How did Saint Peter contribute to the early Christian Church?

Answer 1

Peter was appointed as the first Pope about the year A.D. 33 by Our Blessed Lord, Himself (read St. Matthew's Gospel 16:17-19).

Although, it is important to note that the Italian "Papa"Â from which we get "Pope"Â wasn't used at first, the first bishop of Rome to be contemporaneously referred to as "pope" (pappas, or pappas) is Damasus I (366-84) (Baumgartner, 2003, p. 6).

From there we know that our first Holy Father, or Vicar of Christ (his title is based on the chief steward of the Jewish Kingdom (see Isaiah 22:15-25) on which Christ modeled his Vicar by giving him the "keys of the Kingdom" (St. Matthew 16:19).

From There St. Peter went to Rome, we know this from his own testimony in his first letter where he tells us that he is writing from "Babylon" which was the Christian code word for Rome at that time. Subsequently he and St. Paul were both martyred there and St. Peter was buried on Vatican Hill, his tomb has been excavated beneath the high altar of St. Peter's, you may view the evidence at the link below. In the Liber Pontificalis which is a list of all the Popes from the very beginning, it lists St. Peter as ruling the Church from 32 A.D. until his martyrdom in A.D. 67. We know that St. Peter was martyred in Rome and buried beneath the high altar of St. Peter's as the graffiti on the wall around the tomb, which indicates St. Peter was buried there, was written by those who were present and gave him their allegiance as Bishop of Rome. Plus their children and grandchildren, carrying on the tradition, right down to the present day.

So, St. Peter was the first pope, and was buried in his tomb, which you can go to see at the present time. His tomb has been venerated all throughout history, even during the terrible persecutions of the first two centuries. People gave their lives to transmit this information on the Pope on which Our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, founded His Church, and we must respect those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to give this knowledge to future generations, and on to us. Thus we have, from the Liber Pontificalis the following list of popes, and their dates:

1. St. Peter (32-67)

2. St. Linus (67-76)

3. St. Anacletus (Cletus) (76-88)

4. St. Clement I (88-97)

5. St. Evaristus (97-105)

6. St. Alexander I (105-115)

7. St. Sixtus I (115-125) Also called Xystus I

from The Essential Catholic Survival Guide Answers to Tough Questions About the Faith by the Staff of Catholic Answers; Nihil Obstat: Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004, Imprimatur: +Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004, © 2005 by Catholic Answers, Inc. San Diego, CA

Early Christian Testimony

William A. Jurgens, in his three volume set The Faith of the Early Fathers, a masterly compendium that cites at length everything from the Didache to John Damascene, includes thirty references to this question, divided, in the index, about evenly between the statements that "Peter came to Rome and died there"Â and that "Peter established his See at Rome and made the Bishop of Rome his successor in the primacy." A few examples must suffice, but they and other early references demonstrate that there can be no question that the universal and very early position (one hesitates to use the word tradition, since some people read that as legend) was that Peter certain did end up in the capital of Rome.

Tertullian, in The Demurrer against the Heretics (A.D. 200), noted of Rome, "How happy is that church . . . where Peter endured a passion like that of the Lord, where Paul was crowned in a death like John's [referring to John the Baptist, both he and Paul being beheaded]. Fundamentalists admit that Paul died in Rome, so the implication from Tertullian is that Peter also must have been there. It was commonly accepted, from the very first, that both Peter and Paul were martyred at Rome, probably in the Neronian persecution of the 60s.

In the same book, Tertullian wrote that "this is the way in which the apostolic churches transmit their lists: like the church of the Smyrneans, which records that Polycarp was placed there by John; like the church of the Romans, where Clement was ordained by Peter." This Clement, know as Clement of Rome later would be the fourth pope. Clement wrote his Letter to the Corinthians perhaps before the year 70, just a few years after Peter and Paul were killed, in it he made reference to Peter ending his life where Paul ended his.

In his Letter to the Romans (A.D. 110), Ignatius of Antioch remarked that he could not command the Roman Christians the way Peter and Paul once did, such a comment making sense only if Peter had been a leader, if not the leader, of the church in Rome.

Irenaeus, in Against Heresies (A.D. 190) said that Matthew wrote his Gospel, "while Peter and Paul were evangelizing in Rome and laying the foundation of the Church." Â A few lines later he notes that Linus was named as Peter's successor, that is, the second pope, and that next in line were Anacletus (also know as Cletus), and then Clement of Rome.

Pope Francis visits St. Peter's tomb under Vatican

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-visits-st-peters-tomb-under-vatican/

Is it really the Tomb of Saint Peter under Saint Peter’s Basilica?

http://www.culturaltravelguide.com/real-tomb-saint-peter-under-saint-peters-basilica

Answer 2

Acts of the Apostles describes how the apostle Peter led the Church following the ascension of Jesus. It tells of Peter calling for the appointment of an apostle to replace Judas Iscariot, of the awe-inspiring miracles he wrought and of the many thousands of Jews he converted. However the consensus of modern New Testament scholars is that Acts is at best exaggerated, and at worst entirely unhistorical. Uta Ranke-Heinemann (Putting Away Childish Things) says that the whole book is a work of Propaganda. Hans Joachim Schoeps writes that Acts has been believed much too readily, saying that Acts is only a retrospective view of Christian origins written by one party - the winners. If the book of Acts is not a true history, we can still look at Paul's epistles as a more reliable account ofSt Peter's contribution to the early Christian Church.

Paul (Galatians 2:9) saw Peter as one of the three pillars of the Church in Jerusalem, and says that he was the apostle to the Jews. Peter travelled to Antioch, either as part of his mission to the Jews, or to cause trouble for Paul who says, "I withstood him to the face" (Galatians 2:11). The epistles are a more credible account, if only because neither Paul nor Peter performed great miracles but did their best to spread Christianity. From the number of Christian communities Paul established, we know that he was successful in this endeavour, but we do not know how successful Peter actually was - although we can say that not many Jews were actually converted in Jerusalem.

A second-century tradition has Peter go to Rome to lead the church there, executed by Nero around 65 CE. He appointed his successor as bishop of Rome, with a continuous succession of bishops down to the present day. However, Francis A. Sullivan SJ (From Apostles to Bishops) says that the Catholic position remains far from easy to establish. He says that it is the consensus of scholars that the church of Rome was led by a college of presbyters, rather than a single bishop, for at least several decades of the second century. Not only is there no evidence that Peter ever went to Rome, it is improbable in the extreme that an apostolic precedent of a bishop of Rome would be so soon abandoned and ignored for almost a hundred years.

Answer 3

From the day that Peter met Jesus, he was singled out by Jesus to be a "rock" of strength for others. He was a natural born leader and quickly became the spokesman for the whole group. Yet with all his self confidence and boldness, Peter was teachable. With each rebuke from the Lord for something he says or does, he is teachable and open to correction. It is only after Peter's denial of Jesus and his restoration by Jesus that Peter's fiery disposition is redirected as a "rock" to the rest of the disciples. After Jesus' resurrection and ascension and the arrival of the Holy Spirit, Peter becomes a key leader and a chief spokesman for the newly forming church in Jerusalem.

Answer 4

Saint Peter played a crucial role in the early Christian Church as one of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus. He was a leader among the disciples, preached the Gospel after Jesus' death, and played a central role in establishing the early Christian community in Jerusalem and beyond. Peter's teachings and martyrdom are significant in shaping the foundation of the Christian Church.

Answer 5

St. Peter the Apostle was the first Pope. He was martyred in Rome, by being crucified upside down.