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Icon nb 32b
Size : 28 x 20 cm.
Linden board
Gilded halo. Egg tempera.
Saint Peter was born at Bethsaida, near the Sea of Galilee. Saint Peter, whose name was originally Simon, was a fisherman along with his brother Andrew. Andrew was one of the first followers of Jesus and he encouraged his brother to join him.
During Jesus’ ministry, the gospels show saint Peter as the foremost apostle in declaring faith in him as the Christ. The name Peter, meaning ‘rock’, was selected by Jesus to indicate that he would be the rock-like anchor for the unity of the Church. Jesus also promised to give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, which is why depictions of saint Peter generally show him holding a pair of keys. At the time of the arrest of Jesus, saint Peter cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest with a sword but then, as had been predicted by Jesus, he denied three times that he had ever known him. After Jesus’ resurrection, saint Peter re-affirmed his love for Jesus and was commanded to “feed (his) lambs”, to take care of the Church.
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