Approaching the West — Page 66
A pproaching the West—66 as the Messiah, and accepting his call, both became his committed followers. Later on, Peter and eleven other disciples received the formal title “Apostles” from Jesus. Peter the Apostle succeeded Jesus as his appointed Khal ī fah. Like Jesus, he did not hold any political or military power. Peter’s Khil ā fat can be defined as ‘servant of the servants of God: a servant of his brother bishops, a servant of the whole People of God. ’ The Christians call it ‘Petrine Ministry. ’ He tirelessly remained engaged in preaching the message of Jesus among the Jewish communities in Palestine, and traveled extensively to the Greek city of Corinth, and to Antioch in Syria to form early Christian communities among the Jews. It is noteworthy that once Peter became the Khal ī fah of Jesus, his whole personality was transformed in an amazing manner. He had denied Jesus three times when Jesus was captured and tormented; but from that timid disposition, he changed into a fearless and aggressive preacher, and turned into a determined and courageous leader, ready to endure pain and oppression for the sake of his mission. Later in his life, he went to Rome, where he was imprisoned, and was crucified in 63 CE by the order of the Roman king Nero. Historically, Peter is recognized by Roman Catholics as the first Bishop of Rome, and as such the first pope. Saint Linus succeeded Peter as the second pope, but very little is known about him in Christian history. Both Peter and Paul had ordained him to be the head of the early Christian Community in Rome, which mostly comprised of converts from the Gentiles–the non-Jews. He had worked closely with Paul in Rome, trying to preach to the pagans. When Paul