I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matt. 16:19.
Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matt. 18:18.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. John 20:23.
In that dispute about the observance or nonobservance of the Law, Peter was the first of all to be endowed with the Spirit. After making an introduction, he addressed the calling of the nations, saying, “And now why are you tempting the Lord, concerning the imposition upon the brothers of a yoke that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear?” . . . This proclamation both “loosed” those parts of the Law that were abandoned and “bound” those that were retained. Hence, the power of loosing and of binding given to Peter had nothing to do with the mortal sins of believers. Tertullian (c. 212, W, Montanistic), 4.99.
When one judges unrighteously and does not bind upon earth according to the Word of God, nor loose upon earth according to His will, the gates of Hades prevail against him. However, in the case of anyone against whom the gates of Hades do not prevail, this man judges righteously. As a result, that person had the keys of the kingdom of heaven, opening to those who have been loosed on earth that they may also be loosed in heaven, and set free. Origen (c. 245, E), 9.459.
Those who maintain the function of the episcopate make use of this word as Peter (having received the keys of the kingdom of heaven from the Savior). They teach that things bound by them (i.e., condemned) are also bound in heaven and that those who have obtained remission by them are also loosed in heaven. I must say that they speak wholesomely if they have the way of life on account of which it was said to that Peter, “You are Peter.” And if they are such persons that upon them the church is built by Christ. . . . But if they are tightly bound with the cords of their sins, to no purpose do they bind and loose. . . . And if anyone who is not such a Peter, and does not possess the things spoken of here, yet he still imagines that as a Peter he will so bind on earth that the things bound are bound in heaven . . . he is puffed up, not understanding the meaning of the Scriptures. And being puffed up, he has fallen into the ruin of the devil. Origen (c. 245, E), 9.459.
“And whatever you will bind on the earth, etc.” . . . It seems to be indicated that the things that had been granted earlier to Peter alone are here bestowed on all persons who give the three admonitions to someone who has sinned [i.e., Matt. 18:15–18]. The result is that, if they are not heard [by the sinner], they will bind on earth him who is judged to be as a Gentile and a tax–collector. For such a one has been bound in heaven. Origen (c. 245, E), 9.494.
Someone may delude us with the pretense of repentance. However, God is not mocked, and He looks into man’s heart. So He will judge those things that we have imperfectly looked into. And the Lord will amend the sentence of his servants. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.331.
It is clear where and by whom remission of sins can be given. I speak of that which is given in baptism. For first of all the Lord gave that power to Peter, upon whom He built the church. He appointed and showed the source of unity—namely, the power that whatever he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. And after the resurrection, He spoke also to the apostles, saying, “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. And when he had said this, He breathed on them and said unto them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whosever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them. And those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’ ” Therefore, we perceive that only those who are set over the church and established in the Gospel law, and in the ordinance of the Lord, are allowed to baptize and to give remissions of sins. However, outside the church, nothing can be either bound or loosed. For there is no one there who can bind or loose anything. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.381.
Communion is relaxed to heedless persons! But this is a vain and false peace! It is dangerous to those who grant it. And it probably avails nothing to those who receive it. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.441.
Let no one cheat himself. Let no one deceive himself. The Lord alone can have mercy. He alone can bestow pardon for sins that have been committed against Himself. . . . The Lord must be appeased by our atonement. For He has said that he who denies Him, He will deny. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.442.
Speak as one having authority to judge offenders. For to you, O bishops, it is said, “Whatever you will bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you will loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390, E), 7.399.
This peace and haven of tranquility is the church of Christ, into which you restore them, when you have loosed them from their sins. Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390, E), 7.405.
The power of binding and loosing given to the apostles. — To instill the dread of the greatest fear, by which all might presently be restrained, He set forth beforehand the unyielding judgment of apostolic severity: so that those whom they bind on earth—that is, leave entangled in the bonds of their sins—and those whom they loose, namely by the confession that receives pardon unto salvation, these, by the condition of the apostolic sentence, are also either loosed or bound in heaven. — Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew, chapter 18, section 8. PL 9.1021C (356 AD)
There remains the third kind of repentance, about which let me say something briefly, so that with the Lord’s help I may keep my promise and complete what I have proposed. It involves a heavier and more sorrowful kind of penance, for those who are properly called penitents in the Church, who are barred from sharing in the sacrament of the altar, in case by receiving it unworthily they should eat and drink judgment upon themselves. There is a serious wound involved; perhaps adultery has been committed, perhaps murder, perhaps some sacrilege, a grave matter, a grave wound, lethal, deadly; but the doctor is almighty. Already, after the suggestion of the deed, and the liking of the idea and consent to it, and finally the perpetration of it, let the sinner be like one four days dead, and stinking. But not even this one has the Lord forsaken, but he has cried out, “Lazarus, come forth outside” (John 11:39–43). The weight of the grave has yielded to mercy, death has yielded to life, the underworld has yielded to the world on high. Lazarus was raised up, he came forth from the burial mound; and he was bound, as people are who do penance when they confess their sins. They have already come forth from death; because they wouldn’t confess unless they were coming forth. The very act of confessing is a coming forth from a hidden and dark place. But what does the Lord say to his Church? “Whatever you loose,” he says, “on earth, shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). Accordingly, after Lazarus has come forth, because the Lord has exercised his prerogative of mercy by bringing to confession one who was dead, hidden away and stinking; now the ministers of the Church carry out the rest: “Loose him, and let him go free” (John 11:44). – Augustine, Sermon 352.8
And justly he follows up and says to the apostles, “Whatever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven. And whatever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven” [Matt 18:18]. Notice how great is the power of heavenly grace that the Lord has given to his disciples, and through the disciples to the church, by granting this much, that whatever things are bound by the apostles and the church on earth have been bound also in heaven, and whatever is loosed on earth has been loosed also in heaven. Likewise through David the Holy Spirit mentions this exact thing when he says, “But your friends, O God, have been greatly honored by me; their rule has been greatly strengthened” [Ps 139:17]. In fact these friends of the Son of God, the apostles, have been greatly honored. To them such great authority was granted that their earthly judgments are heavenly judgments, that is, he testifies that what his church either binds or looses on earth with respect to each one is reported to the Lord as established and accepted. Therefore the Lord has mentioned this so that we may know how serious a sin it is not to hear the church, to which we see that the Lord has granted such great authority. Therefore in all things we ought to hear her admonition as good children of our true and proper mother, so that by the merits of our obedience and faith, we may merit to be received into the kingdom of heaven with the same church, having been loosed from all sin. But as for the one who thinks that the church is to be despised and not heard, someone of that sort is bound in the sins of his own disobedience and stubbornness, and he will not be able to have a share in heaven. Since, therefore, the Lord has given such great grace and authority to the church, that whatever she binds or looses on earth has been loosed in heaven, one must expend all one’s strength that, even if some sin occurs, each one shall be bound by the judgment of the church. He may be absolved by satisfaction, repentance, and prayers, since the one who says, “I do not will the death of the one who dies, but rather that he turn and live” [Ezek 18:32; cf. 33:11], doubtless has absolved by the judgment of his church even sinners by a just repentance. But the one who has been bound by some serious sin, without repenting, does not deserve to be loosed by the judgment of the church in the present life. A man of that sort cannot have any hope on the day of judgment, since what the church does not forgive, the Lord does not forgive, who has gifted his church with this grace. — Chromatius of Aquileia, Tractate 58 on Matthew 18:15-18, chapter 3
For they who inhabit the earth and make their abode there are entrusted with the administration of things which are in Heaven, and have received an authority which God has not given to angels or archangels. For it has not been said to them, “Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” Matthew 18:18 They who rule on earth have indeed authority to bind, but only the body: whereas this binding lays hold of the soul and penetrates the heavens; and what priests do here below God ratifies above, and the Master confirms the sentence of his servants. For indeed what is it but all manner of heavenly authority which He has given them when He says, “Whose sins ye remit they are remitted, and whose sins ye retain they are retained?” John 20:23 What authority could be greater than this? … 6. … The Jewish priests had authority to release the body from leprosy, or, rather, not to release it but only to examine those who were already released, and you know how much the office of priest was contended for at that time. But our priests have received authority to deal, not with bodily leprosy, but spiritual uncleanness — not to pronounce it removed after examination, but actually and absolutely to take it away. Wherefore they who despise these priests would be far more accursed than Dathan and his company, and deserve more severe punishment. For the latter, although they laid claim to the dignity which did not belong to them, nevertheless had an excellent opinion concerning it, and this they evinced by the great eagerness with which they pursued it; but these men, when the office has been better regulated, and has received so great a development, have displayed an audacity which exceeds that of the others, although manifested in a contrary way. … God has bestowed a power on priests greater than that of our natural parents. … but these others have often saved a sick soul, or one which was on the point of perishing, procuring for some a milder chastisement, and preventing others from falling altogether, not only by instruction and admonition, but also by the assistance wrought through prayers. For not only at the time of regeneration, but afterwards also, they have authority to forgive sins. “Is any sick among you?” it is said, “let him call for the elders of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up: and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him.” James 5:14-15 … priests have reconciled, not rulers and kings, but God Himself when His wrath has often been provoked against them. – John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood 3.5-6