Saint Peter (Shimʿôn, in Aramaic Kêphâs, "the Rock"), born at Bethsaida in Galilee and martyred at Rome about 64–67, is the first of the Twelve Apostles and, together with Saint Paul, one of the two pillars of the early Church. A fisherman on the Sea of Galilee and brother of Saint Andrew, he was called by Jesus, given a new name, was the first to confess the divinity of Christ, denied him three times, then, forgiven, became the shepherd of the flock and a witness of the Resurrection unto martyrdom.[1][2]
This article belongs to the "Saints of the Origins and of the Fathers" series: it treats the Gospel figure of Peter, his holiness, his spirituality — and above all his work as a sacred author. For Peter is not only a figure of the Scriptures: he is also one of their authors. Two canonical epistles bear his name, and the oldest tradition sees behind the Gospel of Mark the very preaching of Peter set down in writing.[3][4] The properly dogmatic case for his primacy and the papacy, like the archaeology of his tomb, is developed in the articles Pope Saint Peter and Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome; here they are only recalled.
"You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." — Jesus Christ to Simon Peter, Gospel according to Saint Matthew 16:18[5]
Why is Saint Peter a pillar of the Church?
The fisherman become rock
The paradox of Peter runs through the whole Gospel: this man of the lake, spontaneous, generous and fragile, is the one Christ chooses as foundation. He walks on the water, then sinks; he confesses the Son of God, then is called "Satan"; he swears to die with his Master, then denies him before a servant girl.[6][7][8] In his catechesis on the apostle, Benedict XVI stresses that Peter's very weakness, purified by repentance, prepared him to become shepherd of the universal Church: God does not choose Peter despite his fragility — he makes him shepherd through a forgiveness received.[9]
The apostle in the first rank
In the four lists of the Twelve given by the New Testament, Simon Peter is always named first, as Judas is always named last; Matthew even writes: "the first, Simon, called Peter".[10][11] He speaks in the name of the Apostles, receives the most solemn words of Christ, presides over the first community of Jerusalem and is the first to open the door of faith to the Gentiles. This unique place — which tradition calls the primacy — is here only noted; its dogmatic foundation is treated in Pope Saint Peter.
The sacred author of two epistles
What this article brings out in particular is that Peter belongs to the small number of authors of the New Testament. The First and Second Epistles of Peter are received into the canon as inspired Scripture; they give us, no longer Peter's deeds told by others, but his own voice as shepherd and witness. To this is added, according to the Fathers, the Gospel of Mark, the written record of Peter's Roman preaching. The fisherman of Galilee thus became a sacred writer, whose words are read at Mass and have been meditated upon for twenty centuries.[12][13]
Simon of Bethsaida, fisherman of Galilee
A family of fishermen on the lake
Simon was born at Bethsaida, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, into a family of fishermen.[14] In September 2026, the team that has been excavating since 2016 the site of el-Araj, on the lakeshore, claimed to recognize in it the Bethsaida of the Gospels: a Jewish fishing village turned small Roman town, with a Byzantine church bearing an inscription dedicated to Peter.[15] This identification remains a hypothesis, the neighbouring site of et-Tell being defended by another team; it changes nothing in the testimony of the Gospels, which make Peter a Galilean, born at Bethsaida and a fisherman at Capernaum. His father was named Jonah (or John) — hence the name Jesus gives him, Simon Bar-Jona, "Simon son of Jonah".[16] He plied his trade at Capernaum, where he owned a house, with his brother Andrew and in partnership with James and John, the sons of Zebedee.[17][18] Married — the Gospel mentions the healing of his mother-in-law — he was a man of the people, without rabbinic learning, whom the Jerusalem authorities would regard as an "uneducated man".[19][20]
The call on the lakeshore
It was Andrew, a disciple of John the Baptist, who led Simon to Jesus: "We have found the Messiah".[21] From this very first meeting, Christ fixed upon him a gaze that settled everything and announced his new name to him. Then came the decisive call on the lakeshore, after the miraculous catch of fish: Simon fell at Jesus' knees — "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man" — and heard in reply:
"Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." — Jesus to Simon, Gospel according to Saint Luke 5:10[22]
Simon, Andrew, James and John then left their boats and followed Christ.[23] Peter would one day sum up this abandonment in a single sentence: "Behold, we have left everything and followed you".[24]
Simon, Cephas, Peter
The change of name is, in the Bible, the sign of a new mission. Jesus surnamed Simon Kêphâs, an Aramaic word meaning "rock"; the Greek of the Gospels renders it Petros, Latin Petrus, English Peter.[25][26] This name is not a mere nickname: it designates the function of foundation that Christ confers upon Simon.
"And I tell you: you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." — Gospel according to Saint Matthew 16:18[27]
The meaning of this saying — Peter himself as rock of the Church, and not only his faith — is developed in the article Pope Saint Peter.
Peter in the Gospels
The confession at Caesarea: "You are the Christ"
At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus questioned his disciples about his identity. It was Peter who answered in the name of all:
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." — Simon Peter, Gospel according to Saint Matthew 16:16[28]
Jesus proclaimed him "blessed", for this confession came not from flesh and blood but from a revelation of the Father; and it was immediately afterwards that he promised him the keys of the Kingdom and the power to bind and to loose.[29][30][31] The Catechism sees in this confession the rock of the Church's faith.[32]
Witness of the Transfiguration and of Gethsemane
With James and John, Peter forms the circle of the three intimates whom Jesus takes aside at the decisive hours: the raising of Jairus's daughter, the Transfiguration on the mountain, the agony of Gethsemane.[33][34][35] On Tabor, dazzled by the glory of Christ between Moses and Elijah, Peter cried out: "Lord, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tents."[36] This memory would mark the apostle for ever: he would invoke it as eyewitness proof in his Second Epistle.[37]
The denial: the fall of the shepherd
On the night of the Passion, he who had sworn: "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you", gave way to fear before a servant girl and denied his Master three times.[38][39] At the cockcrow, the gaze of Jesus found him:
"The Lord turned and looked at Peter [...]. And Peter went out and wept bitterly." — Gospel according to Saint Luke 22:61–62[40]
These tears of Peter are, in the whole spiritual tradition, the model of contrition and of the pardoned sinner's hope.
The restoration: "Feed my sheep"
The Risen Lord did not leave Peter in his fall. On the shore of the Lake of Tiberias, he questioned him three times — as many as the threefold denial —: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" And to Peter's threefold answer, he entrusted his flock three times:
"Feed my lambs. [...] Tend my sheep. [...] Feed my sheep." — The risen Jesus to Peter, Gospel according to Saint John 21:15–17[41]
Then he foretold his martyrdom to him: "another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go" — a saying the evangelist interprets of the death by which Peter was to glorify God.[42] Peter's pastoral charge was thus born of a love purified by forgiveness.
Peter at the heart of the newborn Church
The Pentecost discourse
On the morning of Pentecost, it was Peter who stood up "with the Eleven" and addressed Jerusalem with the first Christian discourse: he proclaimed Jesus crucified and risen, and three thousand people received baptism that day.[43] The fisherman intimidated by a servant girl had become the fearless herald of the Resurrection.
"Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly: God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." — Saint Peter, Acts of the Apostles 2:36[44]
The first of the signs, and authority of initiative
In the first chapters of the Acts, Peter constantly acts in the front rank: he healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate, spoke before the Sanhedrin, presided over the election of Matthias, settled the affair of Ananias and Sapphira, confirmed the baptized of Samaria.[45][46][47][48] Luke presents him unceasingly as the one who speaks and decides in the name of the Church.
Cornelius: the opening to the nations
A decisive turning point came through Peter: instructed by a vision at Joppa, he entered the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius at Caesarea and baptized the first of the Gentiles without imposing the Law of Moses on him.[49] It was Peter who first opened the door of the Gospel to all nations — as the council would confirm.
"God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us. [...] It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe we shall be saved, in exactly the same way as they." — Saint Peter at the council, Acts of the Apostles 15:8, 11[50]
The Council of Jerusalem and the incident at Antioch
At the Council of Jerusalem (about 49–50), Peter's word was decisive in freeing the converts come from paganism from the yoke of circumcision.[51] Shortly afterwards, at Antioch, Paul publicly reproached him for having withdrawn from table fellowship with the Gentile Christians for fear of the Judaizers.[52] Far from ruining Peter's authority, this episode shows his humility: he accepted fraternal correction without losing anything of his mission. The analysis of this scene is given in Pope Saint Peter.
The Epistles of Peter, Holy Scripture
This is the heart of the present article: Peter the inspired author. Two letters bear his name in the New Testament; the Church receives them as the word of God and proclaims them in her liturgy.
Two letters received into the canon
The First Epistle of Peter belongs from the beginning to the universally received writings (homologoumena): Eusebius of Caesarea ranked it among the Scriptures no one ever contested, and the Fathers quoted it very early.[53][54] The Second Epistle met with a more debated reception: Eusebius classed it among the antilegomena, letters "disputed yet read and known by the great majority"; it was nevertheless received into the definitive canon by the Church, at the African councils of the late 4th century and at the Council of Trent.[55][56] Both belong to the Catholic epistles, so called because they are addressed not to a local Church but to all the faithful.
| Epistle | Addressees | Place of writing | Central theme | Emblematic verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Peter | Christians of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, tried by persecution | "Babylon", i.e. Rome | Hope and holiness in trial | "For this you rejoice with joy" (1 Pt 1:6) |
| 2 Peter | All the faithful, threatened by false teachers | Rome (the apostle's testament) | Fidelity to the faith received; the return of Christ | "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Pt 1:16) |
First Epistle of Peter: structure and theology
The First Epistle is one of the most beautiful texts of the New Testament on hope amid suffering. Written to communities of Asia Minor tried by the hostility of the pagan world, it exhorts the baptized to live as a priestly people, holy and joyful, in the image of the suffering Christ.[57] Its opening is a gushing blessing:
"Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: in his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." — Saint Peter, First Epistle 1:3[58]
It applies to Christians the great titles of Israel and makes of the baptized people a priesthood:
"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people God has claimed as his own." — Saint Peter, First Epistle 2:9[59]
Finally it gives one of the sweetest words of trust in all of Scripture, dear to the spirituality of abandonment:
"Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you." — Saint Peter, First Epistle 5:7[60]
"Babylon" and Silvanus: the letter written from Rome
The ending of the letter is a precious historical clue. Peter writes "through Silvanus, a faithful brother", and sends the greeting of "the Church that is in Babylon" and of "Mark, my son".[61] Now Babylon is, in the coded language of primitive Christianity — found again in Revelation — a code name for Rome.[62] The letter thus confirms three points of tradition: Peter was at Rome; Mark, whom the Fathers made the evangelist, was there with him; and he had himself assisted by Silvanus (the Silas of Acts), which sheds light on the quality of his Greek.
Second Epistle of Peter: the testament of the apostle
The Second Epistle presents itself as Peter's testament, written as he sensed his approaching death — "knowing that I shall soon put off this tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made known to me".[63] It warns against the false teachers who deny the return of Christ and defends the certainty of the divine promises.
"It was not by following cleverly devised myths that we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but after having been eyewitnesses of his majesty." — Saint Peter, Second Epistle 1:16[64]
The eyewitness of the Transfiguration (2 Pt 1)
The most personal passage of the letter is the recall of the Transfiguration: Peter invokes what he saw and heard on "the holy mountain" — the voice come from the cloud: "This is my beloved Son".[65][66] This autobiographical signature, in which the author presents himself as one of the three witnesses of Tabor, is a major internal argument for the Petrine origin of the letter.
Peter and the letters of Paul "as the other Scriptures"
The Second Epistle offers, finally, a capital testimony on the formation of the canon: Peter speaks there of the letters of Paul as a recognized authority, while noting that they contain "some things hard to understand" which the ignorant twist "as they do the other Scriptures".[67] Already in the 1st century, then, one apostle ranked the Pauline epistles among the Scriptures — a precious window onto the newborn Church's awareness of her own holy books.
Peter behind the Gospel of Mark
Papias and "Peter's interpreter"
The oldest tradition makes the Gospel of Mark the setting down in writing of Peter's preaching. About 130, Papias of Hierapolis, quoted by Eusebius, reported the saying of "the Elder" (John the Presbyter):
"Mark, having become Peter's interpreter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, everything he remembered of the Lord's words and deeds. [...] He had but one aim: to omit nothing of what he had heard and to insert nothing false." — Papias of Hierapolis, quoted by Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History III, 39, 15[68]
Peter's Roman preaching set down in writing
The same link is attested by Irenaeus of Lyon, by Clement of Alexandria and by Origen: Mark, Peter's companion and "interpreter" at Rome, consigned the apostle's preaching to writing.[69] The affectionate "Mark, my son" of the First Epistle confirms this companionship.[70] Thus, even the Gospel that does not bear his name keeps, according to the Fathers, the imprint of Peter's memory — his vividness, his concrete details, and even the unvarnished admission of his own weaknesses.
The Roman martyrdom of Peter
The archaeological case for the tomb is treated in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome; only the ancient literary witnesses are recalled here.
The ancient witnesses
Peter's death at Rome under Nero (the persecution of 64) is attested by a chain of remarkably ancient and convergent witnesses.[71]
| Witness | Approx. date | What he attests |
|---|---|---|
| Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians 5 | c. 95–96 | Peter, "through unjust jealousy", endured many trials and "bore witness" before joining the place of glory |
| Ignatius of Antioch, To the Romans 4:3 | c. 107 | He dares not command the Romans "as Peter and Paul did", a sign of the two apostles' authority over Rome |
| Dionysius of Corinth (via Eusebius) | c. 170 | Peter and Paul planted the Church of Rome and suffered martyrdom there "at the same time" |
| Gaius the presbyter (via Eusebius) | c. 200 | He points to the "trophies" (tombs) of Peter at the Vatican and of Paul on the Ostian Way |
| Tertullian, De praescriptione 36 | c. 200 | At Rome, Peter "equalled the Passion of the Lord" by his death on a cross |
| Origen (via Eusebius, H.E. III, 1) | c. 230 | Peter, at his own request, was crucified head downwards, deeming himself unworthy to die as his Master did |
"Quo vadis?" and the inverted cross
An ancient tradition, collected in the Acts of Peter, tells that the apostle, fleeing the persecution, met Christ on the Appian Way. To his question — "Lord, where are you going?" (Domine, quo vadis?) — Jesus answered that he was going to Rome to be crucified anew; Peter, confounded, returned to martyrdom.[72] The tradition reported by Origen specifies that Peter, judging himself unworthy to die as the Lord had, asked to be crucified head downwards.[73] It is this scene that Caravaggio immortalized.
The date and the tomb
The witnesses place Peter's death between 64 and 67, in the Neronian persecution that followed the fire of Rome.[74] On the Vatican hill, on the site of his "trophy", would rise the old and then the present basilica. The discovery of the tomb announced by Pius XII (Christmas radio message of December 23, 1950) and the identification of the relics declared by Paul VI on June 26, 1968 are set out in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The spirituality of Saint Peter
The pardoned sinner
No apostle has left so human a portrait. Peter is the man of impulses and falls, but above all the man of forgiveness received. His holiness was not born of flawless strength: it sprang from his tears and from the mercy that raised him up. That is why he is, in tradition, the patron of sinners who convert.
"Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." — Simon Peter, Gospel according to Saint Luke 5:8[75]
The faith that confesses
Peter's great grace is the faith that confesses: it was he who, in the name of the Twelve, proclaimed "You are the Christ" at Caesarea, and he again who, in the discourse at Capernaum on the Bread of Life, when many abandoned Jesus, answered:
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." — Simon Peter, Gospel according to Saint John 6:68[76]
The humility of the shepherd
Become head of the Church, Peter did not write as a domineering master but as an elder brother. In his First Epistle, he exhorted shepherds to lead the flock not by constraint nor for gain, but by making themselves "models of the flock", and he rooted the whole Christian life in humility:
"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." — Saint Peter, First Epistle 5:5[77]
This humility, joined to the trust of "cast all your cares upon him", makes Petrine spirituality a school of filial abandonment very close to the way taught by the Via Divina.
The cult of Saint Peter
June 29: Saints Peter and Paul
Since the 4th century at least, Rome has celebrated on June 29 the joint solemnity of the apostles Peter and Paul, the two "princes of the apostles" and co-founders of the Roman Church.[78] This feast, one of the oldest in the calendar, honours together the witness of the faith and the apostle to the nations.
February 22: the Chair of Saint Peter
On February 22, the liturgy celebrates the Chair of Saint Peter (Cathedra Petri): not a piece of furniture, but the ministry of teaching and unity entrusted to Peter and to his successors.[79][80] Bernini's great bronze Cathedra, at the apse of the Vatican basilica, is its monument.
The keys and iconography
Christian art always recognizes Peter by his attributes: the two keys (of gold for Heaven, of silver for earth), echoing the "keys of the Kingdom"; the scroll or book of his epistles; the inverted cross of his martyrdom; and sometimes the cock of the denial. He is depicted as a bald old man with a short curly beard, sturdy and grave.
Patronages
Peter is the patron of fishermen, sailors and shoemakers; he is invoked as gatekeeper of Heaven, who keeps the keys at the door of the Kingdom; he is finally, together with Paul, the patron of Rome and the protector of the papacy.
What modern exegesis proposes, and its limits
The attribution of the two epistles to Peter — and hence the traditional reading that precedes — is today contested by part of academic exegesis. These objections must be set out honestly, and then it must be shown why the traditional position remains solidly defensible.
The pseudepigraphy thesis
Part of contemporary exegesis holds the two epistles, especially the second, to be pseudepigraphal: they are said to have been written after Peter's death by a disciple placing his text under the master's authority. Appeal is made to the quality of the Greek, judged too polished for a Galilean fisherman; to supposed contacts with later writings; and to the idea that pseudepigraphy was an accepted literary device in antiquity.[81]
These arguments deserve examination, but none is decisive. The first confuses literary possibility with historical proof: that a text could have been pseudonymous does not show that it was. The second often rests on circular datings. The third is fragile: the ancient Church, far from serenely tolerating sacred pseudepigraphy, rejected writings whose apostolic attribution was recognized as false — which is precisely why she set aside so many apocrypha.
1 Peter: the objection of over-polished Greek
Against the authenticity of the First Epistle, its elegant Greek is objected, hard to credit in an Aramaic-speaking fisherman. But the letter itself defuses the objection: Peter writes "through Silvanus".[82] Recourse to a cultivated secretary (amanuensis), a common usage in antiquity, naturally explains the quality of the language without calling into question the apostle's authority, who remains the responsible author of the content. The reception of 1 Peter was, moreover, universal from the beginning: Eusebius classed it among the Scriptures never contested.[83]
2 Peter: the most contested letter of the canon
The Second Epistle is the New Testament book whose attribution is the most discussed, already in antiquity: Eusebius ranked it among the antilegomena.[84] But "discussed" does not mean "rejected": the Church received it into the canon, knowingly, after a centuries-long discernment. Saint Jerome, aware of the difference of style from 1 Peter, explained it by the use of different interpreters for the two letters — an ancient solution, consistent with the practice of secretaries.[85] Above all, the letter bears an autobiographical signature hard to imitate: its author presents himself as an eyewitness of the Transfiguration and announces his approaching death.[86]
Why the traditional attribution remains defensible
Faced with hypothetical reconstructions, tradition lines up concrete data: the letter presents itself as Peter's; it was received, discussed, then canonized by the Church; the Fathers read it as Petrine; the objections from style find a simple answer in the use of secretaries; and the presupposition that a fisherman could have produced nothing of the sort underestimates thirty years of Greek preaching across the Empire. The science of the past reasons here by clues and probabilities: it can illuminate the debate, not settle it definitively against a Jewish, patristic and liturgical reception of twenty centuries. The Catholic reader can therefore hold with confidence that the two epistles carry, directly or through a secretary, the voice of the apostle Peter.
To go further
- Pope Saint Peter — the dogmatic case for the primacy, the objections on the papacy and the archaeology of the tomb.
- Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome — the tomb of the apostle and the sanctuary raised over his burial place.
- Saint Paul — the other pillar of Rome, his fellow patron on June 29.
- Saint Andrew — Peter's brother, who led him to Christ.
- Saint Mark the Evangelist — "Peter's interpreter", whose Gospel reflects the apostle's preaching.
- Saint Papias of Hierapolis — the oldest witness to the link between Peter and the Gospel of Mark.
- The Council of Jerusalem — where Peter's word freed the Gentiles from the yoke of the Law.
Notes and References
Benedict XVI, catechesis Peter, the Fisherman, general audience of May 17, 2006: Simon's Galilean origin, his trade as fisherman, the call "Follow me!", the itinerary of conversion, from the confession of faith to the acceptance of a suffering Messiah. URL: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/fr/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20060517.html.
1Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 552: Simon Peter holds the first place in the college of the Twelve; at his confession, Christ promised to build his Church upon him and gave him "the keys". Text on vatican.va.
2 11 30Papias of Hierapolis, Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord, quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History III, 39, 15: "Mark, having become Peter's interpreter (hermēneutēs), set down in writing accurately, though not in order, everything he remembered of what the Lord had said or done." Text (NPNF, Series II, vol. I): https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nicene_and_Post-Nicene_Fathers:_Series_II/Volume_I/Church_History_of_Eusebius/Book_III/Chapter_39.
3 68Benedict XVI, catechesis Peter, the Apostle, general audience of May 24, 2006: Peter as spokesman of the Apostles; his weakness, then his repentance, prepared him for his mission as shepherd of the universal Church after the Resurrection; "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (Jn 6:68). URL: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/fr/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20060524.html.
4 9 12 54Gospel according to Saint Matthew 16:13–19: at Caesarea Philippi, Peter's confession "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"; "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church"; the keys of the Kingdom and the power to bind and loose; "Simon, son of Jonah".
5 7 16 27 28 29Gospel according to Saint Matthew 14:28–31: Peter walked on the water toward Jesus, then, seized with fear, began to sink; "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
6Gospel according to Saint Luke 22:31–34, 54–62: "Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to sift you [...] but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers"; foretelling of the denial; the gaze of Jesus; "Peter wept bitterly".
8 38 40Gospel according to Saint Matthew 10:2–4: list of the Twelve; "the first, Simon, called Peter". Cf. Mk 3:16–19; Lk 6:14–16; Acts 1:13 — Simon Peter always named first.
10Saint Peter, Second Epistle 3:1–16: the second letter; the expectation of the day of the Lord; the letters of "our beloved brother Paul", in which there are "some things hard to understand" which the ignorant twist "as they do the other Scriptures".
13 67Gospel according to Saint John 1:40–42: Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, led his brother to Jesus; "We have found the Messiah"; "You are Simon, son of John; you shall be called Cephas, which is translated Peter".
14 21 25R. Steven Notley, academic director of the el-Araj excavations (conducted with Mordechai Aviam since 2016), statements to Fox News Digital, 11 September 2026: stated certainty of "100%" that the site is the Bethsaida of the Gospels, homeland of Peter, Andrew and Philip; evidence put forward: thousands of lead fishing weights, Jewish stone vessels, Roman baths, more than 200 coins, and a Byzantine basilica with an inscription to the "chief of the Apostles". URL: https://www.foxnews.com/travel/lost-city-where-jesus-performed-miracles-has-finally-been-identified-expert-says. The identification remains disputed: the neighbouring site of et-Tell is defended by another team, and Notley himself acknowledges that one cannot prove that a specific house was Peter's.
15Gospel according to Saint Mark 1:16–31: the call of Simon and Andrew on the lakeshore; "Come after me"; Simon's house at Capernaum and the healing of his mother-in-law.
17 19 23Gospel according to Saint Luke 5:1–11: the miraculous catch of fish; "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man"; "From now on you will be catching men"; they left everything and followed Jesus.
18 22 75Acts of the Apostles 4:13: the Sanhedrin marvelled at the boldness of Peter and John, "uneducated, ordinary men", and recognized that they had been with Jesus.
20Gospel according to Saint Mark 10:28: Peter said to Jesus: "Behold, we have left everything and followed you."
24Benedict XVI, catechesis Peter, the Rock, general audience of June 7, 2006: Jesus renamed Simon "Peter" (Kêphâs) and constituted him foundation of the Church with a proper authority — the keys of the Kingdom (Mt 16:18–19). URL: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/fr/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20060607.html.
26Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 553: the power of the keys, to "bind and loose", entrusted to Peter and, with him, to the Apostles united to their head.
31Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 424: moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father, we believe and confess with Peter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"; upon this rock of faith the Church is built.
32Gospel according to Saint Mark 5:37: Jesus let none enter Jairus's house except Peter, James and John.
33Gospel according to Saint Mark 9:2–8: the Transfiguration; Peter, James and John; "it is good for us to be here"; the voice from the cloud: "This is my beloved Son".
34 36 66Gospel according to Saint Mark 14:32–42, 66–72: Gethsemane (Peter, James, John); Peter's threefold denial in the courtyard; the cockcrow; Peter wept.
35 39Saint Peter, Second Epistle 1:12–18: Peter knew he would "soon put off this tent"; "it was not by following cleverly devised myths [...] but after having been eyewitnesses of his majesty"; recall of the voice heard on "the holy mountain" of the Transfiguration.
37 63 64 65 86Gospel according to Saint John 21:15–19: on the shore of the Lake of Tiberias, the threefold question "do you love me?" and the threefold charge "feed my lambs / my sheep"; foretelling of the death by which Peter would glorify God; "Follow me".
41 42Acts of the Apostles 2:14–41: at Pentecost, Peter "with the Eleven" proclaimed the first kerygma; "God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified"; about three thousand baptized.
43 44Acts of the Apostles 1:15–26: Peter stood up among the brethren and presided over the election of Matthias to replace Judas.
45Acts of the Apostles 3:1–10: Peter (with John) healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple: "What I have, I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk."
46Acts of the Apostles 5:1–11: the affair of Ananias and Sapphira; Peter exposed their lie to the Holy Spirit.
47Acts of the Apostles 8:14–17: Peter and John were sent to Samaria so that the baptized might receive the Holy Spirit.
48Acts of the Apostles 10:1–48: the vision at Joppa, the coming to the centurion Cornelius at Caesarea, the gift of the Spirit to the Gentiles and their baptism; "God shows no partiality".
49Acts of the Apostles 15:6–11: at the Council of Jerusalem, Peter bore witness that God gave the Spirit to the Gentiles as to the Jews; "it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe we shall be saved, in exactly the same way as they".
50 51Saint Paul, Epistle to the Galatians 2:7–14: Peter (Cephas) received the apostleship to the circumcised; the incident at Antioch, where Paul opposed him "to his face" over table fellowship with the Gentile Christians.
52Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History III, 3 and III, 25: the First Epistle of Peter is received without dispute (homologoumenon); the Second is counted among the "disputed" writings (antilegomena), but, "as it has appeared useful to many, it has been read with the other Scriptures" (III, 3). See also H.E. II, 25 (Peter crucified at Rome "under Nero", and the "trophies" of the apostles at the Vatican and on the Ostian Way) and III, 1 (crucifixion "head downwards", at Peter's own request, according to Origen). Texts (NPNF, Series II, vol. I) on Wikisource: Book_III/Chapter_3, Chapter_25, Chapter_1 and Book_II/Chapter_25.
53 55 73 74 83 84Saint Jerome, De viris illustribus 1 (Migne, PL 23, col. 637-639; the sentence on the two epistles, col. 638): "Scripsit duas Epistolas, quae Catholicae nominantur : quarum secunda a plerisque ejus esse negatur, propter styli cum priore dissonantiam" ("he wrote two Epistles, called Catholic, of which the second is held by many not to be his, because of the difference of its style from the first"; Eng. trans. NPNF: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm). The explanation by different secretaries (interpreters) does not appear in this chapter: it is found in his Letter 120 to Hedibia, 11th question, on 2 Cor 2, 12-17 (Migne, PL 22, col. 1001-1004; the passage, col. 1002): "Denique et duae Epistolae quae feruntur Petri, stylo inter se et charactere discrepant, structuraque verborum. Ex quo intelligimus, pro necessitate rerum, diversis eum usum interpretibus" ("the two Epistles attributed to Saint Peter differ greatly in style and character; from which we understand that, as need required, he made use of different interpreters", trans. Bareille). Jerome reports the doubt without endorsing it and treats both letters as Peter's.
56 81 85Saint Peter, First Epistle 2:4–10: Christ the living stone; the baptized, living stones of a spiritual temple and a holy priesthood; "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation".
57 59Saint Peter, First Epistle 1:1–9: addressed to the elect dispersed in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia; "Blessed be God [...] who has given us new birth into a living hope"; joy in trials.
58Saint Peter, First Epistle 5:1–14: exhortation to the elders to shepherd the flock "not by constraint" and to be "models of the flock"; "clothe yourselves with humility [...] God opposes the proud"; "cast all your cares upon him"; greeting "through Silvanus", from the Church "that is in Babylon" and from "Mark, my son".
60 61 62 70 77 82Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies, Book III, 1, 1, ed. A. Rousseau and L. Doutreleau, Sources chrétiennes 211, vol. II (text and translation), Paris, Cerf, 1974. Latin text (identical in Migne, PG 7, col. 845-846): "Post vero horum excessum, Marcus discipulus et interpres Petri, et ipse quae a Petro annuntiata erant, per scripta nobis tradidit" ("after their departure, Mark, disciple and interpreter of Peter, handed down to us in writing what Peter had proclaimed"; Eng. trans. ANF: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103301.htm). Cf. Clement of Alexandria (via Eusebius, H.E. VI, 14): Mark, interpreter of Peter, set his Roman preaching down in writing.
69Ancient witnesses to Peter's Roman martyrdom: Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians (1 Clement) 5 (c. 95–96): Peter, "a victim of unjust jealousy, endured many trials and, having borne witness, departed to the place of glory due to him"; Ignatius of Antioch, To the Romans 4:3 (c. 107): "I do not command you as Peter and Paul did"; Dionysius of Corinth, quoted by Eusebius, H.E. II, 25, 8: Peter and Paul "taught together in Italy and suffered martyrdom at the same time"; Gaius the presbyter, quoted by Eusebius, H.E. II, 25, 7: the "trophies" of the apostles at the Vatican and on the Ostian Way; Tertullian, De praescriptione 36 (Peter "equalled the Passion of the Lord") and Scorpiace 15 ("Peter is girded by another when he is fixed to the cross"). Cf. earlychristianwritings.com and tertullian.org.
71Tradition of the "Domine, quo vadis?", collected in the apocryphal Acts of Peter (2nd century) and fixed by Roman piety at the Quo Vadis church on the Appian Way: Peter fleeing Rome met Christ and returned to martyrdom. A pious, non-canonical, but very ancient account.
72Gospel according to Saint John 6:66–69: many disciples withdrew; Peter: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God."
76General Roman Calendar: Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles on June 29; Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle on February 22. Cf. liturgie.catholique.fr, "Saints Pierre et Paul (29 juin)", and the sanctoral for February 22.
78 79Benedict XVI, catechesis The Chair of Saint Peter, Christ's Gift to His Church, general audience of February 22, 2006: the Cathedra Petri as sign of the ministry of teaching and unity entrusted to Peter and to his successors. URL: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/fr/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20060222.html.
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