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THeir impudence in objecting the Fathers, is yet greater: All the Fathers say they, interpret the Rock to be Peter, Augustinus only excepted, deceived by his ignorance, in the Syriack tongue. So objects ••ansenius, Gregorious de Valen∣tia, Agricola, Stapleton; but most of all Bozius, de signis lib. 18. cap. 1.
But it is answered, It is notoriously false, that all the Fa∣thers call Peter the Rock upon which the Church is built:
because many of the Fathers call Christ the Rock, as shal be proved in this 4. chapter. Others of them interpret, the Rock to be the confession of Peter, thou art the Son of the living God; as shal be proved, chap. 5. Others of them again, who interpret the Rock to be Peter means nothing less, then that Peter was was ordained Oecumenick Bishop by Christ, in those words, Tu es Petrus, as shal be proved chap. 6. And first of those Fa∣thers interpreting the Rock to be Christ.
Tertullianus against Martian. lib. 4. cap. 13. Where, tel∣ling a reason wherefore the name of Peter was changed from Simon to Peter, gives this reason, Quia Petra & lapis erat Chri∣stus, because the Rock was Christ.
Hilarius de Trinitate, lib. 2. Unum igitur, hoc est immobile fundamentum, una haec est felix fidei Petra, Petri ore confessa, Filius Dei vivi: The sum is: Christ confessed by the mouth of Peter is the only Rock.
Ambrosius, Sermon 84. Discoursing of the change of Pe∣ters name, Rectè igitur, qui à Petra Christo Simon nuncupatus est Petrus, ut, qui cum Domino fidei soeietatem habebat, cum Domino haberet & nominis Dominici unitatem: ut sicut à Christo Christianus dicitur. Ita à Petra Christo, Petrus Apostolus vocaretur. This testimony is very evident, and jumps in every thing with the exposition of Prote∣stants; shewing that Peter is not the Rock, but only Christ: & Peter is called Petrus, Rocky, from Christ, Petra, or the Rock.
Gregorius Nyssenus in the last chapter of his testimonies a∣gainst the Jews, Dominus est Petra fidei: tanquam fundamen∣tum, ut ipse Dominus ait ad Principem Apostolorum. Tu es Pe∣trus, & super hanc Petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam In which words, Christ is expresly called the Rock, upon which the Church is built.
Theodoretus upon Psalm 47. Petra angularis est Christus, & ipse Dominus beato Petro, inquit, Et super hanc Petram aedificabo
Ecclesiam meam▪ & portae inferi non prevalebunt adversus eam. The Rock is Christ upon which the Church is built, &c. And the same Author, on 1. Cor. cap. 3. Christus est fundamentum, Christ is the Rock.
Gregory Bishop of Rome himself, in Job, lib. 13. cap. 19. in Sacro eloquio, Cum singulard numero Petra nominatur, quis alius quam Christus accipitur? Paulo attestante, qui ait, Petra erat Chri∣st••s. This testimony is evident, of a Bishop of Rome himself, cannonized as a Saint in the Roman Church; giving a general rule of interpreting the word Rock; viz. When Petra, or Rock or foundation, is mentioned in Scripture, in the singular num∣ber, none but Christ is understood.
Hieronymus on Matthew 7. Super hanc Petram Dominus fun∣davit Ecclesiam: ab hac Petra Apostolus Petrus sortitus est no∣men. By which words it appears, that Christ is the Rock, from whom Peter had his name; and not Peter himself, which will be further cleared by the next testimony.
Augustinus, Sermo. 13. de verbis Domini secundum Mat∣theum. Simon quippe ante vocabatur, hoc autem nomen ei, ut Pe∣trus vocetur à Domino, impositum est & hoc, ut ea figura significare•• Ecclesiam: quia enim Christus Petra, Petrus populus Christianus. Petra enim principale nomen est: ideo Petrus à Petra, non Petra à Petro; quomodo non à Christiano Christus, sed à Christo Christianus vocatur. Who before was called Simon, was after called Peter: Our Savior calls him so, to signifie the Church by that figure: Because Christ is the Rock, Peter is the Christian People, &c. Other te∣stimonies might be alledged out of Augustinus, but it is needless to mention them, since it is confessed by our adversaries, that Augustinus interprets the Rock to be Christ because he was ig∣norant of the Syriack tongue; As if those other Fathers, especi∣ally Hieronymus, most skilful of the Oriental Languages, were ignorant also of the Syriack tongue. And thus much of those Fathers interpreting the Rock to be Christ, by which it
appears, how impudent an assertion it was of Bozius, Ianseuius, De Valentie, Agricola, Stapleton, and others, affirming all the Fathers (Augustinus only excepted) unanimously interprets the Rock to be Peter.
The falshood of their assertion being discovered, they fall next to Sophistry to defend their lying: And first, they fall upon Augustinus, taxing him of ignorance of the Syriack tongue, for interpreting the Rock to be Christ, But it is an∣swered, First, the testimonies of those other Fathers denying Peter to be the Rock, especially of Hieronymus, are no lesse evident, then the testimonies of Augustinus,: But it were impudence in them, to object ignorance of the Syriack tongue to Hieronymus, who was known to be most skilful in it. Se∣condly, their Sophistry is very great, they object ignorance to Augustinus, of the Syrian tongue, for denying the Rock to be Peter, following the penner of Matthew in Greek; whose version was followed by the whole Church as authentick: & defends the ignorance of supposititious Authors, such as Anacletus, Optatus, Melevitanus, Isidorus & such like, who interpret Cephas (which signifyeth a great stone in the Syrian tongue (a head to prove the supremacy of Peter because of the affinity it hath in its ini∣tial Letters, with the Greek word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Cephale or head. So Turrianus and Baronius, Anno 31. defends those ignorants, viz. Because it makes for the Popes supremacy, and blames Augustinus, as ignorant, for no other reason, then because his interpretation crosseth it.
As for those other Fathers beside Augustinus, some of them taxeth them also of ignorance so Stapleton, Salmero, Cumerus, Maldonatus; Let us hear their reasons.
Their first is, These words, super hanc Petram, answers to the former words, Tu es Petrus: But it is answered those words, Super hanc Petram, answer also to those words, Thou art Christ the Son of the living God: For there is no necessity of re∣ferring
the pronoun hanc, to the words immediatly going be∣fore which is proved by other passages of scripture; as Asts 2. 23 where the proun hunc is referred not to God which is nearest, but to Iesus of Nazareth farther off. And also in this Chapter, by te∣stimonies of Fathers of more authority, and lesse suspect in this particular, then Stapleton and Maldonat: and it shall be proved further in the following chapters not only by testimonies of most eminent Fathers, and Popish Doctors, but also by the testimonies of five Popes themselves.
Their second reason is, Christ in these words, gives some reward or other to Peter for his confession: but it is answered, Peter is rewarded, when he is called Petrus from Petra, or Christ the Rock. Secondly, when he gets the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, whence Chrysostom, As the Father gave unto thee to know me, so I give unto thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The third reason is, That Christ in these words, super hanc-Petram, means not the principal Rock, or proper, viz. himself; but only a Metaphorick, or Ministerial Rock, and consequently the Rock must be Peter.
But it is answered the estate of the question is, whether Christ, that is the principal Rock, be understood by super hanc Petrum? Stapleton proves not, because, saith he, Christ is not meaned which he proves by his own naked as∣sertion, without any other reason: which is a childish peti∣tio principij. However we will add a reason that his assertion is false; for if a Ministerial Rock be understood, in these words, super hanc Petrum; Stapleton is hard put to it, to prove out of these words, the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, which is his main intention: Since it shal appear, cap 6. that all the Apostles are Ministerial Rocks; and that by the testimonies of the Fathers, interpreting the Rock to be Peter.
Their fourth reason is, The words of our Savior are,
aedificabo Eccl••siam meam super hanc Petram, Which im∣ports as much, as the Church was not already built up∣on that Rock; but only to be built upon it afterwards: and therefore our Savior by Hanc Petram, cannot mean himself upon whom the Church was already built. But it is answered, This is nothing but sophistry, because already the Church was only built upon Christ in Jude••; But our Sa∣viour is prophesying here, that the Gopel shal be propagated throughout the whole world, and the Church built up∣on himself. It is childish reasoning to argue the Church is built upon Christ already, Ergo it cannot be said, it shall be built upon him in time to come; it is all one as one would reason thus, Matthew 1. it is affirmed, He shal save his people. Ergo he hath not saved them; and consequently, it is no less foolish to affirm the Church is already built upon Christ, because he promiseth to build it upon himself in time to come.
Their fifth reason is, Christ promiseth to build the Churh upon one or other besides himself; since he cannot be said to build the Church upon himself: for it is the Father qui dedit ipsum caput super omnem Ecclesiam, as the Apostle affirms, But it is answered, That assertion of Stapletons contradicts Augusti∣nus, affirming, super me ipsum filium Dei vivi aedificabo Ec∣clesiam. Which is his gloss upon these words, super hanc Petram. Secondly, It contradicts Bellarmin, affirming, in se jam aedi∣ficaverat Apostolos, & Discipulos multos, He had already built upon himself many Apostles and Disciples. Thirdly, It contradicts Scripture, Ephesians 4. 16. By whom all the body being coupled and knit together, &c. receiveth increase of the body, unto the edifying of it self in love. By which words compared with verse 15. follows that the Church is built upon Christ by himself.
Their sixth reason is, If by hanc Petram be meant Christ, we cannot know which is the true Church, and which is the
false? and therefore of necessity by hanc Petram, Peter must be meaned.
But it is answered, The Fathers we now mentioned, and shal mention in the following chapter, knew very well how to discern the true Church by the false; & yet none of them do ••n∣terpret Peter to be the Rock, upon which the Church is built, especially, Augustinus, who disputing against the Dona∣tists, cites many passages of Scripture, by which we are in∣structed, to discern the true Church by the false, and yet he never makes use of this place, Tu es Petrus. Which he would not have omitted, if the mentioning of it had been so ne∣cessar, to discern the true Church from the false: or if the true Church could not be discerned from the false without it. Secondly, This reason is a childish, if not blasphemous, petitio principij: As if none could show the true Church by the false, except the successor of Peter, upon whom in their opinion the Church is built: and so that is only the true Church, which acknowledgeth the Bishop of Rome, to be head of the Church; as successor to Peter in the Monarchy of the Church. And thus much of those Fathers interpreting the Rock to be Christ.