola ad Serapionem. Parisiis. 1627.) Αυτη* της καθολικής εκκλησιας η πίστις. Εν τριαδι γαρ αυτην εθεμελίωσε και ερρίζωσεν ο Κύριος, ειρηκως τοις μαθηταις, πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε παντα τα εθνη, βαπτίζουντες *This is the faith of the Catholic Church. For the Lord founded and rooted it in the Trinity, saying to his disciples, "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." L αυτούς εις το όνομα του Πατρος, και του Υιού και του αγιου Πνεύματος. AMBROSE. De in carnatione Dom. Sacr. lib, i. c. v. p. 711. (Bened, edit. Parisiis. 1690.) Fides ergo est ecclesiæ fundamentum; non enim de carne Petri sed de fide dictum est, quia portæ mortis ei non prævalebunt. HILARY. De Trinitate, lib. vi. (Parisiis. 1652.) Super hunc igitur confessionis petram ecclesiæ edificatio est. Hæc fides ecclesiæ fundamentum est; per hanc fidem infirmæ adversus eam sunt portæ inferorum. In Ps. xiv. Enarr. p. 1138. Petram non novimus nisi Christum, quia dictum est de eo, Petra autem erat Christus. THEODORET. This Father, in the Epitome of the Divine Decrees, calls Peter the "primum ecclesiæ fundamentum." Dupin doubts if the interpretation of Solomon's Song was written by Theodoret. If not, it was written by one of the ancient commentators. In lib. Cant. Cant. P. 298. Petram appellat fidei pietatem, veritatis professionem. The exposition of the "Keys." Augustine, Sermo cxlix. De verbis, act. 10. tom. v. p. 706. (Bened. edit. Parisiis. 1685.) Petrus enim in multis locis Scripturarum apparet quod personam gestet ecclesiæ, maximè in illo loco, ubi dictum est, tibi trado claves regni cœlorum. Numquid istas claves Petrus accepit, et Johannes, et Jacobus non accepit et cæteri apostoli ? Quod illi datum est, ecclesiæ datum est. Ergo Petrus figuram gestabat ecclesiæ; ecclesia corpus est Christi. ORIGEN. Comm. in Matt. c. xvi. (Rothomagi, 1660.) σε δωσω Αρα δε τω Πετρω μονω διδονται υπο του Κυρίου αι κλείδες της των ουρανων βασιλειας, και ουδεις ετερος των μακαριων αυτας ληψεται ; ειδε κοινον εστι και προς ετέρους το σοι τας κλείδας της βασιλειας των ουρανων, πως ουχι και παντα τα τε προειρημενα, και τα επιφερόμενα ως προς TOV Πετρον λελεγμενα.* TERTULLIAN. Scorpiaci. (Parisiis. 1675.) p. 496. Nam et si adhuc clausum putas cœlum, memento claves ejus hic Dominum Petro et per eum ecclesiæ reliquisse, quas hic unusquisque interrogatus et confessus, feret secum. AMBROSE. In Psalm xxxviii. Enarratio. tom. i. p. 858. (Bened. edit. Parisiis. 1690.) Tibi, inquit, dabo claves regni cœlorum, ut et solvas et ligas. Quod Petro dicitur, apostolis dicitur. HILARY. De Trin. lib. 6. (Parisiis. 1652.) Tanta et tam Deo propria, vos, O Sancti et beati viri, ob fidei vestræ meritum claves regni cœlorum sortiti, et ligandi atque solvendi in cœlo et in terrâ jus adepti, gesta esse per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Dei filium, videratis. In Ps. lii. Enarratio. Apostoli cœlorum claves sortiti sunt. De Trin. lib. 6. Hæc fides regni cœlestis habet claves. Exposition of the passage "Feed my sheep." AUGUSTINE. De agone Chris. c. 30. Tom. vi. p. 260. (Bened. edit. Parisiis. 1691.) Cùm ei dicitur, omnibus dicitur, amas me? pasce oves meas. * But were the keys of the kingdom of heaven given, indeed, unto Peter only, and shall no one else of the blessed receive them? But if the saying, "I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven," was common to the rest, why should not the things which were said before, as if to Peter only, and those which followed (be common to the rest of the apostles?) The following is the tradition adopted by the Church of Rome of the twenty-five years residence of the Apostle Peter at Rome: a tradition which is quite irreconcileable with Scripture. JEROME. Lib. de Vir. Illus. Tom. i. p. 346. (Mariani Victorii Reatini, Episcopi Amerini, Parisiis. 1602.) Simon Petrus, filius Joannis, provinceæ Galileæ, vico Bethsaida, frater Andreæ Apostoli, et princeps apostolorum, post episcopatum Antiochensis ecclesiæ, et prædicationem dispersionis eorum, qui de circumcisione crediderant, in Ponto, Galatiâ, Cappadocia, Asiâ, et Bithyniâ, secundo Claudii anno ad expugnandum Simonem Magnum Roman pergit, ibique viginti quinque annis Cathedram sacerdotalem tenuit, usque ad ultimum annum Neronis, id est, decimum quartum, a quo et affixus cruci, martyrio coronatus, capite ad terram verso, et in sublime pedibus elevatis, asserens se indignum, quod sic crucifigeretur ut Dominus suus. Lactantius makes Peter not come to Rome till the reign of Nero a tradition much more probable than Jerome's. De Mortibus Persecutorum. Tom. ii. p. 184. (Parisiis. 1748.) Inde discipuli, qui tunc erant undecim, adsumptis in locum proditoris Matthiâ et Paulo, dispersi sunt per omnem terram ad evangelium prædicandum, sicut illis magister Dominus imperaverat, et per annos 25, usque ad principium Neroniani imperii, per omnes provincias et civitates ecclesiæ fundamenta miserunt, Cumque jam Nero imperaret, Petrus Romam advenit, et editis quibusdam miraculis, quæ virtute ipsius Dei datâ sibi faciebat, convertit multos ad justitiam, Deoque templum fidele et stabile collocavit. Quâ re ad Neronem delatâ, cùm animadverteret non modo Romæ, sed ubique quotidiè magnam multitudinem deficere a cultu idolorum, et ad religionem novam, damnatâ vetustate, transire; ut erat execrabilis ac nocens tyrannus, prosilivit ad excidendum cœleste templum, delendum justitiam, et primus omnium persecutus Dei servos, Petrum cruci adfixit, et Paulum interfecit. Papal Supremacy. The question of the supremacy of Peter, and that of the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome are totally distinct. Many a Father has called Peter, the first of the Apostles, who would have derided the notion of calling the Bishops of Rome the first of bishops. Whatever may have been promised to Peter, nothing was said of his successors in the Scriptures, and no mention is made of the Bishops of Rome as his suc cessors. CYPRIAN. Sententia 87. Episc. Synod. Carthag. Sac. Conc. P. Labbæi et G. Cossartii. Tom. i. p. 786. (Parisiis. 1672.) Proloquium Cypriani. Neque enim quisquam nostrûm episcopum se episcoporum constituit, aut tyrannico terrore ad obsequendi necessitatem collegas suas adegit, quando habeat omnis episcopus pro licentiâ libertatis et potestatis suæ arbitrium proprium, tamque judicari ab alio non possit, quàm nec ipse potest judicare. Sed expectemus universi judicium domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui unus et solus habet potestatem et præponendi nos in Ecclesiæ suæ gubernatione, et de actu nostro judicandi. Ad Cornelium. (Oxonii. 1682.) Nam cùm statutum sit omnibus nobis, ut æquum sit pariter ac justum, ut uniuscujusque causa illic audiatur, ubi est crimen admissum, et singulis pastoribus portio gregis sit adscripta, quam regat unusquisque et gubernet rationem sui actus Domino redditurus. AUGUSTINE. The Council of Milevi in Africa decided against appeals to the Bishop of Rome in opposition to Popes Zosimus, Boniface and Celestine. Sixty African bishops subscribed their names. Augustine's signature was the fourth. Sac. Concil. ampliss. collectio. Archiepiscopi Mansi.* Tom. iv. p. 507. (Venetiis, 1785.) Item placuit ut presbyteri, diaconi, vel cæteri inferiores clerici, in causis quas habuerint, si de judiciis episcoporum suorum questi fuerint, vicini episcopi eis audiant, et inter eos quicquid sit, finiant Quod si ab eis provocandum putaverint, non provocent nisi * Archbishop Manse's edition of the Councils is the best which is extant. |