St Peter is depicted carrying the keys. This is to show that he held the keys to heaven and earth as the leader of the apostles. It was said by Jesus when questioned to his his disciples: "who do you say I am" some say Elijah others said Moses, but Peter answered "you are the Christ the son of the living God." Jesus answered this was not told to you but by my Heavenly Father. From now on you hold the keys to heaven and hell. Whoever sins you forgive are forgiven. Whoever sins you retain are retained. With this, Jesus gave Peter the first pope the keys to forgive sins through the institution of the church and the sacrament of confession. Thus Peter is seen carrying the keys.
St Peter also was the first disciple to arrive at the tomb indicating his leadership status amongst the apostles. In Matt 16:18 Jesus said "blessed are you Simon bar Jonah you are Cephas the rock and upon you this rock I will build my church. The gates of hell shall not overcome it. "
Thus St Peter was the first pope determined by Christ. And the apostolic tradition and succession is laid down by the laying of hands and by election. Today we have the 266th Pope pope in Pope Francis. The Catholic Church carries it's deposit of faith from the early apostles and the prophecy of old has culminated in the arrival of Jesus, and with the apostles the prophecy has ended as it has been fulfilled by Christ who is the incarnate word of God. The Catholic Church teaches that all public revelation ended with St John the last of the apostles to have died. The public revelation related to the Christ who had come and been the source of all divine revelation. Today many self professed apostles arise and claim to be apostles. Indeed Christ was the fullness of divine revelation. In the last supper, He instituted the Eucharist, and passed on his body to the rest of the world through this Luminous mysteries, where his body and blood were transformed by the action of the priest through consecration into the real body and blood of Christ. He shares this food through the mass which is Christ Himself. In the bible he mentioned during the Last supper, the first Eucharist, take this body and eat of it, it will be broken for you. Take the blood and drink of it , it will be for the remission of sins. (Matt26:26-28). Without eating his flesh and drinking his blood, you shall not have life within you.
St Peter being the leader who brought all the traditions and formulated and clarified rules was mightily used to be the leader of the early Church and till today sti stands. In the bible he had an argument with Paul as Paul asked why Peter was sitting with the Jews. Indeed that Peter was known as the preacher to the Jews and St Paul preacher to the Gentiles as he did away with more formalities like food and customs in order to be like them to win them. St Peter had the role of leader of the church.
This was also seen when in the glorious resurrection of Christ, Peter was among the first apostles to arrive, together with St John and St Mary Magdalene. This indicated St Peter's leadership role.
St Peter loved Christ very much evident from the beginning when he was a fisherman.(Matt 4:18-22) Christ called out " Come follow me" and Peter answered his call. From an uneducated fisherman, Christ himself appointed him as the Rock(Matt 16:18) on which He would build His church, and where the gates of hell shall prevail against it. In Luke 22:54-62, when Christ came to Peter and asked do you love me? Peter answered yes and Jesus said feed my sheep. Jesus asked Peter again do you love me a second time. Peter said yes. And Jesus said feed my lamb. The third time Jesus asked do you love me? Peter was upset. Of course I do. And Jesus told Peter would have to suffer for Christ kingdom. In the end Peter was martyred for his faith. And he was crucified. However he did not deem himself worthy of dying like Christ so he was crucified upside down. Peter laid his life for the church. As an early church father mentioned the seed church of the church was built on the blood of martyrs. Indeed Peter fulfilled his calling. And was the first Pope of the church and his life was examplary.
In the denial of Jesus, where Peter denied Jesus three times. In Luke 22:31, Christ had mentioned to Peter "Satan will sift you like wheat, but fear not, I have prayed for you." When Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested, the guard asked Peter do you know him. To this Peter I do not know this man. And the cock crowed. To this the guard asked he was seen with you, you must know. Peter answered I swear I do not know him. The cock crowed. Finally the cock crowed a third time when Peter was asked again and denied again thrice. He cried bitterly for falling into temptation and denying his Master. Yet from that incident on, Peter was transformed when he saw the risen Christ and went on to lead the church as the first Pope, and went on to die as a martyr. This fisherman from Gallilee was indeed a man used mightily by God, he chose the foolish to shame the wise. And Peter was apostle to the Jews, leader of the apostles in his time and was the rock in which the church was built and which still stands today prevailing against the gates of hell as Jesus promised.
In this instance, the St Peter statue in St Peter and Paul Singapore is depicting holding the key to his breast. His statue is life sized and is dressed in flowing robes of ancient Rome attire. His two fimgers point upwards, as though it is towards heaven. The statue is similar to the St Peter staue in Rome's St Peter's Basillica. Purported to be designed by Arnolfo di Cambio’s sculpture of St. Peter, c. 1300, and commissioned by Pope Leo 1(440-461) which is the time the church was institutionalized when Emperor Constantine was coverted to Christianity issuing the "edict of Milan " in 313. In Arnolfo di Cambio’s sculpturing, the beard and hair is curly. The right foot is protruding. In Rome's statue, the right foot is slightly worn out due to touching and kissing as forms of veneration. It is made of bronze.
http://www.digital-images.net/Gallery/Scenic/Rome/Churches/StPeters_Int/stpeters_int.html
St Peter is the disciple that Jesus chose. He was crucified upside down in Rome as he mentioned he was not worthy to die like his master. Thus fulfilling the prophecy that he would die to glorify Jesus in his old age. Origen and Tertullian, early church historians testify to this in their record of early Christianity.
The second pope following St Peter was Pope Clement I in the year AD 92 to 99.
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