Saint Peter

Life events

1. Born — -1

   Simon bar Jonah (Shimon bar Yonah) was born a Jewish fisherman in Bethsaida, named for his father Jonah or John. He and his brother Andrew worked as fishermen, later operating from Capernaum where Peter was also married.

2. Other — 30

   Near Caesarea Philippi, Simon confessed Jesus as 'the Messiah, the Son of the living God', upon which Jesus gave him the Aramaic name Cephas (kepha, 'rock') and, in Greek, Petros — declaring 'on this rock I will build my church' (Matthew 16:18). This scene is the exegetical foundation for both Catholic papal claims and Orthodox interpretations of apostolic primacy.

3. Other — 30

   During the events of Jesus' arrest, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times before the cock crowed, fulfilling Jesus' prior prediction; in John's gospel epilogue, Jesus three times asked Peter 'Do you love me?', restoring Peter's position after the threefold denial.

4. Other — 37

   Peter was listed first among the Twelve Apostles and served as the primary spokesman and leader of the Jerusalem ekklesia in the years after the resurrection, conducting the election of Matthias and playing a decisive role in the debate over admitting Gentile converts following his vision at Joppa. He was later arrested by Herod Agrippa (reigned AD 42–44) and, according to Acts, freed by an angel.

5. Other — 45

   Peter founded or co-founded the Christian community at Antioch and served there as its first bishop, according to Origen and Eusebius; Galatians 2:11 records that Paul opposed Peter to his face at Antioch over Peter's practice of separating from Gentile Christians at meals.

6. Other — 42

   Peter came to Rome, where, according to Lactantius, Origen, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius, he co-founded the Roman church with Paul and conferred the episcopal office upon Linus as his successor. Jerome assigns his arrival in Rome to the second year of Claudius (AD 42) and his tenure there at twenty-five years.

7. Martyred — 65

   Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero, according to early Church tradition placing the execution on Vatican Hill, in the context of Nero's persecution following the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64. Origen records that Peter was crucified head downward at his own request, deeming himself unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. This account underlies the inverted cross known as the Cross of Saint Peter.

8. Translated — 330

   Emperor Constantine I built the first Basilica of Saint Peter over the traditional site of Peter's burial on Vatican Hill, requiring excavation of the hillside because the burial location was too firmly fixed in Roman Christian belief to relocate. The high altar of the later Renaissance basilica stands directly above the tomb site, which a 1968 examination by Pope Paul VI associated with bones of a first-century male of approximately sixty-one years of age.

Relationships

Documented claims

• The name Cephas (Aramaic kepha) and its Greek equivalent Petros were both neologisms as personal names before Jesus applied them to Simon — Petros had not previously been used as a proper name in Greek. After the tradition of Peter's prominence became established, it became a widely popular Christian name. (likely)
• The Gospel of Mark is traditionally linked to Peter's preaching: Papias (recorded by Eusebius) wrote that 'Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered', and Clement of Alexandria states that Roman Christians requested Mark write out Peter's oral proclamation. The gospel is anonymous, and Petrine connection remains debated. (plausible)
• The apocryphal Acts of Peter (2nd century, Vercelli Acts XXXV) preserves the 'Quo vadis, Domine?' tradition: Peter, fleeing Rome to escape execution, meets the risen Christ on the Appian Way and asks 'Where are you going, Lord?'; Christ replies 'I am going to Rome to be crucified again', and Peter returns to accept martyrdom. The Church of Quo Vadis near the Catacombs of Saint Callistus commemorates the site. (legendary)
• In 1968 Pope Paul VI announced that bones excavated beneath the high altar of St Peter's Basilica were most likely Peter's relics: a forensic examination identified them as a first-century male of approximately 61 years. In 2019 Pope Francis transferred nine bone fragments in a bronze reliquary to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople as a gesture toward Catholic-Orthodox communion. (plausible)
• The Fisherman's Ring, bearing an image of Peter casting nets from a fishing boat, is worn by each pope in reference to Peter's pre-apostolic occupation. The keys on papal heraldry derive from the 'keys of the kingdom of Heaven' promised to Peter in Matthew 16:19 and depicted in both Western and Eastern iconography from at least the early eighth century. (likely)