Peter’s Confession Is the Faith of the Whole Church

But what are the other words that follow that saying of the Lord’s, with which he commends Peter? “And I say to you,” he said, “that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” Do you see how Peter’s saying is the faith of the church? So whoever does not hold the faith of the church must of course be outside the church. “And to you,” says the Lord, “I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” This faith deserved heaven; this faith received the keys of the heavenly kingdom. See what awaits you. You cannot enter the gate this key belongs to if you have denied the faith of this key. “And the gate of hell,” he adds, “will not prevail against you.” The gates of hell are the belief, or rather the false belief, of heretics. For as far as hell is separated from heaven, so far is the one who denies separated from the one who confessed that Christ is God. [a]

“Whatever you bind on earth,” he goes on, “will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven as well.” In some way the apostle’s perfect faith is given the power of the Godhead, so that whatever it bound or loosed on earth would be bound or loosed in heaven. As for you, then, who come out against the apostle’s faith: since you see that you are already bound on earth, it only remains for you to know that you are bound in heaven as well. But it would take too long to go into the details. They are so many that they would make a long and tiresome story, even if they were told briefly and concisely.