Christian martyr, the author of two epistles
in the New Testament and leader of the
apostles. He is regarded as the first bishop
of Rome, whose mantle the pope inherits. His
emblem is two keys; feast day 29 June.
Originally a fisherman of Capernaum, on the
Sea of Galilee, Peter may have been a
follower of John the Baptist, and was the
first to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah.
His real name was Simon, but he was nicknamed
Kephas (`Peter', from the Greek for `rock')
by Jesus, as being the rock upon which he
would build his church. Tradition has it that
he later settled in Rome; he was martyred
during the reign of the emperor Nero, perhaps
by crucifixion. Bones excavated from under
the Basilica of St Peter's in the Vatican
1968 were accepted as his by Pope Paul VI.