St. Peter @ St. Peter Roman Catholic Church - Merchantville, NJ - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

This is a very original and very unique bronze statue of St. Peter up on a stone pedestal. St. Peter is holding two keys, one in each hand. These are the old-fashioned 19th century keys once in use. The statue is one of a kind. Peter is in a robe, with a beard and looking up toward the heavens. He is standing on a beautiful stone something or other, which in turn is raised high on a pedestal. There is a plaque with the words "Sanctvs Petrvs" which in Latin means Saint Peter. On Wikipedia, if you search for Saint Peter, there is a picture, which is the spitting image of the statue. I wonder if this is the popular or excepted image of Saint Peter or maybe they use Wikipedia like the rest of us.

Peter was a leader of the early Christian Church, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Some consider him the first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. The New Testament says he is one of the twelve original apostles. Nero crucified him for what I imagined as a threat to his power. It seems he was a huge preacher of Jesus and Nero obviously was not into a God that threatened his power structure.

As for the keys, Peter is supposed to be the patron saint of keys. Peter is often depicted in both Western and Eastern Christian art holding a key or a set of keys. This is a symbolic icon for the church. The keys used as a symbol of the pope's authority refer to the "keys of the kingdom of Heaven" promised to Peter, and to all the Apostles. Peter was a fisherman before he became the first recognized leader of the church. All Popes wear the Fisherman's Ring, which bears an image of the saint casting his nets from a fishing boat.

The most interesting fact I learned is Peter's original name was Simon but Jesus termed the nickname of Peter (which means rock) for him as he said he was the rock upon which he would build his church. In other words, everything would fall on Peter for the church to be established and maintained. I was stunned this interpretation has divided the church and led to many other different Christian religions being established such as Protestantism. Other religions such as Seventh Day Adventists, Lutherans, New Apostolic, Later Day Saints, et al all make it a point to give their interpretation of Jesus' words to Peter and what they think it means. This is absolutely fascinating stuff to read. Who knew a single sentence could cause so much argument and dissension.

The story of Peter and his integral part in the formation of the Roman Catholic religion and story is a long and fascinating tale of reference, faith and martyrdom. I read a few sources and learned about this compelling historical figure and it is definitely worth a read if not for the religious connotation then for the historical implications.