honours deserved for their preaching of the faith are in common. Why," he continues, "should we be so bold as to endeavour to express what is above our power, and to strive worthily to celebrate the virtues of the Apostles? Our encomiums are not for Simon, (Peter,) known as having been a fisherman, but for his firm faith, that supports the Church. Neither do we exalt the sons of Zebedee, (James and John,) but the Boanerges, which means the sons of the thunder."
It is, therefore, not the person of Peter that is the rock of the Church, but the faith he confessed; that is, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, or the divinity of Christ, to which he bore witness.
Among the Greek Fathers there is not one who has taught a different doctrine from that of Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa. St. Cyril of Alexandria says expressly, "The word rock has only a denominative value — it signifies nothing but the steadfast and firm faith of the Apostle."[1] This forbids us to ascribe to Cyril the opinion that founds so great privileges upon that word, and yet this text has been quoted in favour of the modern Papacy by its champions. They quote yet another passage: "He (Christ) teaches his disciple (Peter) that it was He that knew all things before they were created; He announces to him that his name shall be no more Simon, but Peter; giving him to understand by this word that He would build his Church upon him as upon a stone and a very solid rock."[2]
Has he taught that Peter should be exclusively the foundation of the Church? No; for he teaches elsewhere[3] that "Peter and John were equal in dignity and honour." In another place[4] he teaches that "Christ is the
