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{{opinionarticle}}
''By [[User:Cpark|Calvin Park]]'', December 2003,
{{rtoc}}
Peter the Apostle has been looked to throughout church history as a model. [[Roman Catholicism | The Roman Catholic church]] has claimed St. Peter as the first [[Papacy | Bishop of Rome]], thereby lending legitimacy to the modern day papacy. Peter is widely considered to have been among the "inner circle" of [[Jesus]]' disciples (ex. Mark 5.12).
He is the central figure in much of the first twelve chapters of the [[Acts | Acts of the Apostles]]. Two epistles bear his name and some scholars argue that he was the source material that allowed [[John Mark | Mark]] to write his [[Mark | Gospel]]. Many apocryphal books deal with his preaching and deeds, and church tradition has a well developed story of his [[A Biography of Saint Peter#Martyrdom | martyrdom]].
But, amidst all of this the question must be raised, who was Peter? This man that is held in such high regard by some and who has captured the imagination of no few, who is he? There are two basic sources that a person may look to for information in this regard. First, the Bible itself has a wealth of information regarding Peter. Second, church history, tradition, and even apocryphal writings may shed some amount of light on the life of Peter, most notably his later life and ministry.
==After the Resurrection: The early church==
At this point a certain amount of tension might be expected. If one has read the Gospel accounts in their entirety there is no doubt that although Peter was a man of action, his action often goes in the wrong direction. Jesus constantly rebukes Peter, sometimes harshly (Matt 16.22-23) and sometimes gently (Matt 14.31). Yet in the beginning chapters of Acts this same disciple, the one who has been rebuked the most by Christ, even if because he acted the most in his presence, is again set forth as the principle speaker and action-taker of the Twelve, now reduced to eleven. It is this reduction that sets forth Peter as the action-taker within the first chapter of Acts. Peter "makes out a good case for the choice of an unblemished successor to Judas" (Thiede). It is Peter who sets out the requirements for [[Judas]]' replacement (Thiede), and it may even have been Peter who decided on the use of the lot to decide between the two possible replacements (Thiede). So as the book that will outline the earliest history of the church begins Peter is again in the spotlight. Still taking action, and maturing along the way. Undoubtedly, the author of Acts portrays Peter as an extremely important figure of the early Christian community.
Perhaps the greatest show of Peter's maturity in the book of Acts is his vision in [[Joppa]] and subsequent conversion of the gentile [[Cornelius]]. This narrative takes place near the end of Peter's recorded ministry in Acts, but it reveals much light on how Peter had grown over the years since the night when he denied his Lord. In the vision that Peter has, recorded in Acts 10.16, a voice commands him to eat unclean animals. Peter refuses in his classic manner by proclaiming that he has "never eaten anything unholy and unclean" (Acts 10.14). Yet verse seventeen is the first real light that is shed upon Peter's growth and maturity. In this verse Peter is greatly perplexed at the vision, and verse nineteen elaborates this point by saying that Peter was reflecting on the vision. He was thinking! At some point Peter had gone from an action-taker who did not think, or at the least thought only briefly and often came to wrong conclusions, to an action-taker (as can be seen in the fact that he does go and preach to Cornelius) who thought through things.
Peter's reflection is interrupted by the men Cornelius has sent, or more accurately, his reflection is interrupted by the [[Holy Spirit | Spirit]] telling him that men are looking for him and that he should accompany them (Acts 10.19-20). This narrative proceeds with Peter traveling to Cornelius' house and speaking the Gospel to all who were there (Acts 10.34-43). The narrative ends with the new converts speaking in tongues and being baptized (Acts 10.44-48). Some discount the miracles, and indeed the entire Cornelius narrative as nothing more than an attempt by the writer of the book of Acts to include Peter in a more favorable light towards the gentiles (Grant). However, with the presupposition that Acts is an accurate historical source, one may see how Peter has come to the right conclusion this time. In Acts 10.28 Peter explains that God has shown him that no man should be called unclean. This is undoubtedly an important revelation for Peter. Of great importance to the modern reader, it shows that Peter has truly thought things through. In the time period between Christ's death and Peter's vision the apostle has gained understanding. Perhaps we see in Peter, more than any of the other disciples, a man who has grown through his relationship with Jesus.
The narrative of Acts shifts from a focus on Peter to a focus on Paul half way through chapter twelve when the author reports that after escaping imprisonment and almost certain death Peter "left and went to another place" (Acts 12.17). This is the last appearance of Peter in the book of Acts save for a brief speech during the [[Jerusalem Council]] mentioned in chapter fifteen. This then nearly exhausts the information contained within the [[New Testament Canon]] regarding Peter. It is true that he is mentioned by Paul in both [[Galatians]] and [[1 Corinthians]], but chronologically speaking Peter is largely out of the picture aside from the aforementioned appearance at the [[Apostolic Council]] (Grant). It is now necessary to turn to Church history, tradition, and various apocryphal writings for an understanding of the later years of Peter's life.
==Later life==
Peter's leaving for "another place" (Acts 12.17) can possibly be dated to AD 41 or 42, this dating would also satisfy an [[Apocrypha | apocryphal]] command of Jesus that the [[Apostles]] should remain centered in [[Jerusalem]] for twelve years ([[Acts of Peter]] 2.5). It is possible that after departing from Jerusalem Peter visited [[Antioch]], as well as several towns in [[Asia Minor]] that are later mentioned in [[1 Peter]]. He may have visited Corinth, which would explain the reference that Paul makes to a "[[Cephas]] group" within that church ([[1 Corinthians | 1 Cor]]. 1.12,14; 9.5). It is important however to keep in mind that all of Paul's "references to Cephas in Galatians and 1 Corinthians are...distant and somewhat guarded" (Michaels).
Invariably any discussion of Peter's later missionary activity, indeed any discussion of his whereabouts and activities after Acts 15 must eventually come to a discussion of his alleged stay in Rome. Some have purposed that Peter had two stays in [[Rome]], the first of which began in the winter of AD 42 and was interrupted when Peter returned to Jerusalem after [[Herod Agrippa]]'s death (Thiede). The question of whether or not Peter ever even went to Rome has been questioned off and on for that past 800 years, beginning with the [[Waldensians]] (Cullmann). The Biblical record remains silent regarding this issue (Custer), the only arguments that may be made from the book of Romans on the issue are arguments from silence (Cullmann), such as the fact that "Peter was not one" (Custer) of the persons listed by Paul at the end of [[Romans]]. The only other possible reference to Peter in Rome in the [[New Testament]] is found in 1 Peter 5.13 where the writer sends greetings from the saints in "[[Babylon]]." Some scholars have taken Babylon to be a "cryptic name for Rome" (Cullmann). If this is the case then it makes at least some argument for Peter having stayed in Rome, though a single reference is far from conclusive. As has already been postulated one must move outside the realm of [[Scripture]] for an answer to the question of Peter's stay in Rome, and indeed for an explanation of Peter's [[martyrdom]] in general.
At least one scholar has commented that all the "earliest extant sources which comment on Peter's death agree that it happened in Rome" (Thiede). These earliest sources include [[Dionysius of Corinth]] dated to sometime between AD 166 and 174. However Dionysius contradicts [[Paul]]'s statement in Romans that he has not yet visited Rome (Rom. 1.9-10). This has caused some scholars to be dubious as to the accuracy of the remainder of what he has to say. Even with obvious objections being raised as to the historicity of Peter's stay in Rome "there is a large measure of agreement that Peter did go to Rome" (Grant). Assuming that this large measure of scholarship is correct, and that Peter did indeed stay in Rome there are certain other traditions regarding his stay. There is one strong tradition that he lived with [[Aquila]] and [[Priscilla]] during his time in the Imperial Capital (Grant). There is also a tradition that says Peter lived with [[Senator Pudens]] during this period. The apocryphal Acts of Peter attribute Peter's confrontation with [[Simon Magus]] to several locations finally ending in Rome. The final, and perhaps most important tradition regarding Peter in Rome is his martyrdom.
==Martyrdom==
The [[Acts of Peter]] record a legend in which Peter flees Rome when Nero began his persecution in AD 64. The legend says that Jesus appeared to him and asked him where he was going, Peter needed no more words and immediately turned around and headed back to the city (Grant 152). However there is an earlier, and far more respected text which may shed light on Peter's martyrdom; that text is the [[First Epistle of Clement]] (Cullmann). The epistle is commonly held to have been composed during AD 96 (Cullmann). The information on Peter is found in a section of the letter where Clement is making an argument that is vaguely reminiscent of [[Hebrews|Epistle to the Hebrews | Hebrews]] 12 and 13 where the author of that letter speaks of attested exemplars. In this section Peter is listed as one who bore many torments and afterwards went to a "place of glory" (1 Clem. 5.4-5). Nevertheless this text does not give a particular location for Peter's death. It is an unsatisfactory response to say that the place could not have been [[Rome]] because Clement knew nothing of Peter's martyrdom except what he mentioned. It is much more likely that Clement assumed "that it [the place of Peter's death] was known; moreover, he is not giving a report about martyrs but an example of the results of envy and strife" (Cullmann). "Constantine the Great was so convinced of the fact" (Grant) that Peter had died and been buried in Rome that he built St. Peter's Basilica over the site where tradition held Peter had been buried in the early 4th century. There had, apparently, been a shrine where the basilica was built since the late second century (Grant).
If it can be safely assumed that Peter died in Rome circa AD 65 (Reicke) than the final question that must be answered is the means of his death. Tradition has long held that Peter was crucified, like Jesus himself. One scholar has said, "those who mention the manner of his death are unanimous are this point" (Thiede). Those who look for Canonical evidence sometimes point to the [[John|Gospel of John]] when it says, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.' (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) " (John 21.18-19a) as proof that Peter would die by crucification. The [[Acts of Peter]] tells the story of his martyrdom and adds that he refused to be crucified right-side up, but demanded to be crucified upside down so as not to compete with Jesus. Although this tradition does come from the Acts of Peter it should not be immediately dismissed since it is mentioned by Origen and may have been "in line with the desire for novelty among the Roman henchmen" (Thiede). The vast majority of literary sources point to Peter having been martyred in Rome at some point during the reign of [[Emperor Nero]] (Cullmann). However, even with this evidence the means of Peter's death cannot be confirmed unequivocally (Grant).
==Conclusions==
Peter's life has been examined, from his humble beginnings in a back water province of the Roman Empire, to his meeting with the Son of the Living God, to his death, presumably, in the capital of the greatest of the ancient empires. Throughout his life Peter proved to be a man of faith; he stepped out on a wind-tossed sea to be with his Lord. He was often quick to act and slow to think in his early years, showing him to be a man of action. He had no qualms about cutting off the ear of someone who came to take his Lord away from him. Yet, many years later, it can be seen that Peter had matured a great deal and that, although he remained a man of both faith and action, he had brought these into at least some type of balance. Perhaps it is this human struggle and maturity, this humanity, that makes Peter one of the most interesting Biblical characters to study.
==Sources==
* <i>Peter</i> by Oscar Cullman
* <i>A Witness to Christ</i> by Stewart Custer
* <i>Saint Peter: A Biography</i> by Michael Grant
* <i>The Anchor Bible: The Epistles of James, Peter and Jude</i> by Bo Reicke
* <i>Simon Peter: From Galilee to Rome</i> bu by Carsten P. Thiede {{returnto}} [[Apostle Peter]]
