“But if you suppose that upon the one Peter only the whole church is built by God, what would you say about John the son of thunder or each one of the Apostles? Shall we otherwise dare to say, that against Peter in particular the gates of Hades shall not prevail, but that they shall prevail against the other Apostles and the perfect? Does not the saying previously made, ‘The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it,’ hold in regard to all and in the case of each of them? And also the saying, ‘Upon this rock I will build My church’? Are the keys of the kingdom of heaven given by the Lord to Peter only, and will no other of the blessed receive them? But if this promise, ‘I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven,’ be common to others, how shall not all things previously spoken of, and the things which are subjoined as having been addressed to Peter, be common to them?”

(Origen (185 - c. 253), Commentary on Matthew, Book 12, Chapter 11).

“To him again, after His resurrection, He says, Feed My sheep. Upon him being one He builds His Church; and although He gives to all the Apostles an equal power, and says, As My Father sent Me, even so I send you; receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosoever sins ye remit, they shall be remitted to him, and whosoever sins ye shall retain, they shall be retained (John 20:21); – yet in order to manifest unity, He has by His own authority so placed the source of the same unity, as to begin from one. Certainly the other Apostles also were what Peter was, endued with an equal fellowship both of honour and power”

(Cyprian (ca. 210 - 258 AD), On the Unity of the Church, Chapter 4).

“Hence I ask, was it that the blessed Simon Bar-Jona confessed to Him, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God? . . . And this is the rock of confession whereon the Church is built . . . that Christ must be not only named, but believed, the Son of God. This faith is that which is the foundation of the Church; through this faith the gates of hell cannot prevail against her. This is the faith which has the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever this faith shall have loosed or bound on earth shall be loosed or bound in heaven. . . . The very reason why he is blessed is that he confessed the Son of God. This is the Father’s revelation, this the foundation of the Church, this the assurance of her permanence. Hence has she the keys of the kingdom of heaven, hence judgment in heaven and judgment on earth. . . . Thus our one immovable foundation, our one blissful rock of faith, is the confession from Peter’s mouth, Thou art the Son of the living God”

(Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310 - c. 367), On The Trinity, Book 6.36-37 and Book 2.23).

“The warmth of our praises does not extend to Simon insofar as he was a catcher of fish; rather it extends to his firm faith, which is at the same time the foundation of the whole Church”

(Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 - c. 394), Panegyric on St. Stephen, [PG 46.733]).

“Faith, then, is the foundation of the Church, for it was not said of Peter’s flesh, but of his faith, that ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ But his confession of faith conquered hell. And this confession did not shut out one heresy, for, since the Church like a good ship is often buffeted by many waves, the foundation of the Church should prevail against all heresies”

(Ambrose (c. 339 - 397), The Sacrament of the Incarnation of Our Lord 4.32-5.35, in The Fathers of the Church, vol. 44, p. 230-231).

“The prophets prepared, the apostles laid the foundations. Wherefore the Lord says to Peter: ‘Upon this rock I shall build my Church,’ that is, upon this confession of the catholic faith I shall establish the faithful in life”

(Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Ephesians, [PL 17.380]).

“Therefore He added this, ‘And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church;’ that is, on the faith of his confession. Hereby He signifies that many were on the point of believing, and raises his spirit, and makes him a shepherd”

(John Chrysostom (c. 347 - 407 AD), Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Homily 54.2-3).

“The rock is Christ, Who gave to His apostles, that they also should be called rocks, ‘Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church’”

(Jerome (c. 342 - 420), Commentary on Amos 6.12-13).

“Christ, you see, built his Church not on a man but on Peter’s confession. What is Peter’s confession? ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ There’s the rock for you, there’s the foundation, there’s where the Church has been built, which the gates of the underworld cannot conquer”

(Augustine (354 - 430), Sermons, Sermon 229P.1, in The Works of Saint Augustine, vol. III/6, p. 327).

“But I know that very frequently at a later time, I so explained what the Lord said: ‘Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church,’ that it be understood as built upon Him whom Peter confessed saying: ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,’ and so Peter, called after this rock, represented the person of the Church which is built upon this rock, and has received ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven.’ For, ‘Thou art Peter’ and not ‘Thou art the rock’ was said to him. But ‘the rock was Christ,’ in confessing whom, as also the whole Church confesses, Simon was called Peter. But let the reader decide which of these two opinions is the more probable”

(Augustine (354 - 430), The Retractations, Chapter 20, Section 1).

“And upon this rock I will build my Church (Mt 16:17-18); not upon Peter, or Rocky, which is what you are, but upon the rock which you have confessed. I will build my Church though; I will build you, because in this answer of yours you represent the Church”

(Augustine (354 - 430), Sermons, Sermon 270.2, in The Works of Saint Augustine, vol. III/7, p. 289).

“The Saviour, approving the correctness of this response, spoke, saying: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock’- that is, upon this confession – ‘I shall build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.’”

(Palladius of Helenopolis (c. 363 - 420 AD), Dialogue on the Life of John Chrysostom, [PG 47.68]).

“Jesus said to divine Peter: ‘You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ Now by the word ‘rock’, Jesus indicated, I think, the immoveable faith of the disciple”

(Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376 - 444), Commentary on Isaiah 4.2, [PG 70.940]).

“Surely he is calling pious faith and true confession a ‘rock.’ For when the Lord asked his disciples who the people said he was, blessed Peter spoke up, saying ‘You are Christ, the Son of the living God.’ To which the Lord answered: ‘Truly, truly I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’”

(Theodoret of Cyrus (393 AD - 457 AD), Commentary on Canticle of Canticles 2.14, [PG 81.108]).

“In obedience the tongue of Peter sought employment and though ignorant of doctrine, supplied a response: ‘You are Christ, Son of the living God.’ Jesus confirmed this statement with his approbation, thereby instructing all: ‘Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven.’ He called Peter blessed, so that Peter might join faith to his statement, just as he praised the response because of its meaning. . . . Now Christ called this confession a rock, and he named the one who confessed it ‘Peter,’ perceiving the appellation which was suitable to the author of this confession. For this is the solemn rock of religion, this the basis of salvation, this the wall of faith and the foundation of truth: ‘For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.’ To whom be glory and power forever”

(Basil of Seleucia, Oratio XXV.4, [PG 85.296-297]).

“‘It will not be moved’ is said about the Church to which alone that promise has been given: ‘You are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.’ For the Church cannot be moved because it is known to have been founded on that most solid rock, namely, Christ the Lord”

(Cassiodorus (c. 485 - c. 585), Expositions in the Psalms, Psalm 45.5).

“You are Peter and on this rock from which you have taken your name, that is, on myself, I will build my Church, upon that perfection of faith which you confessed I will build my Church by whose society of confession should anyone deviate although in himself he seems to do great things he does not belong to the building of my Church. . . . Metaphorically it is said to him on this rock, that is, the Saviour which you confessed, the Church is to be built, who granted participation to the faithful confessor of his name”

(Bede (672 - 735), Homily 23, [PL 94.260]).

“This is that firm and immovable faith upon which, as upon the rock whose surname you bear, the Church is founded”

(John of Damascus (c. 675 - 749), Homily on the Transfiguration, [PG 96.554-555]).