St. Peter

You are Petros (Kephas), and on this rock I will build my Church. (Mt. 16:18)

Peter At a Glance

• Son the Jonah.

• Brother of Andrew.

• Born in Bethsheba.

• Married

• “Protos” which means “first” (always listed first on list of Apostles).

•Received the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven

•Mentioned 182 times in Scripture (John is next mentioned 34 times in Scripture)

• Jesus preached from his boat

• While Jesus was there, Peter witnessed two miraculous harvests of fish

• He attempted to walk on water

• Was told by Jesus, “Get behind me, Satan”

• Cut off Malchus’ ear

• Denied Christ three times

• Healed Aneneas at Joppa... and raised Tabitha

• Was first to enter the empty tomb of Christ

• At Pentecost, 3,000 were brought into the Church... announce the Great Proclamation “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

• Told to feed His lamb and tend to His sheep; spokesperson for Apostles

Small T Tradition: The Death of Peter

Tradition holds that around 65 A.D., persecutions of the followers of Christ by the emperor Nero began in earnest. First, he had self-acknowledged Christians arrested and tortured. Based on information from them, large numbers of others were condemned. Their methods of death were varied: some dressed in wild animal skins, they were torn to pieces by wild dogs; or they were crucified and made into torches to be ignited after dark as substitutes for daylight. Because of these persecutions, Christians in Rome feared that the Catholic Church would become extinct if anything happened to St. Peter and urged him to go into hiding.

Upon leaving Rome, St. Peter was said to have been confronted by the Risen Christ. It was in this setting that St. Peter asked Christ, who was walking towards him carrying a cross, “Why are you coming here?” The Lord replied that he was going to Rome to be crucified again, since St. Peter seemed intent on running away. Ashamed, St. Peter immediately turned back to Rome. He was soon captured and kept chained to a column nine months in a dungeon called the Tullian Keep. The guards were continually changed, as they were converted almost as soon as they were assigned to him. In the year 67 A.D., St. Peter was crucified upside down at his own request; for he stated that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Savior. After St. Peter was put on his cross, he continued to preach for three hours. St. Peter’s tomb is located directly below the main Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy.