St. Cyril of Alexandria

“...by the words ‘on this rock I shall build my church’, Christ makes Peter its Pastor, literally he places Peter over it as shepherd [ποιμένα].” (Commentary on Matthew).


“They (the Apostles) strove to learn through one, that preeminent one, Peter.” (Cyril, Ib. 1. ix. p. 736).


“He suffers him no longer to be called Simon, exercising authority and rule over him already having become His own. By a title suitable to the thing, He changed his name into Peter, from the word ‘petra’ (rock); for on him He was afterwards to found His Church.” (Cyril, T. iv. Comm. in Joan., p. 131 [c. A.D. 424]).


“If Peter himself, that prince of the holy disciples, was, upon an occassion, scandalized, so as suddenly to exclaim, ‘Lord, be it far from Thee,’ what wonder that the tender mind of woman should be carried away?” (Cyril, Ibid, p. 1064 [c. A.D. 424]).


“That the Spirit is God we shall also learn hence. That the prince of the Apostles, to whom ‘flesh and blood,’ as the Savior says, ‘did not reveal’ the Divine mystery, says to Ananias, ‘Why hath Satan tempted thy heart’.” (Cyril, T. v. Par. 1. Thesaur. p. 340 [c. A.D. 424]).


“Besides all these, let there come forward that leader of the holy disciples, Peter, who, when the Lord, on a certain occassion, asked him, ‘Whom do men say that the Son of man is?’ instantly cried out, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (Cyril, T. v. P.2, Hom. viii. De Fest. Pasch. p. 105 [c. A.D. 424])


“‘If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me.’ When the Coryphaeus (Peter) had heard these words, he began to change.” (Cyril, Ib. Hom. [c. A.D. 424]).


“He (Christ) promises to found the Church, assigning immovableness to it, as He is the Lord of strength, and over this He sets Peter as shepherd.” (Cyril, Comm. on Matt., ad loc. [c. A.D. 424]).


“Therefore, when the Lord had hinted at the disciple’s denial in the words that He used, ‘I have prayed for thee that thy faith not fail,’ He at once introduced a word of consolation, and said (to Peter): ‘And do thou, when once thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.’ That is, ‘Be thou a support and a teacher of those who through faith come to me.’ Again, marvel also at the insight of that saying and at the completeness of the Divine gentleness of spirit. For so that He should not reduce the disciple to despair at the thought that after his denial he would have to be debarred from the glorious distinction of being an Apostle, He fills him with good hope, that he will attain the good things promised. …O loving kindness! The sin was not yet committed, and He already extends His pardon and sets him (Peter) again in his Apostolic office.” (Cyril Comm. on Luke’s Gospel [c. A.D. 424]).


“For the wondrous Peter, overcome by uncontrollable fear, denied the Lord three times. Christ heals the error done, and demands in various ways the threefold confession … For although all the holy disciples fled, …still Peter’s fault in the threefold denial was in addition, special and peculiar to himself. Therefore, by the threefold confession of blessed Peter, the fault of the triple denial was done away. Further, by the Lord’s saying, Feed my lambs, we must understand a renewal as it were of the Apostleship already given to him, washing away the intervening disgrace of his fall, and the littleness of human infirmity.” (Cyril, Comm. on John’s Gospel [c. A.D. 424]).


“They (the Apostles) strove to learn through one, that preeminent one, Peter.”(Cyril, Ib. 1. ix. p. 736 [c. A.D. 424]).


“And even blessed Peter, though set over the holy disciples, says ‘Lord, be it far from Thee, this shall be done to Thee.” (Cyril, Ibid. 924 [c. A.D. 424]).


“This bold man (Julian), besides all this, cavils at Peter, the chosen one of the holy Apostles.” (Cyril, T. vi.l. ix. Contr. Julian. p. 325 [c. A.D. 424]).


“He [Jesus] suffers him to be no longer called Simon... He changed his name into Peter, from the word petra (rock); for on him He was afterwards to found His Church.” (Commentary on John).


“Or to show that men being as nought, (as regards human nature, and the proneness of our minds to fall,) it is not meet that they should wish to be above their brethren. Therefore passing by all the others, He comes to Peter, who was the chief of them, saying, But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not.”


“According to this promise of the Lord, the Apostolic Church of Peter remains pure and spotless from all leading into error, or heretical fraud, above all Heads and Bishops, and Primates of Churches and people, with its own Pontiffs, with most abundant faith, and the authority of Peter. And while other Churches have to blush for the error of some of their members, this [Apostolic Church of Peter] reigns alone, immovably established, enforcing silence, and stopping the mouths of all heretics; and we, from the necessity of salvation, not drunken with the wine of pride, confess, together with it, the formula of truth and of the holy apostolic tradition.” [Pseudo-Cyril, Catena Aurea of St. Thomas on Mt 16:18].


“No marvel if a woman fell into such an error, when even Peter himself, the elect of the holy disciples, was once offended when Christ plainly told him that he would be betrayed.” (Commentary on John's Gospel, Book 12, On John 19:25).


“The divine Word pronounced Peter, the chosen one of the holy apostles, to be blessed. For when, in the parts of Caesarea called Philippi, the Saviour asked "Who do men say that the Son of man is? " . . . he cried out saying " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God", and speedily received,the reward of his true conception about him, Christ saying "Blessed art thou . . . ", calling, I imagine, nothing else the rock, in allusion to his name, but the inmovable and stable faith of the disciple on which the Church of Christ is founded and fixed without danger of falling.” (On the Holy Trinity, Dialogue 4).


“Therefore, passing over the other disciples, he comes to the Ieader himself, and he says " Often Satan wished that he might sift you as wheat", for proof and trial. For it is Satan's way to attack those of good repute. . . . Therefore when the Lord had hinted at the disciple's denial in the words that he used, "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not", he at once introhced a word of consolation, and said: "And do thou, when once thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." That is, "Be thou a support and a teacher of those who through* faith come to me ". Again, marvel also at the insight of that saying and at the completeness of the divine gentleness of spirit. For so that he should not reduce the disciple to despair at the thought that after his denial he would have to be debarred from the glorious distinction of being an apostle, he fills him with a good hope, that he will attain the good things promised. In fact he says "And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren ". loving kindness! The sin was not yet committed, and he already extends his pardon and sets him again in his apostolic office.” (Commentary on Luke's Gospel).


“Through the mystical communion of his own body, which is one, he blesses those who believe in him, and he makes us one body with himself and with each other. For who shall divide and eject from a natural union with one another those who through the one holy body are bound up into oneness with Christ? For if "we all partake of the one bread ", we are all made one body. For Christ cannot be divided; therefore the Church is also called " the body of Christ ", and we too are " members in particular ", according to the mind of Paul. For we all, being joined to the one Christ through the holy body (in which we have received in our own bodies him, the one and indivisible), owe our membership more to him than to ourselves. And that while the Saviour is accounted the head, the Church is called the rest of the body, as members joined together, Paul will show by the words : [Eph. 4. 14-16].” (Commentary on John's Gospel, Book 2).


“If anyone brings you a letter purporting to have been written by Philip, most reverend presbyter of the Roman church, and reading just as if the most holy bishop Sixtus had resented the deposition of Nestorius, and had helped him, do not believe it. For he [Sixtus] wrote in harmony with the holy synod, and confirmed all its acts, and is in agreement with us.” (Epistle 40, to Acacius of Melintene [A.D. 434]).


“Take notice then that in conjunction with the holy synod which was assembled in great Rome, under the presidency of our most pious and religious brother and fellow minister, Bishop Celestine, we conjure and counsel you, in this third letter also, to abstain from these mischievous and perverse doctrines, which 'I you both hold and teach, and to adopt in place of them the orthodox faith delivered to the churches from the beginning 1, by the holy apostles and evangelists, who were both eye1 witnesses and ministers of the word. And unless you do this by the time prescribed in the letter of our aforementioned most 1 pious and religious brother and fellow minister, Celestine, bishop of the church of the Romans, know that you have i neither part nor lot with us, nor place nor account among the priests and bishops of God.” (Third Letter to Nestorius, Cum Salvator [A.D. November 430]).


“Cyril sends greetings in the Lord to the most holy and beloved-of-God, the father Celestine. I. . . . It would be more agreeable if we could keep silence, but God demands of us vigilance, and ancient church custom requires me to inform your holiness. . . . I have hitherto observed a profound silence, and have written neither to you nor to any other fellow priest on him who now is in Constantinople and governs the church there, because haste in such a case is a fault; but now that the evil has come to a climax, I feel bound to speak and explain all that has occurred. . . . The people now refuse to assemble at church with him [Nestorius], except a few light-headed ones, and those who take the opportunity to flatter him. Almost all the monasteries along with their archimandrites and many of the senate have stopped going to church for fear of receiving injury to their faith. . . .. Your holiness is also to know that we have all the oriental bishops with us; all are shocked and grieved, especially the bishops of Macedonia. . . . I was unwilling openly to sever communion with him until I had laid these facts before you. Deign therefore to decide what seems right,l whether we ought to communicate at all with him, or to tell him plainly that no one communicates with a person who holds and teaches what he does. Further the purpose of your holiness ought to be made known by letter to the most religious and Cod-loving bishops of Macedonia, and to all the bishops of the East, for we shall then give them, according to their desire, the opportunity of standing together in unity of soul and mind, and lead them to contend earnestly for the orthodox faith which is being attacked. With reference to the matter in hand, our fathers, who have said that the Holy Virgin is Mother of God, are involved in the condemnation, along with us who are here to-day. For although he did not like to do this1 with his own lips, yet by sitting and listening to another, namely Dorotheus, he has encouraged him to do it, for immediately on leaving the throne, I he communicated him at the holy mysteries.. And that your holiness may be well informed about his opinions, and about those of the fathers, I send you the books with the passages marked. I have had them translated as well as could be done at Alexandria. I also send you, by PossiIll '11 ' donius, the letters I have written.” (Letter to St. Pope Celestine [A.D. April 430]).