There is perhaps no more popular, well-known, and famous disciple than that of Peter. When one hears of the disciple named Peter it almost immediately conjures up images of the ever-so-popular yet unfortunate account of the rooster's crow and his irrational denial of Jesus. However, aside from this most ill-fated event, Peter is attributed with many more noble things than that of his faults. In fact, the list would be quite endless. There are four primary names given to Peter throughout the New Testament. Peter, Simon, Simeon, and Cephas. Additionally, Simon Peter is used simultaneously numerous times throughout the New Testament as well. The names Simon and Peter are synonymous with each other and originate from the Greek word petros meaning "rock" or "stone", symbolic of his strong character and personality. Similarly, Simeon and Cephas are the Syriac-Aramaic equivalent. It is often understood that Jesus himself spoke in Aramaic and referred to Peter as Cephas although He gave him the name of Peter (Mark 3:16, Matt 16:18, John 1:42). It is worth noting however that Peter was referred to as Simon by the resurrected Jesus rather than Peter or Cephas. The King James Version of the Bible makes a reference to Peter as, Simon Bar-jona (Matthew 16:17). This is simply the Hebrew meaning of, "Simon son-of-Jona", not to be confused with the Old Testament prophet Jonah of Nineveh. It was quite common in Jewish culture to refer to someone with a paternal attachment to his name, i.e. Joshua son of Nun, Solomon son of David, etc. Peter's father was either named Jona (Greek. for Jonah), Jonas, or John (Matt. 16:17, John 1:42). Jonah’s name means "a dove" which generally symbolizes peace. Peter's mother remains unidentified.

It is also known that Peter was in fact married (Mark 1:30). His wife, whose name is unknown, would later travel with him on his missionary journeys (1 Corinthians 9:5). Tradition claims that Peter's wife could've possibly been the daughter of Aristobulus (Romans 16:10), a Roman friend and believer in Christ. Peter's brother Andrew, his mother-in-law, and assumingly his wife, all lived together (Mark 1:29-30) in a house in a little fishing village named Bethsaida which was a suburb of Capernaum. As to who owned the house itself is uncertain. We do know the home would later become a common place of gathering and fellowship with the other disciples, including the Lord himself (Matt. 8:14, Mark 1:29-31). Both Peter and Andrew were fishermen who conducted business as partners with the sons of Zebedee, James and John who were also later to become disciples (Matthew 4:21). It is assumed that Peter and Andrew were fishermen of the poorer class since the Bible makes no reference to them owning a boat as it does with John and James (Matt. 4: 18-22). As fishermen, tradition says that Peter and Andrew also marketed their sun-dried fish in the city of Jerusalem. It is speculated that Peter was probably between the ages of 30 and 40 years when Christ called him away from his profitable fishing business.

Peter is almost always the first of the disciples to be addressed by Christ and the first to be listed in the Bible as a disciple (Acts 1:13). In some aspects, Peter acted as the chief representative and spokesman for all of the disciples. He was what we would consider today in psychological terms, an extrovert. He was outspoken, aggressive, assertive, reactionary instead of responsive, and at times irrational such as in the case of the incident in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ was arrested. There, Peter instinctively pulled his sword from his sheath and proceeded to cut off the ear of one of the high priest's servants who was accompanying the arresting guards (John 18:10). Aside from these moments of fault, Peter is credited with doing much more good than not. He preached the Gospel (Acts 2:14-36, 3:12-26), he healed the sick (Acts 3:1-10, 9:32-42), oversaw the work of other missionaries (Acts 8:14-25), and later suffered for his faith (Acts 4:13-22, 5:17-41). Despite popular belief, Peter was in fact the first to preach and open the doors to the Gentiles instead of Paul (Acts 10:1-11:18). He also would be instrumental in the establishment of church rules at the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15. It was concluded that Paul was given the missionary obligations to the Gentiles while Peter's was given to the Jews (Galatians 2:7 and 9).

Peter is also credited with writing at least two known epistles of the New Testament, 1st and 2nd Peter. The 1st epistle was written about 62-64 A.D. It was during this time when the great persecution under Emperor Nero began. About three years after the 1st epistle was completed, he began the 2nd epistle around 67 A.D. By this time the persecution had been in full swing for a couple of years and he knew his time on earth was now limited. This is greatly reflected in his second epistle. There is much speculation amongst Bible scholars that he may have had much input into Mark's gospel as well, since he was a close friend to John Mark. Aside from these two epistles and possibly assisting John Mark with his gospel, it is also assumed that he transcribed several other religious forms of literature known as the Apochrypha. These books are, the Gospel of Peter, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Epistle of Peter to James, the Preaching of Peter, and the Acts of Peter (200-220 A.D.) which record the famous Quo Vadis encounter where he supposedly met Jesus on the road while leaving the city of Rome. This story however seems to have been of Roman Catholic influence.

Millions of people have believed for centuries that Peter was the first to establish the Roman Catholic church and that he was the first of a long line of succeeding popes or pontiffs. This belief is based on two primary sources. One source is based upon Jesus’ statement, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 16:18-19)

First, the above verse simply cannot be enough to justify the basis for the claims of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church. This verse has been the subject of debate for centuries. The verse is rather vague and does not indicate any mention of the Roman Catholic church whatsoever. It is difficult to fully understand what Jesus meant concerning the above verse. Space would not allow for the many speculations. However, in summary, the primary interpretations of this passage containing, "the keys" are as follows: 1) the keys represent the authority to carry out church discipline, legislation, and administration. 2) the keys are simply opportunities to bring people to the kingdom of heaven by presenting them with the message of the gospel. 3) the keys are symbolic of his way of getting in through the door of heaven when Peter dies.

The religious leaders of Jesus' time thought they too had the keys to the kingdom of heaven and often times shut people out due to their unrighteousness or lack of obedience to God. Some religious scholars have speculated that this verse is simply referring to the methods used in building ancient temples and palaces which were often built on a bed of rock or huge limestones. It is worth noting that this account is not paralleled in the earliest Marcaean account as it is today (Mark 8:27-30).

The second means that Catholics use in support of justifying Peter as the first pope is the assumption that he visited Rome and established the first church of believers there, only later to become the Roman Catholic Church. The Bible simply makes no reference of such an excursion. Nowhere in the scriptures are there any indication that Peter took a missionary journey to Rome. However, based upon extra-biblical references such as: archaeological evidence, tradition, and apocryphal books, Peter along with Paul did in fact visit Rome and was instrumental in the establishment of the church there. However, Peter did not set himself up as the pontiff and as having sole authority over the church as do the popes of today (ex cathedra). If Peter were alive today he would most assuredly be appalled with what he saw. Elevating anyone above Christ, whether it be Peter, the mother Mary, or the pope, is outright idolatry and blasphemy. Today, many Roman Catholics hold to the practice of the "veneration of Mary" as the coredemptrix to man. In other words, Mary, along with Jesus, is the mediator between man and God who is able to redeem our sins rather than Christ's atonement on the cross alone.

Another primary factor disproving that Peter was the first pope was the fact that he was married. According to the Roman Catholic doctrine, pontiffs, bishops, and priests cannot marry and must remain celibate throughout his entire life. If Peter was the first pope, it most assuredly contradicts the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical rules for the church hierarchy.

Before Peter's final demise, it could be said that he possibly had visited Corinth and quite possibly the places mentioned in his epistles, i.e. Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia (Turkey), Asia, and Bithynia, before finally ending in Rome. Confirming the claims of Tertullian (200 A.D.), Eusebius claims in his treatise, Church History, (326 A.D.)