Who is Peter?
Peter is the apostle who stands out in the New Testament as one of Jesus' closest disciples. His birth name is Simon; Jesus gives him the name Cephas or Peter. He works as a fisherman and follows Jesus together with his brother Andrew. In the Gospels, Peter often appears as the…
Peter is the apostle who stands out in the New Testament as one of Jesus' closest disciples. His birth name is Simon; Jesus gives him the name Cephas or Peter. He works as a fisherman and follows Jesus together with his brother Andrew. In the Gospels, Peter often appears as the disciple who speaks for the others, reacts quickly, and at times acts impulsively. For that reason his portrait holds together moments of strong faith and very visible weakness.
Peter is one of the disciples who openly confesses that Jesus is the Messiah; he is also remembered for denying Jesus three times when Jesus was arrested. After the resurrection, his restoration and renewed call to service become an important Christian example of repentance and renewal. In the book of Acts, he appears as a leading witness in the Jerusalem church; his speech on the day of Pentecost has a decisive place in the birth of the first community. The episode with Cornelius is also crucial in Peter's ministry, because it shows clearly that the gospel is open to the Gentiles as well.
Christian traditions honor Peter in common, but they emphasize his role differently. In Catholic tradition, Peter's primacy and his relationship to the church of Rome are treated as central for the doctrine of the papacy. In Orthodox tradition, Peter is a very important and leading apostle, yet his authority is understood more as a primacy of honor among the apostles. In Protestant tradition, Peter is likewise a foundational apostle, but the idea that he alone establishes a binding line for later church offices is generally not accepted. Even with these differences, the major traditions all read Peter as a flawed yet transformed witness.