THE VIEWS OF THE FATHERS ON " THIS ROCK." 81 St Basil says that " St Peter's soul was called the rock, because it was firmly rooted in the faith, and held firm, without giving way against the attacks of temptation. "1 Chrysologus says that " Peter had his name from a rock, because he first merited to found the church by firmness of faith."' These are fair explications of the metaphor, without any refer-. ence to St Peter's government. But, however, also admitting this, that being such a rock does implygovernment and pastoral charge, yet do they, notwithstanding these grants and suppositions, effect nothing; for they cannot prove the words spoken exclusively in regard to other apostles, or to im- port any thing singular to him above or beside them. He might be a governing rock; so might others be ;the church might be built on him; so it might be on other apostles; he might be designed a go- vernor, a great governor, a principal governor; so might they also be. This might be without any violence done to those words. And this indeed was [the fact]; for all the other apostles in holy Scripture are called foundations, and the church is said to be built on them. " If," says Origen, the father of interpreters, " you think the whole church to be built on Peter alone, what will you say of John, the son of thunder, and of each of the apostles? "3 and so on, largely to this purpose. " Christ," as St Jerome says, " wastheRock, and he granted to the apostles that they should be called rocks, " Eph. ii. 20. And, "You say," says he again, " that the church is founded on Peter; but the same, in another place, is asserted of all the apostles."' " The twelve apostles," says another ancient author, " were the immutable pillars of orthodoxy, the rock of the church." " The church," says St Basil, "is built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles; Peter also was one of the mountains; upon which rock the Lord promised to build his church."' St Cyprian, in his disputes with Pope Stephen (Cypr. Ep. 71, 73), nirpa Si b4.6),24 ÿuOxñ rori pazapinu IIirpou ávóuaoray lrá rñ vra'.(s 6514/Veda, 'r sriorcy , ì orsvii; zai 1n lí ,, ËZE /y vrpds 'ráS iz vrmrpaopcm "v ivayopcivas vrAnyáç.Ba8S. in Is. ii. p. 869. 2 Petrus a petra nomen adeptus est, quia primus meruit ecclesiam fidei firmitate fundareep.Chrysol., Serm. lili. 3 Ei Il i. vi, Ëva izavav llirpov vo(LgErç i,rì r, OEnü ,h,, ,(LEfaial rñv oráaav izzanoiav póvov mi ä p'hiare a'Ep''10)tivvou rot tile 3p0v14nç uioú, q izarou g4;1, úvroaróño/v, &C. Orig. in Matt. xvi. p. 275. 4 Petra Christus est, qui donavit apostolis, ut ipse quoque petrse vocentur. Hier. in Amos ix. 12. Dicis super Petrum fundatur ecclesia, licet id ipsum in alio loco super omnes apottolos fiat.Hier. in Tovin., i. 14. 6 'EzzXnafah.zolíovral inì ,- 5Ep+,sJ,, PWV IoroorSAav Mal 9rpopnri,' Év ,- , içwWv ;1.p 'ea) ní'rpoç, ifp' de zai air / as ivrnyrb,,avt i ICúprnç oixola¡Lila,,, earoi rñy izzAnçlay.Basil. in Isa. ii. p. 869. VOL I. 6
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