The POPE Encyclopedia
ISNET Homepage | MEDIA Homepage | Program Kerja | Koleksi | Anggota
ST. PETER
The first pope, the Prince of the Apostles, founder of the see of Rome, and the disciple of Jesus chosen to serve as Vicar of Christ, the Rock upon whom Christ built the Church. Peter is a figure of such importance in the history of the Church and the establishing of the papacy that it is easily forgotten that he lived as a simple fisherman for much of his life with his brother Andrew in the small community where he was born, Bethsaida, near Lake Tiberias in Galilee. Throughout the accounts in the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, Peter appears as a fiery, strong, and even hotheaded individual. His call by Christ to be a disciple, as reported in the Gospel according to Luke, came about after he caught a miraculous amount of fish, so many that he collapsed at the knees of Christ, to which Jesus replied: "Do not be afraid; henceforth you shall be catching men.'' Simon (as he was originally known) was forever after the leading disciple, receiving from Christ the important new name of Cephas, meaning "rock.'' In Greek this was translated as Petros, from which Peter is derived. Christ also gave to Peter the so-called Power of the Keys after the disciple proclaimed, "You are Christ, the Son of the living God.'' One of the inner circle of Christ with John and James, Peter was involved in virtually all of the major events in the years of Christ's ministry. He also was quite prominent in the Passion accounts. For example, when Christ was arrested, he lopped off the right ear of a servant of the high priest, and that same night he denied Christ three times, as the Master had predicted. After the Resurrection, however, he was unquestionably the foremost of the Apostles, performing miracles, the first of Christ's followers to do so; his powers were so formidable as a healer that he was able to restore the sick with his shadow. In the years that followed, Peter was the unquestioned head of the fledgling Church, traveling extensively across much of the Roman world. It was inevitable, then, that he should come to Rome, noting in his first Epistle that he was writing from Babylon, the name customarily used for Rome. While his activities are quite obscure, it is clear that he was put to death in the Eternal City during the persecution launched by Emperor Nero around 64. As founder of the see of Rome, Peter was naturally singled out for arrest, reportedly begging the Romans to crucify him upside down because he was unworthy of dying in the same manner as his Master. His work in Rome was recognized even in the Early Church as establishing a religious primacy, with the Petrine See (as the diocese of Rome is called) enjoying a position of primacy over the Universal Church. Peter's successors as Bishops of Rome thus were holders of the same authority as Peter himself, a central pillar of their claims to primacy over the entire Church. His symbols are the crossed keys, for the Keys of the Kingdom; a cock for the triple denial of Christ (the cock crowed after his denials); and the boat (hence the term Barque of Peter). Successor: St. Linus. (See also Holy See; box, Martyred Pontiffs, page 236; Petes's Chains, Feast of, Primacy of the Pope; Rome; Saint Peter; Basilica of; and Tomb of Peter.)
THE POPE ENCYCLOPEDIA - Matthew Bunson Published by Crown Trade Paperbacks 201 East 50th Street, New York New York 10022, USA ISBN 0-517-88256-6
ISNET Homepage | MEDIA Homepage | Program Kerja | Koleksi | Anggota