Peter's original name was Symeon or Simon. Jesus gave Peter the name of kepha (an Aramaic word meaning rock or stone)-Mark 3: 16, Matthew 16:18, John 1 :42. Translated into Greek, the name became 'Petros'.

Peter came originally from Bethsaida in Galilee and worked as a fisherman before following Jesus as his disciple. In the gospels Peter has an outstanding position amongst the twelve disciples although in John's gospel some prominence is also given to the unnamed disciple 'whom Jesus loved'. After the terrible crisis of Peter's denial of Jesus before the crucifixion (Mark 15:66-72 and parallel passages) Peter received the forgiveness of Jesus and was commissioned' to become the 'shepherd of the flock' (John 21). In Acts 1-12 Peter is shown as the head of the apostles and the church in Jerusalem, a great preacher filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, a healer and a leader of great authority. The last reference to Peter in Acts is in 15:6-14. It appears that Peter eventually handed over leadership of the Jerusalem church to James the brother of the Lord, who speaks as leader of that church in Acts I5. Although there is a lot of information about Peter in the gospels and Acts 1-12 and 15, very little is known about what he actually did in the later years of his life. We have noted the references which Paul makes to Peter in I Corinthians and Galatians. Tradition upholds that he continued his apostolic ministry outside Palestine before finally reaching Rome and leading the church there in the later years of his life, until his death.