Apostle
Apostle Peter
ок. 1 — 29 июня/12 июля 67
Apostle Peter, chief among the apostles (born Simon) — a fisherman from Bethsaida in Galilee, brother of Apostle Andrew the First-Called, the first to confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, for which he was named "the rock" (Cephas/Peter); he denied Christ three times on the night of His arrest, but was forgiven and restored to the apostolate; he was crucified upside down in Rome under Nero at his own request, not considering himself worthy to be crucified as Christ was.
Apostle Peter, born Simon, was a fisherman from Bethsaida in Galilee, the brother of Apostle Andrew the First-Called, who brought him to Christ. The Lord named him Cephas (Aramaic for "rock"; in Greek, Peter) after Simon was the first to confess Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16-18). Together with James and John, he was one of the three closest disciples of the Savior, witnesses of the Transfiguration on Tabor and the agony in Gethsemane. On the night of Christ's arrest, he denied Him three times out of fear, but upon hearing the cock crow, he wept bitterly; after the Resurrection he was forgiven by the Lord and three times confessed his love for Him (John 21:15-17), receiving the command to "feed My sheep." After Pentecost he became one of the first and most active preachers, converting about three thousand souls in Jerusalem in a single day. He preached in Judea, Antioch, Asia Minor, and Rome, where he was martyred under Emperor Nero — crucified upside down at his own request, not considering himself worthy to die the same death as his Lord. He is the author of two Catholic Epistles. The Church honors the veneration of his precious chains (in which he was shackled in prison) on January 16/29, and his main commemoration is kept on June 29/July 12 together with Apostle Paul.