Simon Peter
Saint Peter
Apostle Peter | |
|---|---|
| Apostle, Pope,[1] Patriarch, and Martyr | |
 Saint Peter (c. 1468) by Marco Zoppo, depicting Peter holding the Keys of Heaven and a book representing the gospel | |
| Church | Early Christian Great Church |
| See |
|
| Installed | AD 30[2] |
| Term ended | between AD 64 and 68[3] |
| Successor | |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | AD 33 by Jesus Christ |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Shimon Bar Yonah (Hebrew: שמעון בר יונה) (Simeon, Simon) |
| Born | c. AD 1 Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire |
| Died | between AD 64 and 68 (aged 62–67) Rome, Roman Empire[4][5] |
| Parents | John (or Jonah; Jona) |
| Occupation | Fisherman, clergyman |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day |
|
| Venerated in | All Christian denominations that venerate saints, Islam |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Attributes | Keys of Heaven, Red Martyr, pallium, papal vestments, rooster, man crucified upside down, vested as an Apostle, holding a book or scroll, Cross of Saint Peter. Iconographically, he is depicted with a bushy white beard and white hair. |
| Patronage | Patronage list |
| Shrines | St. Peter's Basilica |
Saint Peter[a] (r. AD 30;[2] died between AD 64 and 68[3]) also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon (/ˈsaɪmən/ (
listen)), Cephas, or Peter the Apostle, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, and one of the first leaders of the early Church.
According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero. He is traditionally counted as the first bishop of Rome—or pope—and also by Eastern Christian tradition as the first patriarch of Antioch. The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a major saint and as the founder of the Church of Antioch and the Diocese of Rome,[3] but differ in their attitudes regarding the authority of his successors. According to Catholic teaching, in Matthew 16 (Matthew 16:18) Jesus promised Peter a special position in the Church.
In the Acts of the Apostles, New Testament authorship is foreseen from Peter the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews and John the writer of the book of Revelation: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). The Gospel of Mark was traditionally thought to show the influence of Peter's preaching and eyewitness memories. Several other books bearing his name—the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, and Judgment of Peter—are considered by Christian denominations as apocryphal, and are thus not included in their Bible canons.[7][8][9]
Names and etymologies
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Peter's original name, as indicated in the New Testament, was "Simon" (Σίμων Simōn in Greek) or (only in Acts 15:14 and 2 Peter 1:1) "Simeon" (Συμεών in Greek). The Simon/Simeon variation has been explained as reflecting "the well-known custom among Jews at the time of giving the name of a famous patriarch or personage of the Old Testament to a male child along with a similar sounding Greek/Roman name".[10]
He was later given the name כֵּיפָא (Kepha) in Aramaic, which was rendered in Greek (by transliteration and the addition of a final sigma to make it a masculine word) as Κηφᾶς, from Latin and English Cephas (9 occurrences in the New Testament);[11] or (by translation with masculine termination) as Πέτρος, from Latin Petrus and English Peter (156 occurrences in the New Testament).[12]
The precise meaning of the Aramaic word is disputed, some saying that its usual meaning is "rock" or "crag", others saying that it means rather "stone" and, particularly in its application by Jesus to Simon, "precious stone" or "jewel", but most scholars agree that as a proper name it denotes a rough or tough character.[13] Both meanings, "stone" (jewel or hewn stone) and "rock", are indicated in dictionaries of Aramaic[14] and Syriac.[15] Catholic theologian Rudolf Pesch argues that the Aramaic cepha means "stone, ball, clump, clew" and that "rock" is only a connotation; that in the Attic Greek petra denotes "grown rock, rocky range, cliff, grotto"; and that petros means "small stone, firestone, sling stone, moving boulder".[16]
The combined name Σίμων Πέτρος (Simon Peter) appears 19 times in the New Testament. In some Syriac documents he is called, in English translation, Simon Cephas.[17]
Biographical information
Sources
Peter's life story is told in the four canonical gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, New Testament letters, the non-canonical Gospel of the Hebrews and other Early Church accounts of his life and death. In the New Testament, he is among the first of the disciples called during Jesus' ministry. Peter became the first listed apostle ordained by Jesus in the early church.[18]
Accounts
Peter was a fisherman in Bethsaida (John 1:44). He was named Simon, son of Jonah or John.[19] The three Synoptic Gospels recount how Peter's mother-in-law was healed by Jesus at their home in Capernaum (Matthew 8:14–17, Mark 1:29–31, Luke 4:38); this passage clearly depicts Peter as being married. 1 Corinthians 9:5 has also been taken to imply that he was married.[20]
In the Synoptic Gospels, Peter (then Simon) was a fisherman along with his brother, Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John. The Gospel of John also depicts Peter fishing, even after the resurrection of Jesus, in the story of the Catch of 153 fish. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus called Simon and his brother Andrew to be "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:18–19, Mark 1:16–17).
A Franciscan church is built upon the traditional site of Apostle Peter's house.[21] In Luke, Simon Peter owns the boat that Jesus uses to preach to the multitudes who were pressing on him at the shore of Lake Gennesaret (Luke 5:3). Jesus then amazes Simon and his companions James and John (Andrew is not mentioned) by telling them to lower their nets, whereupon they catch a huge number of fish. Immediately after this, they follow him (Luke 5:4–11). The Gospel of John gives a comparable account of "The First Disciples" (John 1:35–42). In John, the readers are told that it was two disciples of John the Baptist (Andrew and an unnamed disciple) who heard John the Baptist announce Jesus as the "Lamb of God" and then followed Jesus. Andrew then went to his brother Simon, saying, "We have found the Messiah", and then brought Simon to Jesus.
Three of the four gospels—Matthew, Mark and John—recount the story of Jesus walking on water. Matthew additionally describes Peter walking on water for a moment but beginning to sink when his faith wavers (Matthew 14:28–31).
At the beginning of the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples' feet. Peter initially refused to let Jesus wash his feet, but when Jesus told him: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me", Peter replied: "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head" (John 13:2–11). The washing of feet is often repeated in the service of worship on Maundy Thursday by some Christian denominations.
The three Synoptic Gospels all mention that, when Jesus was arrested, one of his companions cut off the ear of a servant of the High Priest of Israel (Matthew 26:51, Mark 14:47, Luke 22:50). The Gospel of John also includes this event and names Peter as the swordsman and Malchus as the victim (John 18:10). Luke adds that Jesus touched the ear and miraculously healed it (Luke 22:49–51). This healing of the servant's ear is the last of the 37 miracles attributed to Jesus in the Bible.
Simon Peter was twice arraigned, with John, before the Sanhedrin and directly defied them (Acts 4:7–22, Acts 5:18–42). After receiving a vision from God that allowed for the eating of previously unclean animals, Peter takes a missionary journey to Lydda, Joppa and Caesarea (Acts 9:32–Acts 10:2), becoming instrumental in the decision to evangelise the Gentiles (Acts 10). Simon Peter applied the message of the vision on clean animals to the gentiles and follows his meeting with Cornelius the Centurion by claiming that "God shows no partiality"(Acts 10).[22]
According to the Acts of the Apostles, Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem to Samaria (Acts 8:14). Peter/Cephas is mentioned briefly in the opening chapter of one of the Pauline epistles, Epistle to the Galatians, which mentions a trip by Paul the Apostle to Jerusalem where he meets Peter (Galatians 1:18). Peter features again in Galatians, fourteen years later, when Paul (now with Barnabas and Titus) returned to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:7-9). When Peter came to Antioch, Paul opposed Peter to his face "because he [Peter] was in the wrong" (Galatians 2:11).[23]
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Acts 12 narrates how Peter, who was in Jerusalem, was put into prison by Agrippa I (A.D. 42–44), but was rescued by an angel. After his liberation Peter left Jerusalem to go to "another place" (Acts 12:1–18). Concerning Peter's subsequent activity there is no further connected information from the extant sources, although there are short notices of certain individual episodes of his later life.[3]
First leader of the early Church
The Gospels and Acts portray Peter as the most prominent apostle, though he denied Jesus three times during the events of the crucifixion. According to the Christian tradition, Peter was the first disciple to whom Jesus appeared, balancing Peter's denial and restoring his position. Peter is regarded as the first leader of the early Church,[24][25] though he was soon eclipsed in this leadership by James the Just, "the Brother of the Lord".[26][27] Because Peter was the first to whom Jesus appeared, the leadership of Peter forms the basis of the Apostolic succession and the institutional power of orthodoxy, as the heirs of Peter,[28] and he is described as "the rock" on which the church will be built.[24]
Position among the apostles
Peter is always listed first among the Twelve Apostles in the gospels[29] and in the Book of Acts (Acts 1:13). He is also frequently mentioned in the gospels as forming with James the Elder and John a special group within the Twelve Apostles, present at incidents at which the others were not present, such as at the Transfiguration of Jesus,[30] at the raising of Jairus' daughter[31] and at the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.[32] Peter often confesses his faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
Peter is often depicted in the gospels as spokesman of all the Apostles.[33] John Vidmar, a Catholic scholar, writes: "Catholic scholars agree that Peter had an authority that superseded that of the other apostles. Peter is their spokesman at several events, he conducts the election of Matthias, his opinion in the debate over converting Gentiles was crucial, etc.[34]
The author of the Acts of the Apostles portrays Peter as the central figure within the early Christian community.[note 1]
Denial of Jesus by Peter
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All four canonical gospels recount that, during the Last Supper, Jesus foretold that Peter would deny him three times before the following cockcrow ("before the cock crows twice" in Mark's account). The three Synoptics and John describe the three denials as follows:
- A denial when a female servant of the high priest spots Simon Peter, saying that he had been with Jesus. According to Mark (but not in all manuscripts), "the rooster crowed". Only Luke and John mention a fire by which Peter was warming himself among other people: according to Luke, Peter was "sitting"; according to John, he was "standing".
- A denial when Simon Peter had gone out to the gateway, away from the firelight, but the same servant girl (Mark) or another servant girl (Matthew) or a man (Luke and also John, for whom, though, this is the third denial) told the bystanders he was a follower of Jesus. According to John, "the rooster crowed". The Gospel of John places the second denial while Peter was still warming himself at the fire, and gives as the occasion of the third denial a claim by someone to have seen him in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested.
- A denial came when Peter's Galilean accent was taken as proof that he was indeed a disciple of Jesus. According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, "the rooster crowed". Matthew adds that it was his accent that gave him away as coming from Galilee. Luke deviates slightly from this by stating that, rather than a crowd accusing Simon Peter, it was a third individual. John does not mention the Galilean accent.
In the Gospel of Luke is a record of Christ telling Peter: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." In a reminiscent[39] scene in John's epilogue, Peter affirms three times that he loves Jesus.
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