Living nativity at St. Wojciech Church, Wyszków, Poland, 2006

A nativity scene or crèche ( /kreɪʃ/; also known as a manger scene, or crib) is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. While the term "nativity scene" typically includes two dimensional depictions in film, painting, printmaking, and other media, in the history of art and culture, as well as in popular use, the term refers to static, three dimensional, artistic, commercial or folk art dioramas, or pantomimes called "living nativity scenes" in which real humans and animals participate. Nativity scenes exhibit figures representing the infant Jesus, his mother Mary, and Joseph. Other characters from the nativity story such as shepherds, the Magi, and angels may be displayed near the manger in a barn (or cave) intended to accommodate farm animals. A donkey and an ox are typically depicted in the scene, as well as camels belonging to the Magi.

Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene in 1223 (a "living" one) intending thereby to cultivate the worship of Christ, having been inspired by his recent visit to the Holy Land where he had been shown Jesus's traditional birthplace. The scene's popularity inspired communities throughout Catholic countries to stage similar pantomimes.

Distinctive nativity scenes and traditions have been created around the world and are displayed during the Christmas season in churches, homes, shopping malls, and other venues, and occasionally on public lands and in public buildings. In the United States, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City annually displays a Neapolitan Baroque nativity scene before a 20 feet (6.1 m) blue spruce.

Nativity scenes have not escaped controversy. In the United States, nativity scenes on public lands and in public buildings have provoked court challenges.

Birth of Jesus[link]

German paper nativity scene, 1885

A nativity scene takes its inspiration from the accounts of the birth of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.^[1][2] Luke's narrative describes an angel announcing the birth of Jesus to shepherds who then visit the humble site where Jesus is found lying in a manger, a trough for cattle feed.(Luke 2:8-20) Matthew's narrative tells of "wise men" (grk.μαγοι magoi) who follow a star to the house where Jesus dwelt, and indicates that the Magi found Jesus some time later, less than two years after his birth, rather than on the exact day.(Mat.2:1-23) Matthew's account does not mention the angels and shepherds, while Luke's narrative is silent on the Magi and the star. The Magi and the angels are often displayed in a nativity scene with the Holy Family and the shepherds although there is no scriptural basis for their presence.(Luke 2:7;2:12;2:17)

Origins and early history[link]

St. Francis at Greccio by Giotto

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene^[3][4] in 1223 at Greccio, Italy,^[3][5] in an attempt to place the emphasis of Christmas upon the worship of Christ rather than upon secular materialism and gift giving.^[6][7] Staged in a cave near Greccio, St. Francis' nativity scene was a living one^[3] with humans and animals cast in the Biblical roles.^[8] Pope Honorius III gave his blessing to the exhibit.^[9] Such pantomimes became hugely popular and spread throughout Christendom.^[8] Within a hundred years every church in Italy was expected to have a nativity scene at Christmastime.^[5] Eventually, statues replaced human and animal participants, and static scenes grew to elaborate affairs with richly robed figurines placed in intricate landscape settings.^[8] Charles III, King of the Two Sicilies, collected such elaborate scenes, and his enthusiasm encouraged others to do the same.^[5]

The scene's popularity inspired communities throughout Catholic countries to stage similar pantomimes. During Early modern age sculpted cribs were set in every Catholic church and aristocratic palace, representing an entire traditional Italian hilltop village with its artisans and vendors.^{[citation needed]} These elaborate scenes reached their artistic apogee in the Kingdom of Naples in the 16th to 18th centuries, but also Genoa had an important tradition in the same period, which major artist was Anton Maria Maragliano.^{[citation needed]} Between the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century nativity scenes diffused in every catholic family and spread outside the Catholic world. Eventually, the nativity scene became an archetype in Western culture, inspiring an infinite number of works of high and popular art. More and more elaborate static exhibitions were created with terracotta, paper, wood, wax and ivory figurines garbed in rich fabrics set against intricate landscapes. In predominately Catholic countries the nativity scene still is more popular than the Christmas tree.^{[citation needed]}

Different traditions of nativity scenes emerged in different countries. Hand-painted santons are popular in Provence.^{[citation needed]} In southern Germany, Austria and Trentino-Alto Adige the figurines are handcut in wood.^{[citation needed]} Colorful szopka are typical in Poland.^{[citation needed]}

A tradition in England, involved baking a mince pie in the shape of a manger to hold the Christ child until dinnertime when the pie was eaten. When the Puritans banned Christmas celebrations in the 17th century, they also passed specific legislation to outlaw such pies, calling them "Idolaterie in crust".^[5]

Distinctive nativity scenes and traditions have been created around the world and are displayed during the Christmas season in churches, homes, shopping malls, and other venues, and occasionally on public lands and in public buildings. The Vatican has displayed a scene in St. Peter's Square near its Christmas tree since 1982 and the Pope has for many years blessed the mangers of children assembled in St. Peter's Square for a special ceremony.^{[citation needed]} In the United States, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City annually displays a Neapolitan Baroque nativity scene before a 20 feet (6.1 m) blue spruce.^{[citation needed]}

Nativity scenes have not escaped controversy. A life-sized scene in the United Kingdom featuring waxworks celebrities provoked outrage in 2004, and, in Spain, a city council forbade the exhibition of a traditional toilet humor character in a public nativity scene. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) indicates that animals in living displays lack proper care and suffer abuse. In the United States, nativity scenes on public lands and in public buildings have provoked court challenges, and the prankish theft of ceramic or plastic nativity figurines from outdoor displays has become commonplace.^{[citation needed]}

Components[link]

Static nativity scenes[link]

Exhibition of several nativity scenes

A static nativity scene may be erected indoors or outdoors during the Christmas season, and is composed of figurines depicting the infant Jesus resting in a manger, Mary, and Joseph. Other figures in the scene may include angels, shepherds, and various animals. The figures may be made of any material,^[3] and arranged in a stable or grotto. The Magi may also appear, and are sometimes not placed in the scene until the week following Christmas to account for their travel time to Bethlehem.^[10] While most home nativity scenes are packed away at Christmas or shortly thereafter, nativity scenes in churches usually remain on display until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.^[3]

Outdoor nativity scene of life-sized figurines in Barcelona (2009)

The nativity scene may not accurately reflect gospel events. With no basis in the gospels, for example, the shepherds, the Magi, and the ox and ass may be displayed together at the manger. Some traditions bring other scriptural characters to the nativity scene such as Adam and Eve and the serpent, Noah and his animals, the twelve sons of Jacob, the twelve prophets and the twelve apostles. Mundane activities such as Mary washing diapers in the River Jordan, or a dove descending on the newborn infant may be depicted. The art form can be traced back to eighteenth-century Naples, Italy.^[11] Families competed with each other to produce the most elegant and elaborate scenes. These scenes expanded far beyond the manger to include village backdrops, merchants, artisans, soldiers, even local notables.^[12]

Peruvian crucifix with nativity scene at its base, c.1960

Regional variants on the standard nativity scene are many. The putz of Pennsylvania Dutch Americans evolved into elaborate decorative Christmas villages in the twentieth century. In Colombia, the pesebre may feature a town and its surrounding countryside with shepherds and animals. Mary and Joseph are often depicted as rural Boyacá people with Mary clad in a countrywoman's shawl and fedora hat, and Joseph garbed in a poncho. The infant Jesus is depicted as European with Italianate features. Visitors bringing gifts to the Christ child are depicted as Colombian natives.^[13] After World War I, large, lighted manger scenes in churches and public buildings grew in popularity, and, by the 1950s, many companies were selling lawn ornaments of non-fading, long-lasting, weather resistant materials telling the nativity story.^[14]

Living nativity scenes[link]

Living nativity in Sicily, which also contains a mock rural 19th-century village

Pantomimes similar to the scene staged by St. Francis at Greccio became an annual event throughout Christendom. Abuses and exaggerations in the presentation of mystery plays during the Middles Ages, however, forced the church to prohibit performances during the 15th century.^[3] The plays survived outside church walls, however, and three hundred years after the prohibition, German immigrants brought simple forms of the nativity play to America. Some features of the dramas became part of both Catholic and Protestant Christmas services with children often taking the parts of characters in the nativity story. Nativity plays and pageants, culminating in living nativity scenes, eventually entered public schools. Such exhibitions have been challenged on the grounds of separation of church and state.^[3]

In some countries, the nativity scene took to the streets with human performers costumed as Joseph and Mary traveling from house to house seeking shelter and being told by the houses' occupants to move on. The couple's journey culminated in an outdoor tableau at a designated place with the shepherds and the Magi then traveling the streets in parade fashion looking for the Christ child.^[14]

Living nativity in Bascara

Living nativity scenes are not without their problems. In 2008, for example, vandals destroyed all eight scenes and backdrops at Mount Carmel Christian Church’s drive-through living nativity scene in Georgia. About 120 of the church’s 500 members were involved in the construction of the scenes or playing roles in the production. The damage was estimated at more than US$2,000.^[15] Additionally, the use of real animals in living nativity scenes has provoked complaint.

In southern Italy, especially Sicily, living nativity scenes (called presepe vivente in Italian), are extremely popular, and are rather elaborate affairs, which feature the classic nativity scene as well as a mock rural 19th-century village, complete with artisans in traditional costumes working at their particular trades. These attract many visitors and have been televised by Italy's national station RAI.

Animals in nativity scenes[link]

The ox, the ass, and the infant Jesus in one of the earliest depictions of the nativity, (Ancient Roman Christian sarcophagus, 4th century)

A donkey (or ass) and an ox typically appear in nativity scenes. Besides the necessity of animals for a manger, this is an allusion to Isaiah: "the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider"Isaiah 1:3. The Gospels do not mention an ox and donkey^[16] Another source for the tradition may be the extracanonical text, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew of the 7th century. (The translation in this text of Habakkuk 3:2 is not taken from the Septuagint.):^[17][18]

"And on the third day after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, Mary went out of the cave, and, entering a stable, placed the child in a manger, and an ox and an ass adored him. Then was fulfilled that which was said by the prophet Isaiah, "The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib." Therefore, the animals, the ox and the ass, with him in their midst incessantly adored him. Then was fulfilled that which was said by Habakkuk the prophet, saying, "Between two animals you are made manifest."^[16]

The ox traditionally represents patience, the nation of Israel, and Old Testament sacrificial worship while the ass represents humility, readiness to serve, and the Gentiles.^[19]

Living scene in Germany

The ox and the ass, as well as other animals, became a part of nativity scene tradition. In a 1415, Corpus Christi celebration, the Ordo paginarum notes that Jesus was lying between an ox and an ass.^[20] Other animals introduced to nativity scenes include elephants and camels.^[10]

By the 1970s, churches and community organizations increasingly included animals in nativity pageants.^[14] Since then, automobile-accessible "drive-through" scenes with sheep and donkeys have become popular.^[21]

In 2006, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wrote that animals in some living nativity scenes are exposed to cruel treatment and potential danger. According to PETA, they have suffered inadequate care, abuses including beating and sexual violation, and death in traffic mishaps. PETA recommends humane alternatives that include children costumed as animals replacing real animals.^[22]

Selection of distinctive scenes[link]

Vatican nativity scenes[link]

In 1982, Pope John Paul II inaugurated the annual tradition^[23] of placing a nativity scene on display in the Vatican City in the Piazza San Pietro before the Christmas Tree.^[24]

In 2006, the nativity scene featured seventeen new figures of spruce on loan to the Vatican from sculptors and wood sawyers of the town of Tesero, Italy in the Italian Alps.^[25] The figures included peasants, a flutist, a bagpipe player and a shepherd named Titaoca.^[25] Twelve nativity scenes created before 1800 from Tesero were put on display in the Vatican audience hall.^[25]

St. Peter's Square

The Vatican nativity scene for 2007 placed the birth of Jesus in Joseph's house in Nazareth (rather than in Bethlehem), based upon an interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.^[23] Mary was shown with the newborn infant Jesus in a room in Joseph's house. To the left of the room was Joseph's workshop while to the right was a busy inn—a comment on materialism versus spirituality.^[26] The Vatican's written description of the diorama said, "The scene for this year's Nativity recalls the painting style of the Flemish School of the 1500s."^[27] The scene was unveiled on December 24 and remained in place until February 2, 2008 for The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.^[28] Ten new figures were exhibited with seven on loan from the town of Tesero and three—a baker, a woman, and a child—donated to the Vatican.^[28] The decision for the atypical setting was believed to be part of a crackdown on fanciful scenes erected in various cities around Italy.^[23] In Naples, Italy, for example, Elvis Presley and Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, were depicted among the shepherds and angels worshipping at the manger.^[23]

In 2008, the province of Trento, Italy provided sculpted wooden figures and animals as well as utensils to create depictions of daily life.^[29] The scene featured seventeen figures^[29] with nine depicting the Holy Family, the Magi, and the shepherds.^[30] The nine figures were originally donated by Saint Vincent Pallotti for the nativity at Rome's Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle in 1842^[29] and eventually found their way to the Vatican. They are dressed anew each year for the scene.^[30] The 2008 scene was set in Bethlehem with a fountain and a hearth representing regeneration and light.^[31] The same year, the Vatican's Paul VI Hall exhibited a nativity designed by Mexican artists.^[29]

Since 1968, the Pope has officiated at a special ceremony in St. Peter's Square on Gaudete Sunday that involves blessing hundreds of mangers and Babies Jesus for the children of Rome, Italy.^[9] In 1978, 50,000 schoolchildren attended the ceremony.^[9]

[edit] Santons

A santon produce seller

A santon (Provençal: "little saint") is a small hand-painted, terracotta nativity scene figurine produced in the Provence region of southeastern France.^[32] In a traditional Provençal créche, the santons represent various characters from Provençal village life such as the scissors grinder, the fishwife, and the chestnut seller.^[32] The figurines were first created during the French Revolution when churches were forcibly closed and large nativity scenes prohibited.^[33] Today, their production is a family affair passed from parents to children.^[34] During the Christmas season, santon makers gather in Marseille and other locales in southeastern France to display and sell their wares.^[33]

[edit] Kraków szopka

Szopka in Kraków

Szopka are traditional Polish nativity scenes dating to 13th century Kraków, Poland.^[35] Their modern construction incorporates elements of Kraków's historic architecture including Gothic spires, Renaissance facades, and Baroque domes,^[35] and utilizes everyday materials such as colored tinfoils, cardboard, and wood.^[36] Some are mechanized.^[37] Prizes are awarded for the most elaborately designed and decorated pieces^[35] in an annual competition held in Kraków's main square beside the statue of Adam Mickiewicz.^[37] Some of the best are then displayed in Kraków's Museum of History.^[38] Szopka were traditionally carried from door-to-door in the nativity plays (Jaselka) by performing groups.^[39]

A similar tradition, called "betlehemezés" and involving schoolchildren carrying portable folk-art nativity scenes door-to-door, chanting traditional texts, is part of Hungarian folk culture, and has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years. An example of such a portable wooden nativity scene is on display at the Nativity Museum in Bethlehem.

Nativity scenes in the United States[link]

White House nativity scene, 2008

In 2005, President of the United States of America, George W. Bush and his wife, First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush displayed an 18th century Italian presepio in the East Room of the White House, Washington, D.C., United States. The presepio was donated to the White House in the last decades of the 20th century.^[40]

On her Christmas Day 2007 television show, Martha Stewart exhibited the nativity scene she sculpted in pottery class at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia while serving a 2005 sentence. She remarked, "Even though every inmate was only allowed to do one a month, and I was only there for five months, I begged because I said I was an expert potter—ceramicist actually—and could I please make the entire nativity scene."^[41] She supplemented her nativity figurines on the show with tiny artificial palm trees imported from Germany.^[41]

Perhaps the best known nativity scene in America is the Neapolitan Baroque Crèche displayed annually in the Medieval Sculpture Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Its backdrop is a 1763 choir screen from the Cathedral of Valladolid and a twenty-foot blue spruce decorated with a host of 18th-century angels. The nativity figures are placed at the tree's base. The crèche was the gift of Loretta Hines Howard in 1964, and the choir screen was the gift of The William Randolph Hearst Foundation in 1956.^[42]

A life-size nativity scene has been displayed annually at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah for several decades as part of the large outdoor Christmas displays sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Canada[link]

Bethlehem Live is an all-volunteer living nativity produced by Gateway Christian Community Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The production includes a reconstruction of the ancient town of Bethlehem and seven individual vignettes.^[43][44]

Lego Nativity Scenes[link]

Nativity scenes have recently been popping up online. Some creative Lego enthusiasts have even gone as far as to create Nativity creches out of Lego. These creative models often use minifigures dressed up as the Holy Family. These scenes have appeared in blogs, Flickr postings, and even Facebook.^[45]

Controversies[link]

United States of America[link]

Nativity scenes have been involved in controversies and lawsuits.^[46] In federal court pleadings in the United States, for example, the New York City, school system defended its ban on nativity scenes by claiming the historicity of the birth of Jesus was not actual fact. The judge in the case upheld the ban, noting that the ban on nativity scenes is not discriminatory while permitting Jewish menorahs and Islamic star and crescent displays because the latter two have secular components while nativity scenes are supposed to be purely religious.^[47] In another instance, a suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, school banned a nativity scene while permitting a menorah display. The school's principal stated, "Judaism is not just a religion, it's a culture."^[47]

A static outdoor nativity scene in the United States, (Christkindlmarket, Chicago, Illinois)

In 1969, the American Civil Liberties Union (representing three clergymen, an atheist, and a leader of the American Ethical Society), tried to block the construction of a nativity scene on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.^[48] When the ACLU claimed the government sponsorship of a distinctly Christian symbol violated separation of church and state,^[48] the sponsors of the fifty-year-old Christmas celebration, Pageant of Peace, who had an exclusive permit from the Interior Department for all events on the Ellipse, responded that the nativity scene was a reminder of America's spiritual heritage.^[48] The United States Court of Appeals ruled on December 12, 1969, that the crèche be allowed that year.^[48] The case continued until September 26, 1973, when the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs^[48] and found the involvement of the Interior Department and the National Park Service in the Pageant of Peace amounted to government support for religion.^[48] The court opined that the nativity scene should be dropped from the pageant or the government end its participation in the event in order to avoid "excessive entanglements" between government and religion.^[48] In 1973, the nativity scene vanished.^[48]

Nativity scenes are permitted on public lands in the United States as long as equal time is given to non-religious symbols.

In 1985, the United States Supreme Court ruled in ACLU v. Scarsdale, New York that nativity scenes on public lands violate separation of church and state statutes unless they comply with "The Reindeer Rule"—a regulation calling for equal opportunity for non-religious symbols, such as reindeer.^[49] This principle was further clarified in 1989, when the Supreme Court in County of Allegheny v. ACLU ruled that a crèche placed on the grand staircase of the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, PA violated the Establishment Clause, because the "principal or primary effect" of the display was to advance religion.

In 1994, at Christmas, the Park Board of San Jose, California, removed a statue of the infant Jesus from Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park and replaced it with a statue of the plumed Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl, commissioned with US$500,000 of public funds. In response, protestors staged a living nativity scene in the park.^[49]

In 2006, a lawsuit by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian group in the United States, was brought against the state of Washington when it permitted a public display of a holiday tree and a menorah but not a nativity scene.^[50] Because of the lawsuit, the decision was made to permit a nativity scene to be displayed in the rotunda of the state Capitol, in Olympia, as long as other symbols of the season were included.^[51]

Baby Jesus theft[link]

In the United States, nativity figurines are sometimes stolen from outdoor public and private displays during the Christmas season^[52] in an act that is generally called Baby Jesus theft. The thefts are usually pranks with figurines recovered within a few hours or days of their disappearances.^[53] Some have been damaged beyond repair or defaced with profanity or Satanic symbols.^[54][55] It is unclear if Baby Jesus theft is on the rise as United States federal law enforcement officials do not track such theft.^[53] Some communities protect outdoor nativity scenes with surveillance cameras or GPS devices concealed within the figurines.^[54]

United Kingdom[link]

In December 2004, Madame Tussaud's London, England, United Kingdom nativity scene featured waxwork models of soccer star David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham as Joseph and Mary, and Kylie Minogue as the Angel.^[56] Tony Blair, George W. Bush, and the Duke of Edinburgh were cast as the Magi while actors Hugh Grant, Samuel L. Jackson, and comedian Graham Norton were cast as shepherds.^[57] The celebrities were chosen for the roles by 300 people who visited the Madame Tussaud's in October 2004 and voted on the display. The Archbishop of Canterbury was not impressed, and a Vatican spokesperson said the display was in very poor taste. Other officials reacted angrily, with one noting it was "a nativity stunt too far".^[57] "We're sorry if we have offended people," said Diane Moon, a spokesperson for the museum. She said the display was intended in the spirit of fun.^[58]

Spain[link]

El caganer

In 2005, the city council of Barcelona commissioned a nativity scene which did not include the region's traditional nativity figure, el caganer, a defecating character.^[59] The council claimed the character set a bad example as sanitation laws against public elimination had recently been passed.^[60] The council's decision was viewed as an attack on Catalonian tradition, and, following a campaign against it, el caganer was restored to the nativity scene in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nativity scenes

Saint Peter the Apostle
Painting of Saint Peter by Peter Paul Rubens depicting the saint as Pope (1611-1612).
Prince of the Apostles, First Pope, Martyr, Preacher
Born	ca. 1 BC[citation needed] Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Roman Empire
Died	possibly AD 67 Rome,Italia,Roman Empire by crucifixion
Honored in	Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, Islam (honoured)[1]
Major shrine	St. Peter's Basilica
Feast	main feast (with Paul of Tarsus) 29 June (Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Lutheranism) Chair of St Peter in Rome 18 January (Pre-1960 Roman Calendar) Confession of St Peter 18 January (Anglicanism) Chair of St Peter 22 February (Roman Catholic Church) St Peter in Chains 1 August (pre-1960 Roman Calendar)
Attributes	Keys of Heaven, pallium, Papal vestments, Rooster, man crucified head downwards, vested as an Apostle, holding a book or scroll. Iconographically, he is depicted with a bushy white beard and white hair
Patronage	See St. Peter's Patronage
Influences	Jesus
Major work(s)	1 Peter 2 Peter

Saint Peter medieval mosaic from Chora Church

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader and one of the twelve apostles of Jesus who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and who is venerated as a saint. The son of John or of Jonah, he was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee or Gaulanitis. His brother Andrew was also an apostle. Peter is venerated in multiple churches and is regarded as the first Pope by the Catholic Church. After working to establish the church of Antioch, presiding for seven years as the leader of the city's Christian community,^[2] he preached to scattered communities of believers, Jews, Hebrew Christians and the gentiles, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor and Bithynia.^{[citation needed]} He then went to Rome, where in the second year of Claudius, it is claimed, he overthrew Simon Magus and held the Sacerdotal Chair for 25 years.^{[citation needed]} He is said to have been put to death at the hand of Emperor Nero.

Peter wrote two General epistles. The Gospel of Mark is also ascribed to him (as Mark was his disciple and interpreter). On the other hand, several books bearing his name—the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Revelation of Peter, and Judgement of Peter—are rejected by the Catholic Church as Apocryphal.^[3][4][5]

According to New Testament accounts, Peter was one of Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus from his first disciples. Originally a fisherman, he was assigned a leadership role by Jesus and was with Jesus during events witnessed by only a few Apostles, such as the Transfiguration.^[6] Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean "rock." According to the New Testament, Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah ^[7], was part of Jesus' inner circle ^[8], walked on water ^[9], witnessed Jesus' tranfiguration, denied Jesus ^[10], was restored by Jesus ^[11], and preached on the day of Pentecost ^[12].

Peter is said to have been crucified under Emperor Nero, the cross being upside down at his own request since he saw himself unworthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus Christ. Catholic tradition holds that Saint Peter's mortal bones and remains are contained in the underground Confessio of the St. Peter's Basilica, a site where Pope Paul VI announced the excavation discovery of a First-century A.D. Roman cemetery in 1968. Since 1969, a life-size statue of Saint Peter is crowned every year in St. Peter's Basilica with a Papal Tiara, Ring of the Fisherman, and papal vestments every June 29th, commemorating the Holy Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

Names and etymologies[link]

His original name was Shimon or Simeon, Simon in modern English. He was later given the name Peter, a name derived from "Petrus" which is a masculinized form of the feminine Latin word petra (f) which means rock (cf. petroleum). For what concerns Greek, the same idea holds: "Πέτρος (Petros)" is derived from πέτρα (petra). The Latin word "petra" is a loanword from Greek.

The English and German "Peter", the French "Pierre", the Italian "Pietro", the Spanish and Portuguese "Pedro", and the Russian "Piotr" are derived from "Petrus". The pun with "rock" also works in Italian (pietra (f)), French (pierre (f)) and Portuguese (pedra (f)).

On the other hand, the Syriac or Aramaic word for "rock" is "cephas", which became Greek: Πέτρος, also meaning "rock".^[13][14] He is also known as Simon Peter, Cephas (Greek: Κηφᾶς) and Kepha (Hebrew: כיפא‎). Both Cephas and Kepha also mean rock. ^[15]

New Testament account[link]

Ruins of ancient Capernaum on north side of the Sea of Galilee. An Orthodox church is built on top of traditional site of Apostle Peter's house.

Peter's life story relies on the four Canonical Gospels, The Book of Acts, New Testament Letters, Non-Canonical Gospel According to the Hebrews and other Early Church accounts of his life and death. In the New Testament, he is among the first of the disciples called during Jesus' ministry. It was during his first meeting with Jesus that Jesus named him Peter. Peter was to become the first Apostle ordained by Jesus in the early church.^[6]

Peter ran a fishing business in Bethsaida.^[Jn. 1:44] He was named Simon, son of Jonah or John.^[16] The synoptic gospels all recount how Peter's mother-in-law was healed by Jesus at their home in Capernaum^{[Matt. 8:14–17] [Mk. 1:29–31] [Lk. 4:38]} which, coupled with 1Cor 9:5, clearly depict Peter as married or a widower.

In the Synoptic Gospels, Peter (then Simon) was a fisherman along with his brother Andrew and the sons of Zebedee, James and John. The Gospel of John also depicts Peter fishing, even after the resurrection of Jesus, in the story of the Catch of 153 fish.

In Matthew and Mark, Jesus called Simon and his brother Andrew to be "fishers of men."^{[Matt. 4:18–19] [Mk. 1:16–17]}

Part of a series on
Saint Peter
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v t e

In Luke, Simon Peter owns the boat that Jesus uses to preach to the multitudes who were pressing on him at the shore of Lake Gennesaret.^[Lk. 5:3] Jesus then amazes Simon and his companions James and John (Andrew is not mentioned) by telling them to lower their nets, whereupon they catch a huge number of fish. Immediately after this, they follow him.^{[Lk. 5:4–11]}

The Gospel of John gives a comparable account of "The First Disciples."^{[Jn. 1:35–42]} In John, we are told that it was two disciples of John the Baptist (Andrew and an unnamed disciple) who heard John the Baptist announce Jesus as the "Lamb of God" and then followed Jesus. Andrew then went and fetched his brother Simon, saying, "We have found the Messiah," and then brought Simon to Jesus.

The "Rock" dialogue[link]

In a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples (Matthew 16:13-20), Jesus asks, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples give various answers. When he asks, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answers, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In turn, Jesus declares Peter to be "blessed" for having recognized Jesus' true identity and attributes this recognition to a divine revelation. Then Jesus addresses Simon by what seems to have been the nickname "Peter" (Cephas in Aramaic, Petros [rock] in Greek) and says, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it."

A common exegetical interpretation of Peter is provided by Daniel Harrington who suggests that Peter was an unlikely symbol of stability. While he was one of the first disciples called and served as the spokesman for the group, Peter is also the exemplar of "little faith" in Matthew 14, will soon have Jesus say to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" and will eventually deny Jesus three times. In light of the Easter event, then, Peter became an exemplar of the forgiven sinner.^[17] A great variance of opinions exists as to the interpretation of this passage with respect to what authority and responsibility, if any, Jesus was giving to Peter.

Petros had not previously been used as a name, but in the Greek-speaking world it became a popular Christian name, after the tradition of Peter's prominence in the early Christian church had been established.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church this passage is interpreted as not implying a special prominence to the person of Peter, but to Peter's position as representative of the Apostles. The word used for "rock" (petra) grammatically refers to "a small detachment of the massive ledge",^[18] not to a massive boulder. Thus, Orthodox Sacred Tradition understands Jesus' words as referring to the Apostolic Faith.

The great majority of Western scholars concur with the interpretation that the "rock" was Peter, not Jesus himself or Peter's faith.^[19]

Position among the apostles[link]

Church of the Primacy of St. Peter on the Sea of Galilee. Traditional site where Jesus Christ appeared to his disciples after his resurrection and, according to Catholic tradition, established Peter's supreme jurisdiction over the Christian church.

Peter is listed first among the Twelve Apostles in the canonical gospels^[20] and in the Book of Acts (Acts 1:13). He is also frequently mentioned in the Gospels as forming with James the Elder and John a special group within the Twelve Apostles, present at incidents at which the others were not present, such as at the Transfiguration of Jesus. He often confesses his faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

Peter is often depicted in the Gospels as spokesman of all the Apostles. Catholics refer to him as chief of the Apostles,^[21] as do the Eastern Orthodox^[22] and the Oriental Orthodox.^[23][24] In Coptic Orthodox Church Liturgy, he is once referred to as “Prominent” or "head" among the Apostles, a title shared with St. Paul in the text (The Fraction of Fast and Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria). Some, including the Orthodox Churches, believe this is not the same as saying that the other Apostles were under Peter's orders. In contrast, Jewish Christians are said to have argued that James the Just was the leader of the group.^[25] Some argue James was the Patriarch of Jerusalem and that this position at times gave him privilege in some (but not all) situations. The early Church historian Eusebius (c. AD 325) records Clement of Alexandria (c. AD 190) as saying,

"For they say that Peter and James and John after the ascension of our Saviour, as if also preferred by our Lord, strove not after honor, but chose James the Just bishop of Jerusalem."^[26]

Paul affirms that Peter had the special charge of being apostle to the Jews, just as he, Paul, was apostle to the Gentiles.

Walking on water[link]

Three of the four canonical Gospels—Matthew, Mark and John—recount the story of Jesus walking on water. Matthew additionally describes Peter walking on water for a moment, but beginning to sink when his faith wavered.^{[Matt. 14:28–31]}

Washing of feet[link]

At the beginning of the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples' feet. Peter initially refused to let Jesus wash his feet, but when Jesus responded: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me", Peter replied: "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head".^{[Jn. 13:2-11]} The washing of feet is often repeated in the service of worship on Maundy Thursday by some Christian denominations.

Arrest of Jesus[link]

Apostle Peter striking Malchus with a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The three synoptic Gospels all mention that, when Jesus was arrested, one of his companions cut off the ear of a servant of the High Priest.^[27] The Gospel of John also includes this event and names Peter as the swordsman and Malchus as the victim.^[Jn. 18:10] Luke adds that Jesus touched the ear and miraculously healed it.^[Lk. 22:50]

Denial of Jesus by Peter[link]

All four canonical gospels recount that, during the Last Supper, Jesus foretold that Peter would deny him three times before the following cockcrow ("before the cock crows twice" in Mark's account).

The three Synoptics and John describe the three denials as follows:

1. A denial when a female servant of the high priest spots Simon Peter, saying that he had been with Jesus. According to Mark (but not in all manuscripts), "the rooster crowed." Only Luke and John mention a fire by which Peter was warming himself among other people: according to Luke, Peter was "sitting"; according to John, he was "standing."
2. A denial when Simon Peter had gone out to the gateway, away from the firelight, but the same servant girl (Mark) or another servant girl (Matthew) or a man (Luke and also John, for whom, though, this is the third denial) told the bystanders he was a follower of Jesus. According to John, "the rooster crowed."
3. A denial came when Peter's Galilean accent was taken as proof that he was indeed a disciple of Jesus. According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, "the rooster crowed." John, though, does not mention the Galilean accent.

Matthew adds that it was his accent that gave him away as coming from Galilee. Luke deviates slightly from this by stating that, rather than a crowd accusing Simon Peter, it was a third individual.

St. Peter Denying Christ, by Gustave Doré

The Gospel of John places the second denial while Peter was still warming himself at the fire, and gives as the occasion of the third denial a claim by someone to have seen him in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus' prediction of Peter's denial is coupled with a prediction that all the apostles ("you," plural) would be "sifted like wheat," but that it would be Peter's task ("you," singular), when he had turned again, to strengthen his brethren.

In a reminiscent^[28] scene in John's epilogue, Peter affirms three times that he loves Jesus.

Empty tomb[link]

In John's gospel, Peter is the first person to enter the empty tomb, although the women and the beloved disciple see it before him.^{[Jn. 20:1–9]} In Luke's account, the women's report of the empty tomb is dismissed by the apostles, and Peter is the only one who goes to check for himself. In fact, he runs to the tomb. After seeing the graveclothes he goes home, apparently without informing the other disciples.^{[Lk. 24:1–12]}

Resurrection appearances[link]

Statue of St. Peter on the south door of St Mary's Church in Aylesbury, United Kingdom

Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians^[29] contains a list of resurrection appearances of Jesus, the first of which is an appearance to Peter.^[30] Here Paul apparently follows an early tradition that Peter was the first to see the risen Christ,^[6] which however did not seem to have survived to the time when the Gospels were written.^[31]

In the final chapter of the Gospel of John, Peter, in one of the resurrection appearances of Jesus, three times affirmed his love for Jesus, balancing his threefold denial, and Jesus reconfirmed Peter's position.^{[Jn. 21:15–17]} Some^[who?] scholars hypothesize that it was added later to bolster Peter's status.^[32]

Role in the early church[link]

The author of the Acts of the Apostles portrays Peter as an extremely important figure within the early Christian community, with Peter delivering a significant open-air sermon during Pentecost. According to the same book, Peter took the lead in selecting a replacement for Judas Iscariot.^[Acts 1:15] He was twice arraigned, with John, before the Sanhedrin and directly defied them.^{[Acts 4:7–22] [5:18–42]} He undertook a missionary journey to Lydda, Joppa and Caesarea,^{[9:32–10:2]} becoming instrumental in the decision to evangelise the Gentiles.^[10]

About halfway through, the Acts of the Apostles turns its attention away from Peter and to the activities of Paul, and the Bible is mostly silent on what occurred to Peter afterwards.

John Vidmar writes:

"Both Catholic and Protestant scholars agree that Peter had an authority that superseded that of the other apostles. Peter is their spokesman at several events, he conducts the election of Matthias, his opinion in the debate over converting Gentiles was crucial, etc.^[33]

Rescue from prison[link]

Acts 12 tells how Peter was put into prison by King Herod, but was rescued by an angel.

Council of Jerusalem[link]

At the council of Jerusalem (c. 50), the early Church, Paul and the leaders of the Jerusalem church met and decided to embrace Gentile converts. Acts portrays Peter as successfully opposing the Christian Pharisees who insisted on circumcision.^[34]

Epistles[link]

Peter/Cephas is mentioned briefly in Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, which mentions a trip by Paul to Jerusalem where he meets Peter (Galatians 1:18), and a trip by Cephas to Antioch^{[Gal. 2:11-14]} where Paul rebuked him for treating Gentile converts as inferior to Jewish Christian (see the Incident at Antioch). Galatians is accepted as authentic by almost all scholars, so these are the earliest mentions of Peter to be written.

Church tradition ascribes the epistles First and Second Peter to Apostle Peter, as does the text of Second Peter itself. First Peter implies the author is in "Babylon," which has been held to be a coded reference to Rome^[34] (1 Peter 5:13). Although, Babylon was an important fortress city in Egypt, just north of today's Cairo and this fact is combined with the "greetings from Marc" (1 Peter 5:13), who is regarded as founder of the Church of Alexandria (Egypt); thus other scholars put the First Peter epistle to be written in Egypt. Some^[who?] scholars regard First Peter as not authored by him, and there is still considerable debate about the Petrine authorship of Second Peter. However the Greek in both books is similar, and the early Church was adamantly opposed to pseudographical authorship.^{[34][page needed]}

Accounts outside the New Testament[link]

In Catholic tradition, Peter is said to have founded the church in Rome with Paul, served as its bishop, authored two epistles, and then met martyrdom there along with Paul.^[6]

Antioch and Corinth[link]

Later accounts expand on the brief Biblical mention of his visit to Antioch. The Liber Pontificalis (9th century) mentions Peter as having served as bishop of Antioch for seven years and having potentially left his family in the Greek city before his journey to Rome.^[35] Claims of direct blood lineage from Simon Peter among the old population of Antioch existed in the 1st century and continue to exist today, notably by certain Semaan families of modern-day Syria and Lebanon. Historians have furnished other evidence of Peter's sojourn in Antioch.^[36] Subsequent tradition held that Peter had been the first Patriarch of Antioch.

Peter might have visited Corinth, as a party of "Cephas" existed there.^[6]

Eusebius of Caesarea (Eusebius Caesariensis, ca 260-ca 340), in his "Historia Ecclesiastica", while naming some of the Seventy Disciples of Jesus, says: "... and the history by Clement (of Alexandria, c.150 - c. 215), in the fifth (chapter) of Hypotyposeis; in which Cefas, the one mentioned by Paul (in the citation): «when Cefas came to Antioch, I confronted him face to face» (Galatians 2:11), it is said he was one of the Seventy Disciples, having the same name with Peter the Apostle".^[37]

Death[link]

In the epilogue^[34] of the Gospel of John, Jesus hints at the death by which Peter would glorify God,^{[Jn. 21:18–19]}saying "…when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and take you where you do not want to go." This is interpreted by some as a reference to Peter's crucifixion.^[28]

According to the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia, St. Peter labored in Rome during the last portion of his life, and there ended his life by martyrdom.^[21] The death of St. Peter is attested to by Tertullian at the end of the 2nd century, and by Origen in Eusebius, Church History III.1. Origen says: "Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer."^[21] This is why an upside down cross is generally accepted as a symbol of Peter, who would not have considered himself worthy enough to die the same way as his Savior.^[38]

Status[link]

St. Clement of Rome identifies Peter and Paul as the outstanding heroes of the faith.^[6] Papias reported that the Gospel of Mark was based on Peter's memoirs, a tradition still accepted by some scholars today.^[6]

Martyrdom[link]

Caravaggio's depiction of the crucifixion of Apostle Peter.

The mention in the New Testament of the death of Peter says that Jesus indicated its form by saying: "You will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."^[39] Early church tradition (as indicated below) says Peter probably died by crucifixion (with arms outstretched) at the time of the Great Fire of Rome of the year 64. Margherita Guarducci, who led the research leading to the rediscovery of Peter’s tomb in its last stages (1963–1968), concludes Peter died on 13 October AD 64 during the festivities on the occasion of the “dies imperii” of Emperor Nero. This took place three months after the disastrous fire that destroyed Rome for which the emperor wished to blame the Christians. This “dies imperii” (regnal day anniversary) was an important one, exactly ten years after Nero ascended to the throne, and it was ‘as usual’ accompanied by much bloodshed. Traditionally, Roman authorities sentenced him to death by crucifixion. According to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, he was crucified head down. Tradition also locates his burial place where the Basilica of Saint Peter was later built, directly beneath the Basilica's high altar.

Clement of Rome, in his Letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 5), written c. 80–98, speaks of Peter's martyrdom in the following terms: "Let us take the noble examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most just pillars of the Church were persecuted, and came even unto death… Peter, through unjust envy, endured not one or two but many labours, and at last, having delivered his testimony, departed unto the place of glory due to him."

The apocryphal Acts of Peter is also thought to be the source for the tradition about the famous phrase "Quo vadis, Domine?" (or "Pou Hupageis, Kurie?" which means, "Where are you going, Master?"). According to the story, Peter, fleeing Rome to avoid execution, asked the question of a vision of Jesus, to which Jesus allegedly responded that he was "going to Rome to be crucified again." On hearing this, Peter decided to return to the city to accept martyrdom. This story is commemorated in an Annibale Carracci painting. The Church of Quo Vadis, near the Catacombs of Saint Callistus, contains a stone in which Jesus' footprints from this event are supposedly preserved, though this was apparently an ex-voto from a pilgrim, and indeed a copy of the original, housed in the Basilica of St Sebastian.

The ancient historian Josephus describes how Roman soldiers would amuse themselves by crucifying criminals in different positions, and it is likely that this would have been known to the author of the Acts of Peter. The position attributed to Peter's crucifixion is thus plausible, either as having happened historically or as being an invention by the author of the Acts of Peter. Death, after crucifixion head down, is unlikely to be caused by suffocation, the usual cause of death in ordinary crucifixion^{[citation needed]}.

A medieval tradition^{[citation needed]} was that the Mamertine Prison in Rome is the place where Peter was imprisoned before his execution.

In 1950, human bones were found buried underneath the altar of St. Peter's Basilica. The bones have been claimed by many to have been those of Peter.^[40] An attempt to contradict these claims was made in 1953 by the excavation of what some believe to be St Peter's tomb in Jerusalem.^[41] However along with supposed tomb of Peter bearing his previous name Simon, tombs bearing the names of Jesus, Mary, James, John, and the rest of the apostles were also found at the same excavation—though all these names were very common among Jews at the time.

In the 1960s, some previously discarded debris from the excavations beneath St Peter's Basilica were re-examined, and the bones of a male person were identified. A forensic examination found them to be a male of about 61 years of age from the 1st century. This caused Pope Paul VI in 1968 to announce them most likely to be the relics of Apostle Peter.^[42]

Further doubt on finding bones in Rome is cast by Pope Vitalian's letter to King Oswy of the Britons (CE 665), offering him the remains (then called relics) of the apostle Peter and Paul, along with those of the Holy Martyrs Laurentius, John, Gregory and Pancratius as a reward for the emergence of British faith.^[43]

Connection to Rome[link]

St. Peter's Basilica, believed to be the burial site of St. Peter, seen from the River Tiber. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of Rome.

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, believed to be the burial site of St. Paul.

The See of Rome is traditionally said to be founded by Peter and Paul, see also Primacy of Simon Peter, who had invested it with apostolic authority. The New Testament says nothing directly about Peter's connection to Rome, but an early Catholic tradition supports such a connection.^[6]

That Peter was bishop of Rome is corroborated by both positive and negative evidence.^[44] However, some historians have challenged this traditional view of Peter's role in the early Roman Church.^{[45][46][47][48][49]} Still, most Catholic and Protestant scholars,^[50] and many scholars in general,^[51] conclude that Peter was indeed martyred in Rome under Nero. In 2009 Otto Zwierlein (de) concluded in a critical study that "there is not a single piece of reliable literary evidence (and no archaeological evidence either) that Peter ever was in Rome."^[52][53]

1 Clement, a document that has been dated from the 90s to the 120s, is one of the earliest sources adduced in support of Peter's stay in Rome, but questions have been raised about the text's authenticity and whether it has any knowledge about Peter's life beyond what is contained in the New Testament Acts.^[52] The Letter to the Romans attributed to St. Ignatius of Antioch implies that Peter and Paul had special authority over the Roman church,^[6] telling the Roman Christians: "I do not command you, as Peter and Paul did" (ch. 4). However, the authenticity of this document and its traditional dating to c. 105–10 have also been questioned, and it may date from the final decades of the 2nd century.^[52]

Later in the 2nd century, Irenaeus of Lyons believed that Peter and Paul had been the founders of the Church in Rome and had appointed Linus as succeeding bishop.^[54] In Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter III, paragraphs 2–3), Irenaeus wrote:

Since, however, it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the succession of all the churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles. With that church, because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world, and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition.

The blessed apostles, then, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of the episcopate. Of this Linus, Paul makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him succeeded Anacletus; and after him, in the third place from the apostles, Clement was allotted the bishopric. This man, as he had seen the blessed apostles, and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing [in his ears], and their traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone [in this], for there were many still remaining who had received instructions from the apostles. In the time of this Clement, no small dissension having occurred among the brethren at Corinth, the Church in Rome dispatched a most powerful letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to peace, renewing their faith, and declaring the tradition which it had lately received from the apostles…

Tertullian also writes: "But if you are near Italy, you have Rome, where authority is at hand for us too. What a happy church that is, on which the apostles poured out their whole doctrine with their blood; where Peter had a passion like that of the Lord, where Paul was crowned with the death of John (the Baptist, by being beheaded)." Dionysius of Corinth also serves as a late 2nd-century witness to the tradition.^[6] He wrote: "You (Pope Soter) have also, by your very admonition, brought together the planting that was made by Peter and Paul at Rome and at Corinth; for both of them alike planted in our Corinth and taught us; and both alike, teaching similarly in Italy, suffered martyrdom at the same time".^[55] Later tradition, first found in Saint Jerome, attributes to Peter a 25-year episcopate (or apostolate) in Rome.^[6]

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there was a Christian community at Rome before either Peter or Paul arrived there:

Even on the Day of Pentecost, "Roman strangers" (advenœ Romani, Acts 2:10) were present at Jerusalem, and they surely must have carried the good news to their fellow-citizens at Rome… according to the pseudo-Clementine Epistles, St. Barnabas was the first to preach the Gospel in the Eternal City.^[56]

Paul's Epistle to the Romans 16 (c. 58) attests to a large Christian community already there,^[57] although he does not mention Peter.

Non-canonical sayings of Peter[link]

Two sayings are attributed to Peter in the gnostic Gospel of Thomas. In the first, Peter compares Jesus to a "just messenger."^[58] In the second, Peter asks Jesus to "make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life,"^[59] although the verse containing the latter is regarded by most scholars as a dubious, later addition.^{[citation needed]}

In the Apocalypse of Peter, Peter holds a dialogue with Jesus about the parable of the fig tree and the fate of sinners.^[60]

In the Gospel of Mary, whose text is largely fragmented, Peter appears to be jealous of "Mary" (probably Mary Magdalene). He says to the other disciples, "Did He really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us?"^[61] In reply to this, Levi says "Peter, you have always been hot tempered."^[62]

Other noncanonical texts that attribute sayings to Peter include the Secret Book of James and the Acts of Peter.

Denial of Jesus[link]