"Blessed [21]art thou, Simon Bar-Jonas, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father who is in heaven. _And I, too, say unto thee_, in return for what thou hast said to Me, and to shew, like My Father, My good will towards thee, and what I say, as the Almighty Word of the Father, by My power I fulfil, _that thou art Peter_, the Rock, and so partaker with Me of that honour whereby I am the chief Rock and Foundation; _and upon this Rock_, which I have called thee, _I will build My Church_, which, therefore, with Me for its architect, shall rest on thee, to thee adhere, and from thee derive its conspicuous unity: _and the gates of hell_, even all the powers of the enemy, _shall not prevail against it_, nor take that, which, by My Godhead, is established upon thee, but rather yield to it the victory. _And to thee_, whom, as Supreme Architect, I have marked out for the Rock and Foundation of My Church, as King and Lord _I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven_, and the supreme authority over My Church, and will make thee sharer with Me in that dignity, by which I hold the keys of heaven and of earth, _and whatsoever_, in virtue of that authority and as associated in My dignity, _thou shalt bind upon earth, shall be bound in heaven_, and there shall be no matter relating to My Church, and the kingdom of heaven, but shall be subject to thy legislative and judicial power, which shall reach the heaven itself: for it is a power at once human, and divine; human, as entrusted to a man, and administered by a man; divine, as a participation of that right by which I am, in heaven and on earth, Supreme Lawgiver and Judge; _and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, shall be loosed in heaven_." Thus it is that the most famous Fathers and Bishops, the most distinguished Councils, the most various nations, have understood our Lord's words, and this is their meaning, according to the fixed laws of grammar, of rhetoric, of philosophy, and of logic, as well as by the testimony of history, and in accordance with the principles of theology. Let us mention certain consequences which follow from them. These words[22] of Christ are, in the most marked manner, addressed to Peter _only_ among the Apostles, and are, therefore, with their meaning, _peculiar_ to him. And they designate pre-eminence in the government of the Church. They have, therefore, the two qualities which render them a suitable testimony to establish his Primacy among the Apostles. Now, if persons differ in rank and pre-eminence, they must be considered not equals, but absolutely unequal. And such pre-eminence Peter had, deriving from Christ, the Founder, a superior rank in the Church's ministry. Therefore, the college of the Apostles must be termed absolutely unequal, and all the Apostles, compared with Peter, absolutely unequal.