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It must nedes be appropri∣ate peculierly onlye to Peter?* 1.1 for the whyche knew no mans mynde but his owne tolde but onely his owne faith. They all had not then one faith in christ as appeareth ••i Iudas, which beleued not, as it is in Iohn ye
vi. It rwas not reueled to them al as yet: but suppose it had bē, yet that Peter was not preuie of. Euery mās herte was only knowē to god. Wherefore Pe∣ter answered but for him selfe onlye. And therefore it is to be thought (saithe Hilarius) that at that time ye other Apostels were not as yet so firmely esta¦blished in that sure sentēce and belefe now cōfessed by Peter: yea he made answere streight way without respect to his fe∣lowes euē as tholy ghost mo∣ued him: and so likewise ye aun¦swere was made to him a∣gaine alone callyng him by his fathers name, saying to him in the singuler number tibi to the and not vobis to you: he blessed not thē al, but he gaue ye blessīg
to him alone by name. As be∣fore, Iohn the first, he sayed to hym (and not to Andrewe or other) thou shalt bee called a stone, so now here he saithe to veryfye hys promesse before made, thou art a stone (not as before yu shalt be calde a stone) vpon whyth I wyl builde my church. That whyche I haue by nature (that is to saye to be the foundaciō) that do I now perticipate with ye. This was the true vnderstanding of this foresayde text Mathewe the .xvi. in the primatiue church, as now shal apeare most plainlye by these testimonies fo∣lowinge.
¶Anacletus disciple and suc∣cessour to S. Peter.
Anacletus the seruaunt of Iesus Christ, by gods calling set in the see apostolike and ap¦pointed there vnto by S. Pe∣ter prynce of the Apostelles sēdeth greting to all Byshops, and to the residue of Christes flocke. &c. The holye and ap∣postlyke church of Rome re∣ceiued the primacy and power aboue all churches and vpon al faithful people (he doeth ex∣empte neither Kyng nor Em∣perour) euen of our Lord our sauiour & not of the Apostels, he sainge to Peter, thou arte a stone, & vpon this stone I wil builde my churche. &c. And I wyll geue to thee the keyes of
heauens. &c. and sone after he saith amonge ye holy Apostels there was diuersitye of power for although al were apostels, yet by god him self Peter was made head, yea & this Thap∣postels thē selues would haue, that Peter should be the head, and should haue the rule and principalitye of Thappostel∣shype. ¶Anacletus also in ano∣ther epistel to the catho¦lyke churche.
In al difficulties & questiōs of greate importaunce let the censure be referred vnto ye see apostolyke: For yt Christe him self willed, whē he said to peter
thou arte a stone, & vpon this stone I wil builde my churche &c. Hereby appereth not onlye Anacletus owne iudgement in this matter, but also what was then the commen takinge of it by the commen censure of the vniuersal churche. Whyche thing also appereth by Saint Clemens testimonie & others, euen then at the same time in the primatiue church. ¶S. Clement in the first epistel to S. Iames.
By Christes owne mouthe (saith he) Peter was ye chiefe of thapostels vnto whom god ye father had reueled his sonne Iesus Christes, & vnto whome Christe gaue thee blessynge
Math. the .xvi. This was the iudgemēt then: yea and if you loke further ye shall see, howe thie toke this truth (as it wer) by hande, one of another. ¶Tertulian which was shortlye after.
Was anye thinge hid from Peter (as it is in the .xxiii. pro∣bation) whiche was called the stone, whereupō Christes chur¦che was builded, to whom the keyes of heauens were geuē, and whyche had power to lose and bynde in heauens and in earthe? Now ye here the com∣men faithe hereof at that time in the vniuersal church.
¶Here also what Origē saith: yea heare the censure and iudgement of the vni∣uersal church herein, in Origens time, and that in the Greke church.
Peter (saith he) vpon whom christ builded his church wrote but onely .ii. epistels.* 6.1 Also he saith whē christ committed the charge of fedinge his shepe to Peter,* 6.2 and that vpō him euen as vpon the earthe he woulde buylde his churche, he moued him to no other vertue but on∣ly to loue and charity.* 6.3 Againe he saith mark what christ saith to the great foundacion of his churche, and to the moste sure and stedfast stone, where vpon
he buylded his church. &c. ¶Behold now here vpon, S. Ciprian & the iudgement in his time of al the ca∣tholike churche in this weighty matter.
Our Lorde (sayth he) gaue first vnto Peter power to for∣geue sinne vpon whō he buyl∣ded his churche,* 7.1 and whereat the vnity therof had his begin¦ning. And a litel after he saith the churche of christ whyche is but onely one, christ did onely buylde vpon one: and the like he sayth in the epistel ad Quin∣tinum, and also in the Epistle ad Cornelium.
¶Herken also holy S. Basil.
Peter sayth he bicause he did* 8.1
excede and passe al other in the excellency of fayth therfore he toke the buildynge of christes church euen in him selfe. Petr{us} (inquit) quoniam fide prestabat ecclesie in se edificationē suscepit. ¶S. Hillari vpon the same wordes.
Peter for his confession ob∣teyned a worthy rewarde,* 9.1 for that he did see the sonne of god in man. &c. and a litle after. O happy foundacion of ye church laid in geuing of a new name. A stone chosen meete for that building which shuld brust the gates of hell and deathe. O blessed Porter of heauen to whose arbitremente the keyes of the eternall kyngedome
are geuen.* 9.2 &c. Moreouer he sayth, Peter by reuelacion of the father seinge ye sōne of god, which thinge farre passed mās infirmitie to know, deserued a verye high place aboue other, through the confession of his blessed fayth. ¶S. Ambrose exposition also vpon the forsayde text, & what was then therof the vniforme consent of all other.
Christ called Peter a stone,* 10.1 saying thou art Peter. &c. Pe∣ter for stedfastnes (in an other sermon sayth he) was by christ called a stone the foundacion of the church. &c. Moreouer he sayth who doubteth but Peter the moste stedfast stone, which
was partaker both of the ver∣tue and name of the principall stone christ, euer feruently de∣sired to haue constancy to dye for Christ? ¶S. Hierome likewise in de∣claring the former text.
I saye to the sayth Christ (but h{is} saying was his doing) thou art a stone,* 11.1 and vpon this stone I wil build my churche. Euen as Christe gaue light to the Apostels to be called the lighte of the worlde, and gaue them also other names forthe of his owne name, so didde he geue to Simon the name of a stone, that accordinge to the propriety therof, he sayd vnto hym, I wyll buylde my church vpon thee.
¶S. Augustines testimonye also therupon.
The churches do iustly wor¦ship the birth daye of that see,* 12.1 which Peter receiued for ye sal¦uation of the churches, Christ saying to him thou art Peter, &c. he called him the foundati∣on of his church. &c. Agayne he sayth,* 12.2 ye haue heard christe cal Peter a stone, where vpon he would buyld his church.
¶Chrisostome in the Greke church: here his testimony.
By christes wordes saying thou art Peter,* 13.1 & I wil buyld my church vpon thee. &c. clere∣lye appeareth how great Pe∣ters power was aboue other. Also he calleth Peter ye prince
of the apostels,* 13.2 vpō whō christ builded his churche, the verye immoueable stone, whiche for the fishers hooke receyued the keyes of heauens. ¶Cyril, in expoundinge the same text, agreeth herewith.
Christ in chaunging of Pe¦ters name did signifye that in him as in the surest stone,* 14.1 he would buyld his churche. All these most holy and reuerende fathers with one consent mo∣ued by tholy ghoste didde as it were from thappostels tyme here vnto theyr owne tymes playnlye declare from time to time what was the iudgement euen of the vniuersall churche of Christe in all places of chri∣stendome
both East and West as wel among the Grekes as the Latines concernynge the former text thou art Peter. &c
And as for the time since these godlye men were, thousandes with one consent haue agreed herewith, and none euer deni¦ed that exposicion but fleshely heretikes, whose propurtye was and is euer to denye all godlye lawes whereby theyr wickednesse mighte be impro∣ued. And therfore ye shall sone knowe whether a man be an heretike or not by this one profe: If he beleue accordnige as he hath bene taught by the churche of Christe from the beginninge, and receyue the truthe by succession of the Bi∣shoppes in the see of Rome (ac¦cording
to the fayth and doc∣trine of Ireneus and after him of Sayncte Augustine) then is he a good christē man, els not, though he crye a thou∣sand times, scripture, scripture scripture, wrastynge and ap∣plyinge it stil amisse after his owne and others wicked phā∣cyes. For what? Shal we con∣dempne all these holy fathers? our mother the church and al? was Christes promisse nought? Was tholy ghoste neuer here til Luther came?
Cephas ac pe¦trus eiusdem plane signifi¦cationis cum petra (inquit cras. in▪ 1. Io) & ideo idem est dictu {pro}••s{us} rues petrus, perinde ac si dixisset chri¦stus ei, tu es Petra. At hic iam obserues velim, quod cephas significat non quemvis lapidem, sed ingentem aliquam petram sc••pulum aut rupem, cui arx aut grā∣de aliquod edificium possit superstrui. Nam sc••pulosus ille collis vnde hierusalem ab obsidentibus romanis possit conspici, cephas (inquit Iosephus) dicebatur. Et rursus hoc quo{us} obserua, quod christus in primo con¦gressu (nempe Ioa. primo) pollicitus est dum••axat se no¦men cephe simoni impositurum, at tunc statim non imposuit, sed maiori merito seruauit in futurum, vt simon randem caelitus illuminatus a patre, eius diuini tatem confiteretur, & tunc audiret tu es cephas, petr{us} aut petra. &c.
In mat. de. ••••∣noni test.
In epist. ad ••ho. cap. 6.
Ho. 5. in exo.
In epist. ad Iubai.
〈◊〉〈◊〉. con. c••.
In 16. mar exp••icans tues pe. &c.
Ii. 6. de tri.
Con. de nata li pe. con. 47 de fide pe. li. 2. de vocat. genti•• ca. 9.
Math. 16.
In con. de ca••edia pe.
Con. 16. & 114. de 〈◊〉〈◊〉.
Hom. 55. in math.
Ho. de diui∣te & pauper••
li. 2. in Io••▪