Thread by @Hasan22821492

From the Church of the East union Synod under Patriarch Eliya VII. The following is read from Mar Cyril Behnam Benni's compilation work 'The Tradition of the Syrian church of antioch Concerning the Primacy and Prerogatives of Peter and his Successors the Roman Pontiffs'.

The book was written by this Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Mosul to be presented at the First Vatican Council as a way to stop other syriac tradition churches from attempting to argue that their current positions regarding Rome were in line with their own historic tradition.

Cited as from 'Synodalia Chaldaeorum Romoe typis impressa (...) biblioth. Coll. Urb. de Propag., sub littera F. ii. 23.
"Orthodox men of letters know well that all the economy of the old is but a parable and pattern of the new law; for the idea and the mere figure is there,

whilst here is the reality and the perfection. all that is written in the Holy Scripture and the Prophets is fulfilled in Christ (...). Yes as now we are going to speak *of faith*, let us keep to it.
Faith indeed in the Old did shine in Abraham when, having believed in God, he

was quickened, and given as a father to the Gentiles. The same faith, however, was celebrated and brought to perfection in the New through Peter, who was laid down as a foundation-stone of the Church of God, so that no building, unless based upon it can ever be raised or brought

up to the coping, which is Christ. Whatever then is there said of Abraham is to be taken figuratively, partially, and only for the time being; while all that concerns Peter is to be considered spiritually, thoroughly, forever and ever.

(...) As in the Old law, Abraham was the father of fathers, so was Peter in the new. One single letter was added to Abram, the letter of faith (ha for haimonoutho) -
"Henceforth they name shall not be Abraham, bur Abraham, for I have made thee a father of many nations" - but

Peter's old man was stripped off completely, so that he was thoroughly renewed in Christ. "Thou art Simon Bar-Jona, and thou wilt be called Kipho, and on this rock I will build My Church." It was said to Abraham, "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee"

(Gn. xii. 3). But to Peter it was declared:
"To thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Lands of people, and realms of nations were promised

to Abraham; but the promise to Peter ranges over cities of souls, and rests upon heavenly thrones (...).
During the nature law, the family of Abraham was naturally propagated in the flesh from one to another, till it ended in the manifestation of the Incarnate God. But in the

Spiritual Law, Peter continues to live from Pope to Pope, till comes the second advent of the Son of Man, who is the Son of God. And those who were not naturally born from fathers descending from the seed of Abraham were debarred from the filiation of Abraham, and strangers to

the voice of the Prophet - "The Lord is our lot," (for such is the filiation of Abraham, and not that of the Gentiules without, seeing that the promises of God were made to him and all his seed for ever,) - in like manner those who are not spiritually generated by Peter's fathers

are equally, by each Pope for the time being, debarred from the filiation of Peter; so that they cannot by any means call God "our Father who art in heaven," as God allowed those who belonged to the family of Peter, not those who are strangers to his faith, to call Him thus.

And each one of who is not brought to be ruled under the crosier of such shepherds of Peter (the Roman Pontiffs), he does not belong to the flock of Christ. For to Peter, and to no one else, the Lord said, "Feed My lands, feed My sheep."