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The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please help restore neutrality by reporting disputed terms and phrases on Talk:Saint Peter, so that disputed parts can be settled.
Saint Peter (died c. 67) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. His original name was Simon (שמעון "Hearkening; listening", Standard Hebrew Šimʿon, Tiberian Hebrew Šimʿôn), but he was given the nickname of Peter, which means rock in Greek (Petros); Saint Paul called him Cephas or Kephas, which is the Aramaic equivalent of the nickname. This nickname is explained by the statement of Jesus Christ that either he or his faith is "the rock I will build my community on" (Matthew 16:17-19), a passage found in all of the synoptic gospels (Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20), but only Matthew adds the that Peter will receive "the keys to the kingdom of Heaven" (although it can as easily be read to mean that the Apostles in general receive this). He is sometimes referred to as Simon Peter.
Most details of Peter's life depend primarily on the New Testament. There are no contemporary accounts of his life or death. Before becoming a disciple of Jesus, Simon (i.e., Peter) was a fisherman. The synoptic gospels all recount how his mother-in-law was healed by Jesus at their home in Capernaum (Matt. 8:14-17; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38f), so we know he was married, but the name of his wife is not known. A number of later legends mention that he had a daughter.
While fishing in the John 1:40-42), along with his brother Andrew. Seeing them cast a net for fish, he told them "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
The gospels also state that Jesus foretold that Peter would deny him three times after Jesus' arrest. Again according to the Gospel of Matthew, on the evening before Good Friday, Jesus predicted to his disciples that they would "fall away" from him that night. Peter replied, "Even if all desert you, I will never desert you." Jesus answered, "In truth I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times." Confronted after Jesus had been arrested, Peter did deny knowing Jesus to avoid being arrested himself. When he heard a cock crow, he remembered what Jesus had said, and wept. (Matt. 26:31-35, 69-75; Mark 14: 26-31, 66-72; Luke 22:31-34,54-62; John 18:15-18, 25-27).
The author of Acts portrays Peter as an extremely important figure of the early Christian community, excepting Paul. Peter takes the lead in selecting a replacement for Judas (1:15); he is twice examined, with John, by the Sanhedrin (4:7-22; 5:18-42); he undertakes a missionary journey of Lydda, Joppa and Caesarea (9:32-10:2); and is present at the Council of Jerusalem, where Paul argued his case for converting the non-Jews, or gentiles, to the Gospel.
From the early Christian writings, it is clear that Peter was considered one of the principal members, if not leaders of the early community. Not only do most of the gospels suggest that he was favored by Jesus, both the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Thomas make a clear effort to display their own champions as more important than Peter.
After the author of Acts turns his attention away from Peter and to the activities of Paul, we lose sight of Peter's movements. It is clear that he lived in Antioch for a while, for not only did Paul confront him there (Galatians 2:11f), but tradition makes him the first bishop of that city, and thus the first Patriarch of Antioch. Some scholars interpret Paul's mention of Peter in 1 Corinthians 1:12 as evidence that Peter had visited Corinth. A far more insistent tradition, at least as early as the first century, is that he came to Rome, where he was martyred. The Gospel of John suggests that Peter was martyred by crucifixion ("when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and take you where you do not want to go" John 21:18), and Clement of Rome in his Letter to the Corinthians placed his death in the time of Nero. Later traditions hold that the Romans crucified him upside-down by his request; he did not want to equate himself with Jesus. On the way to his execution, it is said, he encountered Jesus and asked: "Domine, Quo Vadis?" ("Lord, where are you going?"). Other versions of this story claim that this occurred as Peter was fleeing Rome to avoid his execution; Jesus' response, "I am going to Rome, to be crucified again", caused him to turn back. The Church of Quo Vadis, near the Catacombs of Saint Callistus, contains a stone in which Jesus' footprints from this event are supposedly preserved, though this was actually apparently an ex voto from a pilgrim, and indeed a copy of the original, housed in the Basilica of St. Sebastian.
The New Testament includes two letters (or epistles) ascribed to Peter. While neither demonstrate the quality of Greek expected from an Aramaic fisherman who learned it as a second or third language, a number of scholars have argued that if his first epistle was not at least written by him with the help of a secretary or amanuensis, then its author was a close associate of Peter who not only knew his opinions well, but felt comfortable speaking in Peter's name.
The Second Epistle of Peter is another case; it has long lacked advocates for its cause. According to the scholar Raymond E. Brown, this writing was ignored until around 350 by the Western Church, and even after that time was rejected by many Christians. In the East, this work was not accepted for even a longer period, and the Syriac Church only admitted it into the canon in the 6th century. This letter betrays a dependence on the Epistle of Jude, and some modern scholars date its composition as late as AD 250.
The Gospel of Mark is generally attributed as being the teachings of Peter, recorded by Mark.
There are also a number of apocryphal writings that have been either attributed or written about Peter. These include:
| Saint Peter | |
|---|---|
| Apostle and Martyr | |
| Born | Bethsaida, Galilee |
| Died | ca. AD 67, Rome, Italy |
| Venerated in | All Catholic Christianity |
| Major shrine | St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City |
| Feast | June 26 |
| Attributes | Key(s) |
| Patronage | Popes, fishermen; Rome; against snake bites, rabies; and more |
In Roman Catholic tradition, Peter is considered the first bishop of Antioch, and later bishop of Rome and therefore the first Pope. The first epistle ends with "The church that is in Babylon, chosen together with you, salutes you, and so does my son, Mark." (1 Peter 5:13), but Babylon has sometimes been taken figuratively to mean Rome.
The Roman Catholic Church makes use of his position as first bishop of Rome (although Ireneus lists Linus as Rome's first Bishop), and Jesus' statement that Peter was the rock upon which he would build his community, in the case for papal primacy. The popes are thus the successors of Peter and as a result, retain his privileges, given by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 16:18-19).
St. Peter's Basilica is built at the site of Peter's alleged crucifixion, and beneath the main altar there is an altar dedicated to St. Peter. Recent excavations have discovered a burial chamber even deeper beneath this altar where one skeleton, which was missing its feet, was interred with special honor. Some archeologists propose that these are the actual remains of Saint Peter, supposing that after dying by crucifixion (upside-down according to tradition), his feet were cut off to remove him from the cross. Pope John Paul II always visits the altar of Saint Peter before leaving Rome on an apostolic journey.
St. Peter's Basilica, Quo vadis, The Big Fisherman, San Pietro in Vincoli
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