On this Rock I will build my church (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

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Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you Pray without ceasing For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven Verily I say unto you, It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God

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	On this Rock I will build my church (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

QUESTION:

Could you explain how the Orthodox interpret the "On this Rock I will build my church" scripture. I am not asking this with regard to papal
claims but, rather, to discover whether Jesus is referring to Peter, to Himself, or in some way to both.

ANSWER:

In Matthew 16:18, the word "rock" refers to Peter's confession of faith, and not to Peter himself, despite the fact that Peter/rock is a play on the word for rock in Aramaic [petros] and Greek [petra]. As we read in 1
Corinthians 10:4, "...they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ," Who alone is the very foundation, or true Rock, upon which stands the Church. It is on Jesus Christ, the Rock, that the Church's unchanging faith and confession is firmly rooted.

Published in January 2011.

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