A reader who is debating the issue of the primacy of Peter with an evangelical pastor has sent me a question regarding the position of St. Augustine regarding his interpretation of Matthew 16:18. In a Protestant blog that he found, for example, some quotes from the Bishop of Hippo are reproduced to imply that since he believed that the rock on which the Church is built is the Faith and not Peter himself, that somehow implies a rejection of Petrine primacy.

I already discussed this topic briefly in another post: Matthew 16:18, the Primacy of Peter and the Fathers of the Church, now I am going to complement what I wrote there.

First: It is true that St. Augustine maintained on several occasions that the rock on which the Church was built was not Peter, but the faith that Christ is the son of God. Although it is common to see that the fathers of the Church saw both interpretations as complementary and not mutually exclusive, St. Augustine has some texts where he seems to see them as exclusive and leans towards one or the other. A more detailed analysis of these texts further reveals that he has used both interpretations interchangeably, even contemporaneously, which makes the issue difficult.

Among some texts where the rock on which the Church is built are: Sermon 147.3; 270.6; 295.2; Commentary on the psalm 60.3; Treatises on the Gospel of Saint Luke 124.5.

Some where it adheres to the traditional Catholic interpretation that Peter is the Stone: Letter53.2; Baptism against the Donatists VII 43.85; Treaties sobre el Evangelio de San Juan 11.5;Commentaries on the Psalms 103 II s.3.2; 30 II s.2,5; 39.25; 55.15; 63.4.

The matter is clarified by the fact that in St. Augustine’s thought the idea predominates that Peter symbolizes the Church and its unity because of the primacy he had among the apostles. You can see, among others, the following texts: Sermons 75.10; 76; 137.3; 149.7; 244.1; 270.2; 295,1.2.4; Commentaries on the psalms 103 III 2; 108.1; Treaties sobre el Evangelio de San Juan7.14; 50.12; 118.4; 124.5.

But what is finally relevant is that in his last statement on this matter in his Retractaciones (I 21,1) he mentions these two opinions without leaning towards one over the other and ends up leaving the reader to choose the one that seems most correct.

“Here I said somewhere, “regarding the apostle Peter, that on him as on a rock the Church is founded.”“, a sense that many sing with the verses of the blessed Ambrose, when he says of the rooster’s crow: “When the rooster crows, / he, stone of the Church, / cries for his sin.” But I remember having explained many times afterwards what the Lord said: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, so that it would be understood about the one whom Peter confessed. when he said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, as if Peter, so called from that stone, represented the person of the Church, which is built on that stone, and which received the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Because it was not said to him: You are the stone, but You are Peter. Since the stone was Christ, whom Simon confessed, just as the whole Church confesses, and was called Peter. Between these two sentences, let the reader choose the most probable one.”.

Augustine of Hippo, Retractaciones, I, 21, 1
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XL, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMXCV, p. 723-724

In second place: It should be noted that to understand St. Augustine’s position regarding the primacy of Peter, one must not limit oneself only to the texts where he comments on Matthew 16:18, but to all of them as a whole where he clearly speaks of his principality among the apostles, an idea that is repeated in Baptism against the Donatists II 1,2, and Contra Juliano I 4,13. For him, the very see of Peter, Rome, is a guarantee of the apostolicity and truth of the Church of Christ (Contra la carta fundamental de los Maniqueos 4.5; Letter 53.2; 43,3,7). He also recognizes that his authority is final (Sermon 131,10). A work where the topic is discussed extensively is Agostino. Trapped, La Sedes Petri in S. Agostino, in Miscellanea A. Piolanti II, Lateranum, Nova Series, an. XXX (Rome 1964).

Therefore separating from the See of Peter is, for him, separating from the Church, and that is why he affirms that the Donatists (schismatics of the time) do not have a cathedra, for having separated from that of Peter, “in qua a cathedra unitas ab om nibus servaretur”; nor do they possess the “Angel” of baptism, also united with other authentic chairs; nor do they have the Holy Spirit, which is the spirit of charity; neither the fountain of living water, nor the seal of sanctification (Sancti Optati Afri Milevitani episcopi de schísmate donatistarum libri septem. I. III, cc. 6-8. Ed. Hurter: Sanctorum Patrum opuscula selecta, X Oeniponti, 1870). St. Augustine’s position in this regard was not unique but shared by Christianity, since the break with the local church united to that of Rome was always considered a break with the universal Church, as sanctioned by the Councils of Elvira (year 306, can.53), Arles (year 314, can.16), Nicaea (year 325, can.5), Antioch (year 341, can.5-6), Sárdica (year 343, can.13) (Mansi, 2.14; 2.473; 2.669-670; 2.1309-1312; 3.16-17).

Finally: To complement some quotes from St. Augustine when he comments on Matthew 16:18 or refers to the Primacy of Peter:

“There were many apostles and only to one it is said: Feed my sheep. Far be it from us to say that good shepherds are lacking now; far from us who are lacking, far from his mercy who does not produce and establish them for us! In fact, if there are good sheep, there are also good shepherds, since from the good sheep come good shepherds. But all the good shepherds are in one, they are one thing. They feed, it is Christ who feeds. The husband’s friends do not say that It is their own voice, but they enjoy the voice of the husband. Therefore, it is he himself who feeds when they feed. He says: It is I who feed; for in them is his voice, in them is his charity. To the same Peter to whom he entrusted his sheep, as if he were his “alter ego”, he wanted to do one thing with himself, in order to entrust him with the sheep. Because in this way he would be the head and would maintain the figure of the body, that is, of the Church”

St. Augustine, Sermon 46.30
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume VII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXI, p. 647

“If we are to consider the order of the succeeding bishops, we will most certainly and considerately begin to count from Peter, figure of the entire Church, to whom the Lord said: On this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not defeat her. Peter was succeeded by Linus, Clement, Anacletus, Evaristo, Sixtus, Telesphorus, Hyginius, Anicetus, Pius, Sotero, Alexander, Victor, Ceferinus, Calixtus, Urban, Pontianus, Antero, Fabian, Cornelius, Lucius, Stephen, Sixtus, Dionysius, Felix, Eutychianus, Gaius, Marcellus, Eusebius, Melquiades, Silvestre, Marcus, Julius, Liberius, Damasus, Siricius, Anastasius”
St. Augustine, Letter 53, A Generous, 1,2-2
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume VIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXVI, p. 330-331

“Peter, prince of the apostles”
St. Augustine, Letter 75, Jerome to Augustine, 3,6
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume VIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXVI, p. 455

“The same confession, made much later by Peter, merited calling him blessed and giving him the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”
St. Augustine, Sobre diversas cuestiones a Simpliciano, I,2,14
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume IX, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLII, p. 101

“Peter the Apostle is a type of the one Church. This Peter, first in the choir of the Apostles, always ready in the love of Christ, often responds alone on behalf of everyone. Finally, when the Lord Jesus Christ asked who the people said he was, and the disciples gathered various opinions from men, the Lord asked again saying: And you, who do you say that I am? Peter answered: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. One gave the answer for many, unity in the crowd. Then the Lord said to him: Blessed are you, Simon Barlona, ​​because it was not flesh and blood that revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Then he added: And I say to you, as if to say: since you have said to me: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, I also say to you: You are Peter. Because before his name was Simon; That name, by which we call him Peter, was imposed on him by the Lord, and that so that in figure it would mean the Church. If Christ is the stone, Peter is the Christian people. Stone is the main name; That is why Peter comes from a stone, not a stone from Peter, just as Christ does not come from a Christian, but the Christian is called that way because of Christ. That’s why he said: You are Peter, and on this rock, which you have confessed, on this rock, which you have known, by saying: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, I will build my Church, that is, on me, the very Son of the living God, I will build my Church. I will build you on me, I will not build myself on you. Men not wanting to build on men, said: I am of Paul, I of Apollo, I of Cephas, that is, Peter. And others, who did not want to be built on Peter, but on the rock, said: I am Christ’s. When the apostle Paul saw that he was chosen and Christ postponed, he said: Has faith divided Christ? Has Paul been crucified for you? Or have you been baptized in the name of Paul? If you were not in the name of Paul, neither in that of Peter, but in that of Christ; so that Peter would be built on the rock, not the stone on Peter. Peter was named after the stone, representing the role of the Church, maintaining the primacy of the apostolate”
St. Augustine, Sermon,76, Peter Walks on the waters, 1-3
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume X, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p. 392-393

“In a single apostle, in Peter, first and principal in the order of Apostles and who represented the Church, the two groups had to be meant, that is, the strong and the weak; because without both there is no Church.”
St. Augustine, Sermon,76, Peter Walks on the water, 4
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume X, Library of Christian Authors, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p. 395

“Not without cause does Peter stand in for the Catholic Church among all the apostles. “This Church was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven when they were given to Peter.”
St. Augustine, The Christian combat, c.30
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLIV, p. 521

“And he brings him to Jesus. Jesus fixes his gaze on him and says to him: You are Simon, son of John, and you will be called Cephas, which means Peter. It is no big deal for the Lord to say whose son this is. What is great for the Lord? He knew the names of all the saints whom he predestined before the world existed, and does it surprise you that he says to a man: You are the son of such and such and you will bear such a name? Is it a big deal to change his name and of Simon to Peter? Peter comes from stone, and the stone is the Church. The name of Peter is, therefore, a figure of the Church. Who is safe but he who builds on stone?”
St. Augustine, Sobre el evangelio de San Juan, 7.14
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLV, p. 235

“Well, if before I had carried the name of Peter, your charity would not have understood the mystery of the stone and would have believed that it was called that by chance, not by the providence of God. He therefore wanted it to have a different name first so that, by the very substitution of the name, the significance of the sacrament would be more apparent..”
St. Augustine, Sobre el evangelio de San Juan, 7.14
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLV, p. 237

“When, then, he had said to his disciples, “Do you also want to go away?” Peter, that rock, in the name of all: Lord! Who shall we go to? You have words of eternal life.”
St. Augustine, Sobre el evangelio de San Juan, 11.5
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLV, p. 319

“Peter answers, in the name of all, one for many, unity through universality.”
St. Augustine, Sobre el evangelio de San Juan, 27.9
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLV, p. 687

“Well, If the Church were not represented in Peter, would the Lord not have said to him: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven., and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. If this was said only to Peter, the Church cannot do it. But, if this is done in the Church, so that what is bound on earth is bound in heaven, and what is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven; because, when the Church excommunicates, the excommunicated person is bound in heaven, and when the Church reconciles him, heaven unties the reconciled; If, then, this is done in the Church, it is because Peter, when he received the keys, represented the Church…If you are good, if you belong to the body meant by Peter, you have Christ in the present time and in the future.”
St. Augustine, Sobre el evangelio de San Juan, 50.12
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XIV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXV, p. 205

“Because Who does not know that the most blessed Peter was the first of the apostles?”
St. Augustine, Sobre el evangelio de San Juan, 56.1
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XIV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXV, p. 255-256

“And so, the first of them, Peter”
St. Augustine, Sobre el evangelio de San Juan, 96.1
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XIV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXV, p. 434

“Of this Church, By the primacy of his apostolate, Peter carried the representation in all its universality. As to his personal properties, by nature he was a man, by grace a Christian, by greater grace an apostle, and the first of them; but when it was said to him, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, represented the entire Church, which in this mortal life is shaken by various temptations, such as rains, rivers and storms, but does not fall, because it is founded on a firm rock, from which comes the name Peter. For the stone is not derived from Peter, but Peter from the stone, just as Christ does not come from a Christian, but a Christian from Christ. That is why the Lord says: On this rock I will build my Church; for Peter had said: You are Christ, Son of the living God. On this rock that he confessed, I will build my Church. The stone was Christ, and on that foundation Peter was also built. No one can lay another foundation than the one that is laid, which is Christ Jesus. And so the Church, founded on Christ, received from Him, in the person of Peter, the keys to the kingdom of heaven., that is, the power to bind and loose sins. What the Church in Christ properly is, that is figuratively Peter on the stone; and in this figure, Christ is the stone, and Peter is the Church”
St. Augustine, Sobre el evangelio de San Juan, 124.5
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XIV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXV, p. 635-636

“Peter, the first of the apostles, received the keys of the kingdom of heaven to bind and loose the sins of all the righteous belonging inseparably to the body of Christ, to sustain the governance of this tempestuous life.”
St. Augustine, Sobre el evangelio de San Juan, 124.7
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XIV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXV, p. 640

“See how He rewarded the true, pious, and faith-filled confession: You are Christ, the Son of the living God. On the contrary, a little later, when the Lord began to speak of His passion, Peter, fearing that He would perish by dying, since we would have perished if He had not died, says: Do not think such a thing, O Lord! This will not happen. But the Lord answered him who had said a short time before: Blessed are you (Peter); and: On this rock I will build my Church; Go back, Satan; then why do you now call Satan the one just before? He called him blessed and stone? Because you don’t feel my things, but those of man. Shortly before he felt the things of God (for it was said to him): For flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
St. Augustine, Enarraciones sobre los Salmos 55.15
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XX, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXV, p. 384

“The Savior speaking about his passion, by which we were saved, and, if he had not suffered it, we would not have been saved, Peter, who shortly before confessed that Christ was the Son of God, and that In that confession he was called Stone, on which the Church would be built, says to the Lord, who spoke shortly after this confession about his passion: There is no such thing, Lord; God be merciful; this will not happen. Shortly before, the Lord said to him: Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven; and now incontinenti says to him: Go after me, Satan. What does it mean get behind me, Satan? “Follow me.”
St. Augustine, Enarraciones sobre los Salmos, 55.15
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XX, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXV, p. 807

“Well just as many things are said that seem to refer properly to the apostle Saint Peter, and yet, they would not be understood perfectly if they did not refer to the Church, which it is recognized that he figuratively represents due to the primacy he had over the disciples., as it is said: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”
St. Augustine, Enarraciones sobre los Salmos, 108.1
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXI, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXVI, p. 108

“The apostle Saint Peter personified the Church”
St. Augustine, Enarraciones sobre los Salmos, 108.18
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXI, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXVI, p. 912

“The word of truth was not taken away at all from the mouth of Peter, who represented the Church; for if, troubled by fear, he denied for the moment, yet he recovered weeping; and, confessing, he was later crowned.”
St. Augustine, Enarraciones sobre los Salmos, 118, XIII, 3
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXVII, p. 83-84

“Indeed, at Peter, the only one on whom the Church is organized [Dicit enim Petro, in quo uno format Ecclesiam], says: Peter, do you love me? He answered, “Lord, I love you.” Feed my sheep.” St. Augustine, Sermon.137.3 Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p.232

“The unity of all shepherds is based on the one person of Peter.; “Let it be understood of the good, who feed Christ’s sheep, not for themselves, but for Christ.”
St. Augustine, Sermon.147.2
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p.333

“In many places in the Scriptures Peter appears symbolizing the Church, especially where it is said: I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will also be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will also be loosed in heaven. Did Peter receive these keys and Paul not? Did Peter receive them and John, James and the other apostles not? Or are these not the keys by which sins are forgiven daily in the Church? Since Peter meant the Church, what was granted to him alone, was granted to the Church. Therefore, Peter meant the Church, Church that is the Body of Christ”
St. Augustine, Sermon.149.7
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p.350-351

“Shortly later, the Lord, in that same place, after those words with which approved Peter’s faith and showed that this faith was the rock”
St. Augustine, Sermon,183,14
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p.824

“Well What was Peter if not a figure of the Church? Thus, when the Lord questioned Peter, he questioned us, he questioned the Church. So that you notice that Peter was a figure of the Church, remember that place in the gospel: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it; I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. It is only one man who receives them. He himself indicated what the keys to the kingdom of heaven are: What you bind on earth will also be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will also be loosed in heaven. If this was said to only one Peter, only Peter did it; Once he is dead or gone, who binds, who unties? I dare say that we also have these keys.”
St. Augustine, Sermon.229 N, 2
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXIV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p.363

“Remember that when Jesus himself asked his disciples: Who do men say the Son of Man is?, they answered him with different opinions: Some affirm, they said, that you are Elijah, others that you are John the Baptist, others that Jeremiah or one of the prophets. These were the words of the strangers, not those of the disciples. Behold, the disciples have to answer the same question. Now, who do you say that I am? You have presented to me the opinions of others; I want listen to what you believe. Then Peter says, one for all, since it is the unity among all: You are Christ, the Son of the living God. No longer just any one of the prophets, but the Son of the living God, the fulfillment of the prophets and the creator of the angels: You are Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter heard what it was an honor for him to hear from that voice: Blessed are you, Simon, son of John, because flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and everything you bind on earth will also be bound in heaven, and everything you loose on earth will also be loosed in heaven. Faith, not man, deserved to hear these words.”
St. Augustine, Sermon.232.3
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXIV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p. 400-401

“Peter had already told him: You are Christ, the Son of the living God, and he had heard from his mouth: Blessed are you, Simon, son of John, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. That faith disappeared once Christ was crucified. Peter believed in him as the Son of God only until he saw him hanging on the tree, fastened with nails, dead and buried. Then he lost the faith he had. Where is the stone? Where is the solidity of the stone? The stone was Christ himself, while he was Peter, a name derived from the stone. That is why he resurrected the stone: to strengthen Peter; Well, if the stone had not lived, Peter would have perished.”
St. Augustine, Sermon.244.1
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXIV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p. 493-494

“[Jesus] asks them: And you, who do you say that I am? And Peter, alone in the name of the rest, one for all, said: You are Christ, the Son of the living God. A wonderful and very true answer! In response to it he deserved to hear: Blessed are you, Simon, son of John, because flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Since you told me, I tell you; you said before, listen now; you proclaimed your confession, receive the blessing. Therefore, I also say to you: “You are Peter”; since I am the stone, you are Peter, since “stone” does not come from Peter, but Peter from “stone”, as “Christian” from Christ, and not Christ from “Christian.” not on Peter, which is you, but on the stone that you have confessed. I will build my Church: I will build you, who by responding in this way have become a figure of the Church”
St. Augustine, Sermon.270.2
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXIV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIII, p. 751

“One is the blessed Peter, the first of the apostles, impetuous lover of Christ, from whom he deserved to hear: And I tell you that you are Peter. He had said to him: You are Christ, the Son of the living God. Christ replied: «And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church. On this rock I will build the faith that you have just confessed. About what you just said: You are Christ, the Son of the living God, I will build my Church. You are, then, Peter. Peter comes from “stone”, not “stone” of Peter. Peter comes from “stone”, like “Christian” from Christ.”
St. Augustine, Sermon.295.1
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIV, p. 257

“These keys were not received by a single man, but by the unity of the Church. For this reason the excellence of Peter is proclaimed, because he was a figure of the universality and unity of the Church itself. when it was said to him: I will give you, what was actually given to everyone. So that you can see that it is the Church that received the keys of the kingdom of heaven, listen to what the Lord says to all his apostles in another place: Receive the Holy Spirit. And then: Whoever you forgive the sins of, they will be forgiven, and whose sins you retain, they will be retained. This refers to the power of the keys, of which it was said: Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. But what was said before was only said to Peter. To see that Peter then personified the entire Church, listen to what is said to him, and in him to all the faithful saints…”
St. Augustine, Sermon.295.2
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIV, p. 258

“In Peter, then, all the strength of the Church appears”
St. Augustine, Sermon.295.3
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIV, p. 259

“No wonder, then, that the Lord, after his resurrection, entrusted Peter himself with the care of feeding his sheep. He was certainly not the only one among the disciples who deserved to feed the Lord’s sheep; but, When Christ speaks to only one, he is encouraging unity; He spoke first to Peter, because he was the first of the apostles.”
St. Augustine, Sermon.295.4
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIV, p. 260

“The blessed Peter, the first of the apostles, lover of Jesus Christ the Lord as well as a denier”
St. Augustine, Sermon.296.1
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXV, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXIV, p. 266

“Let us not listen to those who deny that the Church of God can forgive all sins. Those wretches, Because Peter did not understand the stone and because he refused to believe that the keys to the kingdom of heaven have been given to the Church, they have lost them in their hands.…If those Cathars wanted to recognize his name, they would call themselves worldly” St. Augustine, The Christian combat, 31,33 Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXVI, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXV, p. 545

“Let us not listen to those who departed from unity and they preferred to call themselves Luciferians rather than Catholics… Because nowhere should the bowels of mercy reign as much as in the Catholic Church; As a true mother, she should not proudly insult sinful children or oppose difficulties to the forgiveness of the repentant. Not without reason does Peter stand in for the Catholic Church among all the apostles. This Church was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven when they were given to Peter…”
St. Augustine, The Christian combat, 30,32
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXVI, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXV, p. 546

“AND Since the stone is an interpretation of the total Church, it must also be extended to Peter, that For this reason he received the name stone from the Lord. The peak of the rock is the head of the Church.”
St. Augustine, Annotations to the book of Job, 30,32
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXIX, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMXCII, p. 546

“Even leaving aside, I repeat, this wisdom that you do not believe is found in the Catholic Church, there are many other things that hold me precisely in its bosom. The consensus of peoples and nations holds me; it holds me by its authority initiated with miracles, nourished with hope, increased with love and established with antiquity. I am held by the succession of priests from the same chair of the apostle Peter to whom the Lord entrusted, after his resurrection, the shepherding of his sheep, to the current episcopate.. Finally, I am subject to the very name of “Catholic” that, not without reason, only this Church obtained among so many heresies.”
St. Augustine, Reply to the letter called “of the Foundation”, 4
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXX, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMLXXXVI, p. 389

“What has the chair of the Roman Church, in which Peter sat, and in which Anastasius sits today, done to you??”
St. Augustine, Réplica a las cartas de Petiliano, Book II, 51,18
Obras completas de San Agustín, Volume XXXIII, Library of Christian Authors, Madrid MCMXC, p. 180

“It is true that schism opposes unity, but it is also opposed to the triple communion full of faith, sacraments and love, when it is maintained with pride and presumption, because then it manifestly resists Catholic doctrine with obstinacy, and becomes a heretic because a heretic is the one who, arrogant and obstinate, rejects the rule of faith proposed by the Catholic Church in union with Peter”
Epist. 43(year 397): 1; De baptismo (year 400-401): 4.

Author: José Miguel Arraiz