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Saint Peter

For other uses, see Saint Peter (disambiguation).

Pope Saint

Peter the Apostle
Saint Peter (c. 1610–1612) by Peter Paul Rubens, depicting Peter, vested in the pallium, and holding the Keys of Heaven
ChurchEarly Christian
See
Papacy beganAD 30[1]
Papacy endedBetween AD 64 and 68[1]
Successor
Orders
Ordinationby Jesus Christ, AD 30
Personal details
Born
Shimoun Bar Younah (Imperial Aramaic: 𐡔𐡌𐡏𐡅𐡍 𐡁𐡓 𐡉𐡅𐡍𐡄) (Simeon, Simon)

c. AD 1
Bethsaida, Golan Heights, Judaea, Roman Empire
DiedBetween AD 64 and 68 (aged 62–67)
Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire[3][4]
ParentsJohn (or Jonah; Jona)
OccupationFisherman, clergyman
Sainthood
Feast day
Venerated inAll Christian denominations that venerate saints and in Islam
CanonizedPre-Congregation
AttributesKeys of Heaven, Red Martyr, pallium, papal vestments, man crucified upside down, vested as an Apostle, holding a book or scroll, Cross of Saint Peter
PatronagePatronage list
ShrinesSt. Peter's Basilica Church of St. Peter
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Saint Peter[note 1] (Imperial Aramaic: 𐡔𐡌𐡏𐡅𐡍 𐡁𐡓 𐡉𐡅𐡍𐡄, romanized: Shimoun Bar Younah; died AD 64–68),[1] also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas (Imperial Aramaic: 𐡊𐡉𐡐𐡀, romanized: Kipa, lit. 'Rock'),[6] was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repeatedly and prominently in all four New Testament gospels as well as the Acts of the Apostles. Catholic tradition accredits Peter as the first bishop of Rome‍—‌or pope‍—‌and also as the first bishop of Antioch.

According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero. The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a major saint and as the founder of the Church of Antioch and the Church of Rome,[1] but they differ in their attitudes regarding the authority of his successors. According to Catholic teaching, Jesus promised Peter a special position in the Church.[7] In the New Testament, the name "Simon Peter" is found 19 times. He is the brother of Saint Andrew, and they both were fishermen. The Gospel of Mark in particular was traditionally thought to show the influence of Peter's preaching and eyewitness memories. He is also mentioned, under either the name Peter or Cephas, in Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians and the Epistle to the Galatians. The New Testament also includes two general epistles, First Peter and Second Peter, that are traditionally attributed to him, but modern scholarship generally rejects the Petrine authorship of both.[8] Nevertheless, Evangelicals and Catholics have always affirmed Peter's authorship, and recently, evangelical scholars have revived the claim of Petrine authorship of these epistles.[9]

Based on contemporary historical data, Peter's papacy is estimated to have spanned from AD 30 to his death, which would make him the longest-reigning pope, at anywhere from 34 to 38 years; however, this has never been verified.[1]

Saint Irenaeus (c. 130 – c. 202 AD) explains the Apostle Peter, his See, and his successors in book III of Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies).[10] In the book, Irenaeus wrote that Peter and Paul founded and organised the Church in Rome.[11]

Sources suggest that at first, the terms episcopos and presbyteros were used interchangeably,[12] with the consensus among scholars being that by the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries, local congregations were led by bishops and presbyters, whose duties of office overlapped or were indistinguishable from one another.[13] Protestant and secular historians generally agree that there was probably "no single 'monarchical' bishop in Rome before the middle of the 2nd century...and likely later."[14] Outside of the New Testament, several apocryphal books were later attributed to him, in particular the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, and Judgment of Peter, although scholars believe these works to be pseudepigrapha.[15][16][17]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles". www.newadvent.org.
  2. ^ Irenaeus, of Lyons. "CHURCH FATHERS: Against Heresies, III.3 (St. Irenaeus)". New Advent. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  3. ^ McDowell, Sean (2016). The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus. Routledge. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-317-03190-1.
  4. ^ Siecienski, A. Edward (2017). The Papacy and the Orthodox: Sources and History of a Debate. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-065092-6. scholarship largely came to accept Peter's death in Rome "as a fact which is relatively, although not absolutely, assured." While a select few were willing to make this judgment definitive
  5. ^ Richard T. Antoun; Donald Quataert (1991). "The Alawis of Syria Religious Ideology and Organization". Syria: Society, Culture, and Polity. Suny Series in Judaica. SUNY Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7914-0713-4 – via books.google.com.
  6. ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (1990). "Cephas and Peter". Journal of Biblical Literature. 109 (3): 463–74. doi:10.2307/3267052. JSTOR 3267052.
  7. ^ Matthew 16:18
  8. ^ Dale Martin 2009 (lecture). "24. Apocalyptic and Accommodation" on YouTube. Yale University. Accessed 22 July 2013. Lecture 24 (transcript) Archived 6 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ Jobes, Karen H. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1 Peter (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 7–18; Kruger, Michael J. "The Authenticity of 2 Peter", Journal of Evangelical Society, Vol. 42, No. 4 (1999), 645–671; Michaels, J. Ramsey. 1 Peter, WBC 49. (Texas: Word Books, 1988), i-lvii
  10. ^ Saint Irenaeus, of Lyons (13 November 2018). "4.1". The Third Book of St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Against Heresies. Creative Media Partners, LLC. ISBN 978-0-353-54233-4.
  11. ^ of Lyons, Saint Irenaeus (13 November 2018). "3.2". The Third Book of St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Against Heresies. Creative Media Partners, LLC. ISBN 978-0-353-54233-4.
  12. ^ Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1997 edition revised 2005, page 211
  13. ^ Cambridge History of Christianity, volume 1, 2006
  14. ^ Cambridge History of Christianity, volume 1, 2006, page 418
  15. ^ Chapman, Henry Palmer (1913). "Fathers of the Church" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  16. ^ Thomas Patrick Halton, On Illustrious Men Archived 22 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine, v. 100, CUA Press, 1999, pp. 5–7 ISBN 0-8132-0100-4.
  17. ^ "The Early Church Fathers" Archived 9 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Chapter 1, New Advent


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