Lectures - The Historical Peter

The apostle Peter is remembered as a leader of the early church and a complex figure: a disciple who misunderstands and denies Jesus, is called a “pillar” by Paul, who also accuses him of hypocritical behavior, and later became associated with Rome as its first bishop and martyr. But how much of this rests on historical evidence? In this video, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at sources for the historical Peter, what we can know about him, and also at the sources of later traditions and legends about this disciple of Jesus. This lecture is part of our series exploring Christianity and the Bible from an academic perspective through history, mythology, archaeology, theology, and biblical studies. 📚 Browse our catalogue of free lectures: https://www.centreplace.ca/lectures ❤️ Donate (tax deductible in the US and Canada): https://www.centreplace.ca/donate ️ More about this lecture: At the end of the Second Century Christians recorded traditions that the Apostle Peter had eventually found his way to the city of Rome where he became its first bishop and was ultimately crucified there at the Vatican Hill. The apostle Paul, who had met the historical Peter in both Jerusalem and Antioch sometime in the 50s AD. Although Paul sends personal greetings to over two dozen Christians in Rome, he makes no mention of Peter, who evidently was not present there. Similarly, although the Book of the Acts of the Apostles gives much attention to the careers of Paul and Peter, it makes no mention of Peter ever traveling to Rome. Although two letters included in the New Testament canon claim Peter as their author, they are pseudepigraphic: written by someone else writing in Peter’s name.