Saint Peter

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Saint Peter
West: Prince of the Apostles, First Pope East: Pre-eminent Apostle
Born	c. 1, Bethsaida
Died	64, Rome, by crucifixion
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, Oriental Orthodoxy
Major shrine	St. Peter's Basilica
Feast	main feast (with Saint Paul) 29 June (Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Anglicanism) Chair of St Peter in Rome 18 January (Pre-1960 Roman Calendar) Chair of St Peter 22 February (Roman Catholic Church) St Peter in Chains 1 August (pre-1960 Roman Calendar)
Attributes	Keys of Heaven, pallium, Papal vestments, man crucified head downwards, vested as an Apostle, holding a book or scroll. Iconographically, he is depicted with a bushy white beard and white hair
Patronage	See St. Peter's Patronage

Saint Peter (Greek: Πέτρος, Pétros “Rock”, ^[1] Kephas in Hellenized Aramaic) (c.1–AD 64) was a leader of the early Christian church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. According to Biblical accounts, he was one of Twelve Apostles, chosen by Jesus from his first disciples. He was a Galilean fisherman assigned a leadership role by Jesus (Matthew 16:18), and was with Jesus during events witnessed by only a few apostles, such as the Transfiguration.^[2] Early Christian writers provided more details about his life. Catholic tradition claims that he was the first Pope, the author of two canonical epistles, and a martyr under Nero, crucified head down, and buried in Rome.^[2] His memoirs are traditionally cited as the source of the Gospel of Mark.

The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Anglican Communion consider Peter a saint. According to Catholic tradition Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, therefore the Pope is Peter's successor and the rightful superior of all other bishops. Eastern and Oriental Orthodox do not recognize the Bishop of Rome as the successor of St. Peter but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople sends a delegation each year to Rome to participate in the celebration of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. In the "Ravenna Document" of 13 October 2007, the representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church agreed that "Rome, as the Church that 'presides in love' according to the phrase of St. Ignatius of Antioch (To the Romans, Prologue), occupied the first place in the taxis, and that the bishop of Rome was therefore the protos among the patriarchs, if the Papacy unites with the Orthodox Church. They disagree, however, on the interpretation of the historical evidence from this era regarding the prerogatives of the bishop of Rome as protos, a matter that was already understood in different ways in the first millennium."

In art, he is often depicted holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven (interpreted by Roman Catholics as the sign of his primacy over the Church), a reference to Matthew 16:19.

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