Chapter One
The Popes
1 Peter, Apostle, St.
Galilean,* d. ca. 64
Peter, Jesus' chief apostle, whom Catholic tradition regards as the first pope, was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. (The first succession lists, however, identified Linus, not Peter, as the first pope. Peter was not regarded as the first Bishop of Rome until the late second or early third century.)
That Peter was married and remained so even after becoming a disciple of Jesus is clear from the account of Jesus' healing of Peter's mother in law (Mark 1:29 31) and from Paul's reference to the fact that Peter and the other apostles took their wives along on their apostolic journeys (1 Cor. 9:5). The pious belief that the apostles, including Peter, "put away" their wives once they received the call from Jesus has no historical basis. Rather, it arises from the mistaken and essentially unchris ...
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