First Epistle of Peter
The
First Epistle of Peter. It has traditionally been held
to have been written by Peter the apostle during
his time as bishop of Rome. The letter is addressed to
various churches in Asia Minor suffering religious
persecution. The author's use of Peter's name
demonstrates the authority associated with Peter. The
author identifies himself in the opening verse as
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus", and the view that the
epistle was written by St. Peter is attested to by a
number of Church Fathers: Irenaeus (140-203), Tertullian
(150-222), Clement of Alexandria (155-215) and Origen
(185-253). If Polycarp, who was martyred in 156, and
Papias alluded to this letter, then it must have been
written before the mid-2nd century. However, the
Muratorian Canon of c. 170 did not contain this, and a
number of other General epistles, suggesting they were
not yet being read in the Western churches. Unlike The
Second Epistle of Peter, the authorship of which was
debated in antiquity, there was little debate about
Peter’s authorship until the advent of biblical
criticism in the 18th century. Assuming the letter is
authentic and written by Peter who was martyred c. 64,
the date of this epistle is probably between 60-64.
This epistle is addressed “to the strangers dispersed
through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
elect,” (five provinces of Asia Minor) though it
otherwise appears to be addressed to Gentiles rather
than to the Jews of the Diaspora. Some of these areas
were evangelized by Paul of Tarsus according to Acts
16:6-7, 18:23. The Epistle is attentive to keeping with
the teachings of Paul, and is likewise in conformity
with the teachings expressed in the canonical Gospels.
The letter blends moral exhortation with catechesis, and
especially relates fidelity even during suffering with
the life of Jesus.
The Epistle contains the remarkable assertion: "For unto
this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that
they might be judged indeed according to men in the
flesh, but live according to God in the spirit" (4:6).
This passage has few parallels in the New Testament
(c.f. Eph 4:9-10, 1 Peter 3:18-19, John 5:25), though it
has been argued that the various assertions that Christ
was “raised from the dead” presuppose that he journey to
the abode of the dead before his Resurrection (e.g. the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 632). This teaching
became included in the Apostles’ Creed, reading: “He
(Jesus) descended into Hell.” The earliest citations of
the Creed, however, (for example that of Tertullian) do
not include this line (or several others), and the
Apostle’s Creed was not well known in the East. From the
doctrine of the Harrowing of Hell emerged various
medieval legends.
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