Peter’s Missionary Journeys
The Apostle Peter, the brother of Andrew, was the one Jesus chose as the rock upon which he would build his church. Consequently, he was seen as the chief Apostle with “The Keys to the Kingdom”. He spent many years preaching in and around Jerusalem, before travelling abroad.
Peter, James (Jesus’ step-brother not, the Apostle) and John were seen as the “Three Pillars of the Church” in Jerusalem, which acted as the centre for the new religion of Christianity.
He was martyred in Rome in 67 AD by the Roman emperor Nero, at the end of his fourth missionary journey. Early Greek church tradition records that Peter’s wife was also executed with him and that Peter asked to be crucified upside-down in respect for Jesus.
First and Second Journeys
First Journey
Jersusalem: Begins
Caesarea of Palestine: Consecrated a new bishop from the priests who were following him.
Sidon: Healed many & consecrated a bishop for them.
Beirut: Evangelized & consecrated a bishop to leave behind.
Byblos
Tripolis of Phoenicia: He stayed for some time, at the house of a man named Maron, whom he consecrated as the bishop for the faithful there.
Orthosia
Antrada
Island of Aratos
Balanaea
Paltos
Gavalla
Laodikeia: Healed the many infirm and cast out demons. He consecrated a bishop for the newly formed Church there.
Antioch: Healed the sick and preached the Gospel. He also consecrated bishops: Marcian for Syracuse in Sicily & Pancratius for Taormina.
Marcian was a very tall man (over seven feet tall), & full of strength, but he was very gentle. He worked many wonders by his prayers, even casting down & destroying the altars of the idol worshippers by his prayers alone.
Pancratius also worked many wonders. God gave him authority over the demons which, on his arrival, he commanded to cast a falcon idol which a number of them inhabited, 3 miles out into the sea – which they did. He then met the governor of the island who was immediately and tremblingly converted to the Christian faith.
Simon Magus, the sorcerer [Acts 8:9], was there at the time but fled to Judea when he heard Peter was coming.
Tyana of Cappadocia
Ankyra of Galatia: There, Peter resurrected a dead man in the name of Christ. He catechized & baptized many, built a church and consecrated a bishop for them.
Sinope of Pontos: There he met up with his brother, the Apostle Andrew and together they taught the people.
Amastris in Pontos
Gangra of Paphlagonia
Claudiopolis of Cappadocia (not of Bythinia)
Nikomedia
Nicea: Peter stayed there for some time. He wanted to celebrate the feast of Pascha (Easter) in Jerusalem so, from here, he began heading back that direction.
Pessinus
Cappadocia
Antioch
Jerusalem for Pascha: There he met Paul for the first time and remained with him for 15 days [Galatians 1:18]. Peter, with the other Apostles also, set down some rules or “Canons” for the orderly governance of the rapidly growing Church at large.
Second Journey
Jerusalem: Begins
Antioch: There, Peter consecrated as a bishop, a man named Evodios, (Evodos) who was one of the 70 apostles sent out by Christ [Luke 10:1]. He is credited as the one who coined the term “Christian”, as it states in Acts 11:26 that Antioch was where the faithful were first called Christians.
Synnada of Phrygia
Nikomedia: Peter then consecrated Procorus, who was one of the deacons ordained in Acts 6:5, as a bishop. Prochorus then followed the Apostle John on his evangelistic travels.
Illium: There, Peter consecrated a bishop, a man named Cornelius who was – spoiler alert – the Cornelius of Acts 10, the first gentile convert after Peter’s vision of the clean and unclean animals being equal!
Jerusalem: There he met with the other Apostles and celebrated Pascha again and helped convene a council to decide on the matter of the circumcision of converts [Acts 15:6]. Then, the Lord appeared to encourage him and bid him to again go west.
Third and Fourth Journeys
Third Journey
Jerusalem: Begins
Caesarea
Sidon
Beirut
Byblos
Tripolis
Orthosia
Antrada
Island of Aratos
Balanaea
Paltos
Gavalla
Laodikeia
Antioch: He again met with the Apostle Paul. He also consecrated a number of bishops:
- Orkanos for Tarsus.
- Epaphroditos for Laucas.
- Apellios, the brother of Polycarp, a bishop of Smyrna.
- Phygellos for Ephesus.
Macedonia: Baptizing and consecrating bishops everywhere he went.
- Olympos, one of the seventy apostles sent out two by two in the Gospels, whom Paul also greets in his epistle to the Romans (16:15), was consecrated for Philippi.
- Jason for Thessalonika – He was also one of the 70 apostles. Furthermore, this is the Jason who the Jews attempted to lynch in Acts 17:10 and was greeted by Paul in Romans 16:21.
- Silas, the companion of the Apostle Paul, as bishop for Corinth.
- Herodion, who was also one of the 70 apostles, for Patras – of whom Paul says, “Greet Herodion, my kinsman” [Rom 16:11].
Taormina, Sicily: He visited Pancratius and then consecrated Maximus as bishop.
Rome: There he preached and baptized in homes and public squares every day. Peter also had a major confrontation with that Simon Magus who tried to buy the Holy Spirit from him [Acts 8:9]. This dramatic episode finally ended with the death of that infamous sorcerer.
Tarraco, Spain
Sermium, Spain: He consecrated Epenetus as bishop. Epenetus was one of the 70 apostles and a fountain of healing. As proof of his excellence, he was greeted by Paul in Romans 16:5 as “My beloved, who is the first fruits of Achaia for Christ.”
Carthage, Africa: There, he ordained as bishop, another of the 70 apostles, by the name of Crescens, who had been preaching in Galatia [2 Tim 4:10].
Thebes, Egypt: There, he ordained Rufus, of the seventy apostles as bishop. Paul again vouches for the virtue of this saint, saying, “Greet Rufus, the chosen of the Lord…” [Rom 16:13].
Jerusalem: All of the apostles were miraculously translated by God to Jerusalem to see Mary, the mother of the Lord, one last time before her death and to be present for her burial.
Fourth Journey
Jerusalem: Begins
Egypt, then through Africa to Rome
Rome
Milan
Photike of Epiros: Preaching, baptizing and ordaining more priest & bishops, as always.
Britain: Peter stayed in Britain for quite some time and many were baptized. Then he received a vision of an angel telling him, “O Peter, Apostle of Christ! The time for thy departure from this life is come. Thou must go to Rome, where, having endured crucifixion, thou shalt receive a fitting reward from Christ the Lord.”
Peter made his preparations to leave by strengthening the Church there and leaving behind bishops, priests and deacons.
Rome: For martyrdom. Upon his arrival, he consecrated Clement as bishop [Phil 4:3]. The Emperor Nero was no friend of Peter, especially on account of Peter’s having converted his two favorite concubines to the Christian faith (as such, they would no longer agree to sleep with him) and for Peter’s involvement in the demise of Simon Magus, whom Nero considered to be a god.
Therefore, Peter was arrested and sentenced to crucifixion. Peter, however, requested to be crucified upside-down out of reverence for Christ. Thus, Peter departed this life on the 29th of June, AD 67 – on the very same day and place as Paul, who was beheaded. Peter’s wife, who traveled with him, was also martyred that day, as well as a multitude of other Christians in Rome, including the bishops Herodion and Olympos who had traveled there to meet Peter.