Lectures - Was Peter the First Pope?

Pope Leo XIV is regarded as heir to St. Peter, who Christians remember as the leader of the Twelve Apostles and—according to tradition—the first pope. Are these traditions rooted in history? The New Testament identifies Peter as a disciple, apostle, and one of the Twelve, but never calls him bishop or pope. And while scripture records Peter’s activities in Galilee, Jerusalem, and Antioch, the only Biblical connection of Peter with Rome is a passage in the First Epistle of Peter which alludes to the “church in Babylon.” John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place explores extra-canonical sources, including early apocryphal books like the Acts of Peter, the Gospel of Peter, the Apocalypse of Peter, and finally later Christian writers of the 3rd and 4th centuries. In this lecture, we contrast these sources with other historical records concerning the development of the Papacy. This video is follows up the material we present in “The Historical Peter": h https://youtu.be/kBJtvNxDV50 This lecture is part of our series exploring Christianity and the Bible from an academic perspective through history, mythology, archaeology, theology, and biblical studies. In this presentation we focus on the sources of Christian tradition regarding the Apostle Peter. 📚 Browse our catalogue of free lectures: https://www.centreplace.ca/lectures ❤️ Donate (tax deductible in the US and Canada): https://www.centreplace.ca/donate ️