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Saint Peter
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Simon, a fisherman from
Bethsaida; was called by Jesus together
with his brother Andrew, while washing
the nets on the shore, by the lake of
Genessaret. Jesus changed his name to
Peter, which means Rock, explaining that
on him he would build his church. He was
appointed the firstamong the twelve by
the Lord and charged to feed "his lambs
and his sheep".On Pentecost, he is the
one to preach to the crowds the
resurrection of the Lord and he is the
first to state that the Good News is to
be preached to Jews and pagans alike. He
was imprisoned by Herod Agrippa I and
miraculously delivered. He presided over
the first official meeting of the
Apostles (49 - 50 A.D.) and visited the
church in Antioch (Antakya) considered
to be the first See of Peter. He came to
Rome, and here, as bishop of Rome,
bearing witness to Christ, he was
crucified, head downwards, on the
Vatican hill under Nero around the year
67 A.D. His remains were found, after
long and meticulous excavations, under
the main altar of the Vatican Basilica.
He wrote two letters to the Christian
churches, mainly made up of converts
from paganism, that reflect a time of
trial through which these churches were
passing, emphasizing the need of
fortitude in persecution. |
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