The Life and Works of St. Peter the Apostle. Part1

St. Peter the Apostle, original name Simeon or Simon, (died 64 ce, Rome [Italy]), disciple of Jesus Christ, recognized in the early Christian church as the leader of the 12 disciples and by the Roman Catholic Church as the first of its unbroken succession of popes. Peter, a Jewish fisherman, was called to be a disciple of Jesus at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He received from Jesus the name Cephas (from Aramaic Kepa [“Rock”]; hence Peter, from Petros, a Greek translation of Kepa).  As a former fisherman, he is the patron saint of netmakers, shipbuilders, and fishermen, and, because he holds the “keys of heaven,” he is also the patron saint of locksmiths. Possibly because he is said to have walked on water with Jesus, he is the patron saint of cobblers and of those with foot problems.

          

 The man and his position among the disciples

The sources of information concerning the life of Peter are limited to the New Testament: the four Gospels, Acts, the letters of Paul, and the two letters that bear the name of Peter. He probably was known originally by the Hebrew name Simeon or the Greek form of that name, Simon. His family originally came from Bethsaida in Galilee (John 1:44), but during the period of Jesus’ ministry Peter lived in Capernaum, at the northwest end of the sea of Galilee, where he and his brother St. Andrew were in partnership as fishermen with St. James and St. John, the sons of Zebedee (Gospel According to Luke 5:10).

The Gospels agree that Peter was called to be a disciple of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, but when and where the event took place is recorded differently in the several Gospels. Luke (5:1–11) scarcely mentions James and John and omits Andrew while emphasizing the call of Peter. Matthew (4:18–22) and Mark (Gospel According to Mark1:16–20) note the call of the four men and with Luke agree that the event took place at the Sea of Galilee. The Gospel According to John places the call in Judaea (1:28) and states that Andrew who had been a follower of St. John the Baptist (1:35) and had heard John indicate that Jesus was the Lamb of God left John and introduced Peter to “the Messiah,” who at that time gave him the name (or title) Cephas (i.e., Peter, or Rock). 

The Synoptic Gospels largely agree in the amount of emphasis each gives to the leadership of Peter among the Twelve Apostles, with differing degrees of emphasis, the Synoptic Gospels agree that Peter served as spokesman, the outstanding member of the group, and enjoyed a certain precedence over the other disciples. Whenever the disciples are listed, Peter is invariably mentioned first (Matthew 10:2–4; Mark 3:16–19; Luke 6:14–16; Acts 1:13; compare only Galatians 2:9).

To be continued….

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