What did the apostle Peter do in his life?

Answer 1

St. Peter was originally a commercial fisherman from the town of Bethsaida in Galilee. He was called by Our Lord to become an apostle and later was named as the first leader (pope) of the Church. He preached the Gospel and was eventually crucified upside down in Rome for being a Christian.

Answer 2

Saint Peter was a disciple of Jesus. He denied Christ three times after Jesus's death, as Jesus said he would, but ask for forgiveness and received it. When Jesus rose on Easter, Peter was "given the keys to the kingdom of God" and became the first Pope in the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer 3

A:

Catholic tradition says that the apostle Peter went to Rome to lead the Christian community, as the first bishop of Rome and therefore the first pope. Tradition really only tells one important thing that Peter did as pope, which was to appoint his successor, Linus. However, Francis A. Sullivan SJ (From Apostles to Bishops) says that it is the consensus of scholars, including Catholic scholars, that the church of Rome was led by a college of presbyters, rather than a single bishop, for at least several decades of the second century. It is inconceivable that the Christan community of Rome would so readily forget a precedent that Peter set by being its first bishop or his precedent of appointing a successor. The absence of bishops in Rome throughout the period almost until the middle of the second century militates against Peter ever having been the leader of Rome's Christians or of appointing Linus as the next pope. The tradition that Peter was the first pope or bishop of Rome comes from later in the second century.

Answer 4

A:The gospels say that the apostle Peter was a fisherman who followed Jesus. Acts of the Apostles say that he became the acknowledged leader of the Church after the death of Jesus and converted many.

If the Peter whom Saint Paul knew in Jerusalem was the same apostle, then he was one of the pillars of the Church in Jerusalem, although Paul seems to have deferred to James as the leader of the Church there.

A second-century tradition is that Paul later went to Rome to lead the Church there, and was executed by being beheaded but later by being crucified upside down, although there is no scritural support for this tradition. Clement of Rome, who wrote around 95 CE (1 Clement), spoke in general terms about the life and death of Peter but appears to have been unaware that Peter had even visited Rome and was certainly unaware that he had been executed, although he surely would have if this were the case.

Answer 5

Peter is considered the first pope even though the term 'pope' did not come into common usage until much later. Whether Peter was in Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome or elsewhere, he is still considered the first pope. Later, as the Church grew and a hierarchy developed. the Church established its headquarters in Rome as Rome was considered the center of the world at the time. It had good roads reaching out to the vast empire as well as ships that plied the Mediterranean. Missionaries could reach anywhere in the known world from Rome. As the pope was the highest ranking Church authority in Rome, he was automatically consider the Bishop of Rome.

From 1309 until 1377 popes reigned from Avignon in France. No matter, the pope was still the pope. Once the situation was resolved, the papacy returned to Rome and the pope again resumed his position as the Bishop of Rome along with his title of Pope. Even today, should Pope Francis make the unlikely decision to move the Church headquarters to, say, Buenos Aires, Argentina, he would still be Pope and the assigned Bishop of Rome would simply be the Bishop of Rome. The Pope would be the Bishop of Buenos Aires as well as pope of the Universal Church.

And, yes, Peter did reside, at least for a time, in Rome and died there under orders from Roman Emperor Nero. Francis A. Sullivan SJ in his book From Apostles to Bishops states unequivocally that Peter was in Rome and died there. His statement is based on both scripture as well as the writings of early Church fathers. The Church has ample evidence that Peter did rule from Rome at some time. But even if he had never stepped foot in the city, he was still the Pope. Being Bishop of Rome is not a prerequisite for the papacy. By default, if the pope is headquartered in Rome, he is also the bishop of that diocese.

Answer 6

A widely accepted tradition is that the apostle Peter travelled to Rome and led the Christian community there, becoming the first bishop of Rome and therefore first pope. This tradition probably originated during the second century and is not supported by biblical or contemporary writings. Even at the end of the first century, the author of 1 Clement appears unaware that St. Peter ever came to Rome.

The Church teaches that Peter appointed Linus as his successor as pope. Soon afterwards, Peter was crucified by Emperor Nero during Nero's persecution of the Christians in Rome. Both of these traditions also appear to have originated later in the second century. If Peter really did appoint Linus as bishop of Rome, then we would expect to find a continuing tradition of appointing monepiscopal bishops throughout the first century and into the second century. Francis A. Sullivan SJ (From Apostles to Bishops) says that it is the consensus of scholars that the church of Rome was led by a college of presbyters, rather than a single bishop, for at least several decades of the second century. While toeing the official line, this is an acknowledgement that even if Peter did visit Rome, he does not appear to have led the church there nor appointed a bishop to succeed him.

For more information, please visit:

http://christianity.answers.com/church-leadership/what-do-we-really-know-about-the-apostle-peter

http://christianity.answers.com/catholicism/a-brief-history-of-the-early-popes

Answer 7

There seems to be scriptural disagreement as to the role of Peter in the early church, and even by the second century it seemed unclear what his role had been.

The gospels portray Peter as chosen by Jesus to lead the church after his own departure. Paul, in his epistles, believed to have been written in the first two or three decades of Christianity, provides a somewhat different picture. He portrayed Peter as one of the three pillars of the Jerusalem Church, with James as its apparent leader. Certainly, according to Paul, Peter was not the charismatic, unchallenged leader portrayed a few decades later in Acts of the Apostles.

The second-century pope, Anicetus (156-166) claimed that Peter had travelled to Rome to lead the Christians there, and had been beheaded in Rome, meaning that he spoke with the authority of the apostle Peter. However, Clement of Rome (1 Clement, c. 95 CE) wrote of the life of Peter without seeming to know that he had either lived in Rome or been executed there.

Answer 8

Jesus considered Peter as being the rock on which Jesus would build the church.

Answer 9

Supposedly, founded the Church.

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And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

Answer 10

Peter was the 'chief' Administrator of the Apostles and the new Church of God spreading outwards.