peter

Saint Peter (died between AD 64 and 68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Peter the Rock, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, and one of the first leaders of the early Church. He is traditionally counted as the first bishop of Rome‍—‌or pope‍—‌and also as the first bishop of Antioch. Based on contemporary historical data, his papacy is estimated to have spanned from AD 30 to his death, which would make him the longest-reigning pope, at anywhere from 34 to 38 years; however, the length of his reign has never been verified.
According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero. The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a major saint and as the founder of the Church of Antioch and the Church of Rome, but differ in their attitudes regarding the authority of his successors. According to Catholic teaching, Jesus promised Peter a special position in the Church.In the New Testament, the name "Simon Peter" is found 19 times. He appears repeatedly and prominently in all four gospels as well as the Acts of the Apostles. He is the brother of Saint Andrew, and both were fishermen. The Gospel of Mark in particular was traditionally thought to show the influence of Peter's preaching and eyewitness memories. He is also mentioned, under either the name Peter or Cephas, in Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians and the Epistle to the Galatians. The New Testament also includes two general epistles, First Peter and Second Peter, that are traditionally attributed to him, but modern scholarship generally rejects the Petrine authorship of both. Nevertheless, Evangelicals and Catholics have always affirmed Peter's authorship, and recently, a growing number of scholars have revived the claim of Petrine authorship of these epistles.Outside of the New Testament, several apocryphal books were later attributed to him, in particular the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, and Judgment of Peter, although scholars believe these works to be pseudoepigrapha.

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