Peter was born in Bethsaida. His name was Simeon. Peter was the brother of Andrew, a disciple of Christ. He married and moved to his wife’s house in Capernaum. Soon his brother Andrew arrived in Capernaum. There they continued their occupation of fishing.
While they were engaged in worldly affairs, they eagerly awaited the Messiah, the Savior. These brothers became fascinated by John the Baptist’s sermons and became his disciples. It was John who showed them Christ. These brothers gladly accepted the unexpected call of Christ. From then on, Peter was a constant companion of Christ. When the evangelists give the names of the apostles, the name of Peter comes first. The Gospels reveal that Christ particularly loved Peter and valued him more than any of the other apostles. As the spokesman for the group of disciples, Peter himself often answered Jesus.
Peter, entrusted with the keys to the kingdom of heaven, led the other disciples in the authority entrusted to them right after the resurrection of Christ. It was Peter who presided over the apostolic meeting to elect a disciple to replace Judas and acted as the leader of the church in Jerusalem. Peter was the first person to preach the gospel. About 3,000 people were converted in his first sermon.
Peter, who obeyed God’s command to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, preached the gospel unto Galilee, and Bethany, and to Cappadocia, even though it was Rome where he received his lot. In the meantime, the apostle was imprisoned several times.
The apostle arrived in Rome between AD 37 and 42. Thousands converted to Christianity as a result of the apostle’s work. The church began to expand. With that, the persecution began. When Nero became emperor, the persecution of Christians reached its peak. He killed thousands of Christians.
As the persecution intensified, Peter reluctantly obeyed the requests of the Christians and decided to flee Rome. But as soon as he entered the city, the apostle had a vision of Christ carrying the cross against him. Peter asked, “Where are you going?” “To Rome, to be crucified again.” Realizing the meaning of the vision, the apostle bravely returned to the city.
It was not long before the imprisoned Apostle. He was imprisoned with Paul for eight months. Finally, the apostle was sentenced to be crucified. But the apostle begged his assassins to crucify him in order to differentiate him from his Guru. Thus the Apostle Peter was crucified upside down just opposite to Christ.