Calling and Ministry
Andrew the First-Called brought his brother Simon to Jesus, who, looking on him, said, "Thou art Simon the son of Jonas; thou shalt be called Cephas" (John 1:42). Simon left his fishing to follow Jesus from the start of his ministry. Among the Twelve he became conspicuous as their leader, standing always at their head in the lists of the apostles.
Near Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus asked the disciples whom they believed him to be, Simon answered, "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus responded that he was Peter, the rock upon which he would build his church, against which the gates of hell would not prevail, and to whom he would give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Peter was among the three apostles privileged to witness the raising of Jairus's daughter, the Transfiguration, and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The Gospels preserve vivid moments of his discipleship: at the Last Supper he at first refused to let Jesus wash his feet, and in Gethsemane he drew a sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant. Having declared his readiness to die with his Master, he nonetheless denied Christ three times before the crucifixion.
Leadership of the Early Church
After the Ascension, Peter led the apostles in choosing a replacement for Judas. Following the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, he stood at the head of the apostles and delivered the first public sermon, winning a large number of converts. With John he performed the first apostolic public miracle, healing the lame man at the Beautiful Gate.
Peter conducted missionary journeys to Lydda, Joppa, and Caesarea. He cured the palsied Aeneas at Lydda and raised Tabitha (Dorcas) from the dead at Joppa. At Joppa he received a vision permitting the eating of animals previously held unclean, which opened the way to the conversion of the Gentiles; he then baptized the centurion Cornelius and his household at Caesarea, the first non-Jewish Christians. Acts 12 records his imprisonment by Herod Agrippa and his miraculous release by an angel.
At the Council of Jerusalem (c. AD 50–51), when a great divergence of views had arisen, Peter spoke the deciding word, recalling the conversion of Cornelius. Church tradition holds that he served as the first bishop of Antioch for seven years before traveling to Rome. While Peter was at Antioch, the Apostle Paul publicly rebuked him for withdrawing from table fellowship with Gentile Christians when Judaizers were present.
Writings
Two general (catholic) epistles bear Peter's name, known as First Peter and Second Peter, addressed to the Church of Christ. First Peter 5:13 mentions "Babylon," widely understood as a coded reference to Rome.
Peter is also regarded as the primary source behind the Gospel of Mark.
Martyrdom at Rome
It is an established historical tradition that Peter labored in Rome during the last part of his life and there ended his earthly course by martyrdom. Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, and Origen all attest to this. Origen states that Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer, considering himself unworthy to die in the same manner as his Lord. The Acts of Peter likewise records that he was crucified head down at Vatican Hill.
His death is placed under the Neronian persecution, between July of AD 64 and early 68. The Vatican Garden (Mons Vaticanus) is accepted as the likely place of execution. Jerome noted that Peter held the sacerdotal chair at Rome until the fourteenth year of Nero. Pope Clement I (c. 80–98) confirms his martyrdom.
Relics & Shrines
Constantine the Great erected a basilica over Peter's grave at the Vatican; it was replaced by the present St. Peter's Basilica in the sixteenth century. In 1950, human bones were discovered beneath the basilica's altar; forensic examination identified them as those of a male of about sixty-one years from the first century, and in 1968 Pope Paul VI announced that these were most likely the relics of the Apostle Peter. In 2019, Pope Francis transferred nine bone fragments to the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
The chains by which Peter was bound, venerated in Eastern usage on January 16, are kept at the church of S. Pietro in Vincoli in Rome, which was rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III (432–440); small filings from the chains were treated as precious relics.
Veneration
The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates Peter as the chief of the apostles (one of the koryphaioi) and a founding figure of the Churches of Antioch and Rome. His chief feast, kept together with the Apostle Paul, was observed at Rome on June 29 as early as the third or fourth century, commemorating their translation to the Appian Way in 258. In the Orthodox calendar his feast falls on June 29, preceded by the Apostles' Fast.
Although Peter and Paul are jointly commemorated on June 29 as the chief apostles, this profile treats Peter in a separate entry for clarity; the Apostle Paul is recorded separately (OS-2749). The veneration of Peter's chains is commemorated on January 16.
