Thou Art Peter - Ave Maria Hour - Life of St. Peter Part 1

Saint Peter also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon Cephas, or Peter the Apostle, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, and the first leader of the early Church.

According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero. He is traditionally counted as the first bishop of Rome‍—‌or pope‍—‌and also by Eastern Christian tradition as the first patriarch of Antioch. The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a major saint and as the founder of the Church of Antioch and the Diocese of Rome,[3] but differ in their attitudes regarding the authority of his successors. According to Catholic teaching, in Matthew 16:18 Jesus promised Peter a special position in the Church.

Two general epistles in the New Testament are ascribed to Peter, but modern scholars generally reject the Petrine authorship of both.[4] The Gospel of Mark was traditionally thought to show the influence of Peter's preaching and eyewitness memories. Several other books bearing his name‍—‌the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, and Judgment of Peter‍—‌are considered by Christian denominations as apocryphal, and are thus not included in their Bible canons