The Missionary Activity of St. Peter Outside Palestine in the Light of the New Testament Literature

Franciszek Mickiewicz

doi:10.21697/ct.2020.90.5.17

Published: 2021-03-29

Vol. 90 No. 5 (2020)

The Missionary Activity of St. Peter Outside Palestine in the Light of the New Testament Literature

Franciszek Mickiewicz

Collectanea Theologica

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.21697/ct.2020.90.5.17

Abstract

From the historical works of Eusebius of Caesarea we learn that St. Peter went to Rome in 42 and preached the Gospel there for 25 years. However, this information is not confirmed in the books of the New Testament. For this reason, this article attempts to answer the question of where St. Peter could have stayed and acted from the moment he left Jerusalem (Acts 12:17) until his arrival in Rome. The analysis of Gal 2:11–14 leads to the conclusion that after the Council of Jerusalem he certainly stayed in Antioch for some time. It is possible that during his long journey he reached the northern regions of Asia Minor, as a reminiscence of this can be found in 1 Peter 1:1. Then, on his way to Rome, he probably paid a visit to Christians in Corinth, as evidenced by 1 Cor 1:12; 9:5. These texts therefore allow us to suppose that after leaving Jerusalem, St. Peter became an itinerant apostle, carried out extensive missionary activities and, thanks to his personal contacts with Christian communities, gained great authority among them.

Keywords:

St. Peter, apostolate, missionary journeys

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Mickiewicz, F. (2021). The Missionary Activity of St. Peter Outside Palestine in the Light of the New Testament Literature. Collectanea Theologica, 90(5), 415–442. https://doi.org/10.21697/ct.2020.90.5.17

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