Peter

Peter (d. c.64), leader of the apostles. Most of what we know of him comes from the New Testament. He was called Simon, a native of Bethsaida, near the Sea of Galilee, and a brother of Andrew, who introduced him to Christ, who gave to him the name of Cephas (Peter) which means rock. Andrew and Peter, who was married, were fishermen by profession; Peter may have been the leader of a ‘cooperative’ which included the sons of Zebedee. In the list of the apostles he is always in the first place; he was one of the three apostles who were privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and the Agony in the Garden. The meaning of the name Peter was further explained by Christ when, in answer to Peter's famous confession of faith, recognized by Jesus as the result of revelation by the Father, Christ told him that he would be the rock on which his Church would be built, that the ‘gates of hell’ would never prevail against it, and that Peter would have the power of ‘binding and loosing’ (like the other apostles), but that he personally would be given ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven’. The strongly Aramaic character of this passage, together with the fact that it is present in all the earliest manuscripts of the Gospels, makes varied attempts to explain it away as an interpolation completely unconvincing. Christ also prophesied Peter's betrayal and subsequent strengthening of the other apostles; after the Resurrection Christ appeared to Peter before the other apostles and gave him later the mission to feed both the lambs and the sheep of Christ's flock. In the early chapters of the Acts of the Apostles Peter took the lead in deciding what should be done: he designated the successor to Judas; he preached authoritatively at Pentecost; he was the first apostle to work a miracle and soon became the most notable miracle-worker; he justified the apostles' teaching to the sanhedrim, condemned Ananias and Sapphira, admitted gentiles into the church with Cornelius; later he took a prominent part in the council at Jerusalem. Later still he was rebuked by Paul at Antioch for temporizing about eating with gentiles.

The venerable and early tradition which links Peter with an apostolate and martyrdom at Rome is not explicitly affirmed in the New Testament, but it is quite consistent with it, especially in view of Peter's first epistle mentioning ‘Babylon’, which is usually identified with Rome. Paul's preaching at Rome had been long delayed because it was his uaual policy not to preach where other apostles were at work. But Peter's presence in Rome is explicitly affirmed by many early witnesses such as Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Irenaeus. The same passages imply that he was its (virtual) founder, instituted the episcopal succession, and suffered martyrdom. Tradition affirms that he suffered under Nero and was crucified head-downwards (Origen), but the claim that his apostolate there lasted twenty-five years appears first in Jerome and is less convincing. Recent excavations at the Vatican, while of very great interest, do not conclusively prove that Peter's relics are under St. Peter's, although it is probable that the tomb is authentic. It is also most significant that Rome is the only city that ever claimed to be Peter's place of death.

Among various writings of apostolic or sub-apostolic times ascribed to St. Peter or his influence are the Gospel of Mark often claimed to represent his own catechesis; the First Epistle of Peter, although its authenticity has often been questioned, is very probably his. But the Second Epistle of Peter, which calls Paul's epistles ‘scripture’ and depends heavily on the epistle of Jude in crucial passages, is almost certainly much later than Peter's death. Other works called the Gospel of St. Peter, the Preaching of St. Peter, the Apocalypse of St. Peter, and the Acts of St. Peter are all documents of the 2nd century or later. They do, however, testify to the enormous importance attached to St. Peter in the early Church.

The history of the relics of Peter and Paul is uncertain. It seems that Peter was buried at the Vatican and Paul on the Ostian Way under his basilica; that both were venerated from very early times both in the Liturgy and in private invocation, testified by Greek and Latin graffiti in the catacombs of the early 3rd century. The alleged translation of the relics of both apostles in 258 to the catacombs is regarded by Delehaye and others as the initial date of their public, liturgical commemoration. Others place this, by conjecture, at the Peace of the Church in 313. If there is some doubt about the origin of the cult, there is none about its diffusion. From very early times Peter was invoked as a universal saint, as the heavenly doorkeeper, as the patron of the Church and the papacy, as one who was both powerful and accessible. In England there were important dedications to Peter from early times: monasteries such as Canterbury, Glastonbury, Malmesbury, Peterborough, Lindisfarne, Whitby, Wearmouth, and especially Westminster; cathedrals such as York, Lichfield, Worcester, and Selsey. The total of pre-Reformation churches dedicated to Peter in England has been calculated as 1, 129 as well as another 283 dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul together. His name is constant in all the calendars, with the principal feast with St. Paul on 29 June and a subsidiary feast on 1 August of St. Peter's Chains, commemorating his escape from prison.

Images of Peter are innumerable, but his portraiture (possible an early tradition) remains curiously constant, of a man with a square face, a bald or tonsured head, and a short square, curly beard. His principal attribute is a set of keys, sometimes with a ship or fish, or even a cock in memory of his denial of the Lord. Sometimes he is dressed in a toga; at other times vested as pope or bishop, with or without tiara or mitre. He is also portrayed crucified upside down. The cycles of his life mainly follow the incidents of his life in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles (Masaccio's frescoes in the Carmine church at Florence being outstanding). In England St. Peter was a familiar figure in the Middle Ages, appearing frequently in screen paintings (with the other apostles, in East Anglia), sculptures, or stained-glass windows. From the Norman Conquest to the 16th century it was an immensely popular Christian name, as it is also in the 20th century.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

• AA.SS. Iun. VII (1717), 1–174; F. J. Foakes Jackson, Peter, Prince of the Apostles (1927); R. Aigrain, S. Pierre (1948); O. Cullmann, Petrus (1952, Eng. tr. 1953); C. H. Turner, ‘St. Peter in the New Testament’, Theology, xiii (1926), 66–78 (reprinted in his Catholic and Apostolic, 1931). On his connection with Rome H. Lietzmann, Petrus und Paulus in Rom (2nd edn. 1927); D. W. O'Connor, Peter in Rome: the literary, liturgical and Archeological Evidence (1969); O. Karrer, Peter and the Church (1963); see also A. A. de Marco, The Tomb of Saint Peter (1964); J. Toynbee and J. W. Perkins, The Shrine of St. Peter and the Vatican Excavations (1956); also J. Dauvillier, Les Temps apostoliques (1970)

Chief among the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, he was a fisherman, originally named Simon (and often called Simon Peter). Jesus gave him the name Rock, of which “Peter” is a translation. Peter showed great faith but also exhibited great failings (see Get thee behind me, Satan). In the frightening hours before the Crucifixion, Peter three times denied being a follower of Jesus, just as Jesus had predicted he would. Nevertheless, Peter went on to become the leader of the early Christians (see Pentecost), thus fulfilling another prophecy of Jesus, who had said of Peter, “Upon this rock I will build my church.... And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”

Look up Peter or peter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Peter is a male given name.

Peter may also refer to:

People

The following people are known primarily by the name Peter:

In religion:

• Saint Peter (-68), Jesus' disciple
• Petrus Diaconus (Peter the Deacon) (-605), a confidant of Pope Gregory I and rector of Sicily, and a few others
• Peter (Bishop of Pavia) (d.735), saint and Bishop of Pavia
• Peter of Anagni (d.1105), saint and Bishop Of Anagni
• Peter, bishop of Zaragoza (Spain) in 1112
• Peter the Deacon (chronicler) (-c.1140), "the Librarian" (Bibliothecarius)
• Peter of Tarentaise (1102-1174), Archbishop of Tarentaise and saint
• Peter Pareuzi (d.1199), Papal legate, martyr and saint
• Peter, a companion in martyrdom of Berard of Carbio (-1220)
• Saint Peter of Verona (1206-1252), also known as Peter Martyr
• Peter of Auvergne (- after 1310), scholastic philosopher
• Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow (-1326)
• Peter of Aquila (-1361), Italian Franciscan theologian and bishop
• Peter of Bergamo (-1482), Dominican theologian
• Saint Peter the Aleut (-1815?), Eastern Orthodox Christian martyr in California
• Pope Peter II, one of several 20th century antipopes

Other persons:

• Peter (usurper) (6th century), Roman general
• Peter (floruit 926), Roman consul
• Peter (curopalates) (-602), Byzantine general and brother of Emperor Maurice
• Peter I of Bulgaria (-970), emperor of Bulgaria
• Peter, Duke of the Romans (11th century), Roman consul
• Peter of Maricourt, or Peter Peregrinus (13th century), writer on magnetism and astrolabes
• Peter I of Russia, or Peter the Great (1672-1725), the first Russian emperor
• Peter (actor) (1952), the stage name of Shinnosuke Ikehata, a Japanese dancer and actor who appeared in Akira Kurosawa's Ran

People with the surname Peter

• Friedrich Peter (1921 - 2005), Austrian politician
• John Peter (novelist) (1921 - 1983), Canadian literary scholar and novelist
• John Peter (field hockey) (1937 - 1998), Indian field hockey player
• Jomo Kenyatta (around 1894 – 1978), Kenyan leader, who briefly assumed the name John Peter when he converted to Christianity in 1914
• Philipp Peter (b. 1969), Austrian racing car driver
• Rózsa Péter (1905 - 1977), Hungarian mathematician
• Samuel Peter (b. 1980), Nigerian heavyweight boxer
• Werner Peter (b. 1950), former East German football player

Other

• "Peter" (short story), a 1892 short story by Willa Cather
• Peter (album), a 1993 EP by Canadian band Eric's Trip
• Peter, the Lord's cat, a cat who lived at Lord's Cricket Ground in London
• The Peter, or Peter Pomegranate, medieval warship

See also

• Pete
• Pierre (disambiguation)
• Petrus (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with Peter, including many people with forename Peter

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