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8 - Peter and His Diverse Champions

from Part II - Contested Figures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 August 2023

By
Tobias Nicklas
Edited by
Bruce W. Longenecker  and
David E. Wilhite
Bruce W. Longenecker
Affiliation:
Baylor University, Texas
David E. Wilhite
Affiliation:
Baylor University, Texas
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Summary

Simon Peter is a “key” figure in the truest sense of the word. When he utters his confession, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16), Jesus praises him, promises to build his ἐκκλησία on “this rock” and offers him the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:18–19). There are certainly not many passages of the New Testament that have generated more controversy than Matt. 16:17–19.1 This is not only due to the text’s many difficulties in detail, but also to the fact that different churches based important aspects of their self-definition (and related claims for authority) on these sayings. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, went so far as to deduce important aspects of the pope’s claim to be Christ’s representative on earth and thus his supremacy over all other churches from this passage. Neither the Orthodox Church nor the churches of the Reformation agree with that. A proper understanding of the figure of Peter and (deeply related to that) the role and authority of his successors has thus been a key obstacle to past and present ecumenical movements.2 And even if all churches basically agree on the importance of Peter for the beginnings of the Christian movement, he nonetheless remains a contested figure to this day. In the following essay, I will show that this has always been the case: Peter has always been a controversial figure within the variety of movements comprised of believers in Jesus Christ.

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The Cambridge History of Ancient Christianity , pp. 175 - 196
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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