Liberation of Saint Peter
Encyclopedia
The Liberation of Saint Peter is a story told in the Acts of the Apostles
in which Saint Peter
is rescued from prison by an angel
. Although described in a short textual passage, the tale has given rise to theological discussions and has been the subject of a number of artworks.
was put into prison by King Herod
, but the night before his trial an angel appeared to him, and told him to leave. Peter's chains fell off, and he followed the angel out of prison, thinking it was a vision (verse 9). The prison doors opened of their own accord, and the angel led Peter into the city.
When the angel suddenly left him, Peter came to himself and returned to the house of Mary
, the mother of John Mark
. A servant girl called Rhoda
came to answer the door, and when she heard Peter's voice she was so overjoyed that she rushed to tell the others, and forgot to open the door for Peter (verse 14). Eventually Peter is let in and describes "how the Lord had brought him out of prison" (verse 17). When his escape is discovered, Herod orders the guards put to death (verse 19).
argues that "direct divine intervention is strongly indicated" in this narrative. He contrasts the story of Peter to that of James, who was reported in verse 2 as having been executed by Herod, and notes that "James should die while Peter should escape" is a "mystery of divine providence
."
James B. Jordan
suggests that this incident is portrayed as being a type of resurrection
for Peter. Noting that one of the major themes of the Book of Acts
is that "Christ’s servants follow in His footsteps," Jordan argues that the events of the chapter "recapitulate the resurrection of Jesus
." Amy-Jill Levine
and Marianne Blickenstaff, like Jordan, relate the disbelief of Rhoda
's message to Luke
24:1–12, where most of the disciples refuse to believe the news of the resurrection brought by a group of women.
Acts 12:7 is referred to in Charles Wesley's
hymn And Can it Be:
A number of churches are named after "St Peter in Chains" (Latin St Peter ad Vincula, Italian San Pietro in Vincoli), including in Rome
, in Pisa
, in London, and in Cincinnati
.
The traditional festival of "St Peter in Chains" was on 1 August, and had the collect
:
It was included in the pre-1962 General Calendar of the Roman Rite
(see the Tridentine Calendar
, the General Roman Calendar as in 1954 and the General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII
). Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast day of "St Peter's Chains" either as a Greater-Double or a Double Major
feast.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
in which Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
is rescued from prison by an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
. Although described in a short textual passage, the tale has given rise to theological discussions and has been the subject of a number of artworks.
Biblical narrative
Acts 12:3–19 tells how PeterSaint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
was put into prison by King Herod
Agrippa I
Agrippa I also known as Herod Agrippa or simply Herod , King of the Jews, was the grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus IV and Berenice. His original name was Marcus Julius Agrippa, so named in honour of Roman statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and he is the king named Herod in the...
, but the night before his trial an angel appeared to him, and told him to leave. Peter's chains fell off, and he followed the angel out of prison, thinking it was a vision (verse 9). The prison doors opened of their own accord, and the angel led Peter into the city.
When the angel suddenly left him, Peter came to himself and returned to the house of Mary
Mary, mother of John Mark
Mary, mother of John Mark is a character in the Bible. She is apparently mentioned only once in , when Peter is coming to her house, after his escape from prison:...
, the mother of John Mark
John Mark
John Mark is a character in the New Testament. According to William Lane, an "unbroken tradition" identifies him with Mark the Evangelist. John Mark is mentioned several times in the Acts of the Apostles...
. A servant girl called Rhoda
Rhoda (Bible)
Rhoda is a minor character in the New Testament. She appears only in Acts . Rhoda was a servant girl in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. After Peter was released from prison, he went to the house and knocked on the door...
came to answer the door, and when she heard Peter's voice she was so overjoyed that she rushed to tell the others, and forgot to open the door for Peter (verse 14). Eventually Peter is let in and describes "how the Lord had brought him out of prison" (verse 17). When his escape is discovered, Herod orders the guards put to death (verse 19).
Theological significance
F. F. BruceF. F. Bruce
Frederick Fyvie Bruce was a Biblical scholar and one of the founders of the modern evangelical understanding of the Bible...
argues that "direct divine intervention is strongly indicated" in this narrative. He contrasts the story of Peter to that of James, who was reported in verse 2 as having been executed by Herod, and notes that "James should die while Peter should escape" is a "mystery of divine providence
Divine providence
In Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...
."
James B. Jordan
James B. Jordan
James B. Jordan is a Protestant theologian and author. He is director of Biblical Horizons ministries, a think tank in Niceville, Florida that publishes books, essays and other media dealing with Bible commentary, Biblical Theology, and liturgy.-Education:Jordan attended the University of Georgia,...
suggests that this incident is portrayed as being a type of resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
for Peter. Noting that one of the major themes of the Book of Acts
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
is that "Christ’s servants follow in His footsteps," Jordan argues that the events of the chapter "recapitulate the resurrection of Jesus
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
." Amy-Jill Levine
Amy-Jill Levine
Amy-Jill Levine is E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Department of Religious Studies, and Graduate Department of Religion.-Biography:...
and Marianne Blickenstaff, like Jordan, relate the disbelief of Rhoda
Rhoda (Bible)
Rhoda is a minor character in the New Testament. She appears only in Acts . Rhoda was a servant girl in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. After Peter was released from prison, he went to the house and knocked on the door...
's message to Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
24:1–12, where most of the disciples refuse to believe the news of the resurrection brought by a group of women.
Depiction in art
The following artists have depicted this event:- Antonio de BellisAntonio de BellisAntonio de Bellis was an Italian painter from Naples, active in the Baroque period. Along with Jusepe de Ribera, Bernardo Cavallino and Massimo Stanzioni he was one of the major artists working in Naples in the first half of the seventeenth century, under the influence of Caravaggio.He worked on...
, The Liberation of St. Peter - Battistello CaraccioloBattistello CaraccioloGiovanni Battista Caracciolo was an Italian artist and important Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio....
, Liberation of St. Peter - Giovanni GhisolfiGiovanni GhisolfiGiovanni Ghisolfi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.Born in Milan, he initially trained with his uncle, Antonio Volpino. At the age of 17, he travelled to Rome with his friend Antonio Busca where he painted veduta and capricci, mainly landscapes with architectural fragments and ruins...
, Saint Peter freed from prison - Giovanni LanfrancoGiovanni LanfrancoGiovanni Lanfranco was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.-Biography:Giovanni Gaspare Lanfranco was born in Parma, the third son of Stefano and Cornelia Lanfranchi, and was placed as a page in the household of Count Orazio Scotti...
, Liberation of Saint Peter - Gerrit van Honthorst, St. Peter Released from Prison
- Bartolomé Esteban MurilloBartolomé Estéban MurilloBartolomé Esteban Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children...
, Liberation of St. Peter - Filippo LippiFilippo LippiFra' Filippo Lippi , also called Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Italian Quattrocento .-Biography and works:...
, Liberation of St. Peter (fresco in Brancacci ChapelBrancacci ChapelThe Brancacci Chapel is a chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, central Italy. It is sometimes called the "Sistine Chapel of the early Renaissance" for its painting cycle, among the most famous and influential of the period. Construction of the chapel was commissioned by...
) - Pier Francesco MolaPier Francesco MolaPier Francesco Mola was an Italian painter of the High Baroque, mainly active around Rome.-Biography:Mola was born at Coldrerio . At the age of four, he moved to Rome with his father Giovanni Battista, a painter...
, St. Peter Freed from Prison - RaphaelRaphaelRaffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
, Deliverance of Saint PeterDeliverance of Saint PeterThe Liberation of Saint Peter is a fresco painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael and his assistant Giulio Romano. It was painted in 1514 as part of Raphael's commission to decorate with frescoes the rooms that are now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the... - Sebastiano RicciSebastiano RicciSebastiano Ricci was an Italian painter of the late Baroque school of Venice. About the same age as Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Tiepolo, he represents a late version of the vigorous and luminous Cortonesque style of grand manner fresco painting.-Early years:He was born in Belluno, son...
, Liberation of St. Peter by an angel - Bernardo StrozziBernardo StrozziBernardo Strozzi was a prominent and prolific Italian Baroque painter born and active mainly in Genoa, and also active in Venice.-Biography:Strozzi was born in Genoa. He was probably not related to the other Strozzi family....
, The Release of St. Peter - Jusepe de Ribera painted the scene twice:
- The Deliverance of St. Peter (1639) is in the Museo del PradoMuseo del PradoThe Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of...
- The Deliverance of St. Peter from Prison (1642) is in the Gemäldegalerie Alte MeisterGemäldegalerie Alte MeisterThe Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden features major works of art. It is located in the gallery wing of the Zwinger....
.
- The Deliverance of St. Peter (1639) is in the Museo del Prado
Other references
Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...
hymn And Can it Be:
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
A number of churches are named after "St Peter in Chains" (Latin St Peter ad Vincula, Italian San Pietro in Vincoli), including in Rome
San Pietro in Vincoli
San Pietro in Vincoli is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, best known for being the home of Michelangelo's statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II.-History:...
, in Pisa
San Pietro in Vinculis (Pisa)
San Pietro in Vinculis is a church in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy.It was built by the Augustinians in 1072-1118 over a pre-existing edifice. The rectory was added a few years later....
, in London, and in Cincinnati
Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral
Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is a Greek revival structure located at 8th and Plum Streets in downtown Cincinnati...
.
The traditional festival of "St Peter in Chains" was on 1 August, and had the collect
Collect
In Christian liturgy, a collect is both a liturgical action and a short, general prayer. In the Middle Ages, the prayer was referred to in Latin as collectio, but in the more ancient sources, as oratio. In English, and in this usage, "collect" is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable...
:
O God, who didst deliver thy holy Apostle Saint Peter from his bonds and suffer him to depart unhurt:
vouchsafe, we pray thee; to deliver us from the bonds of our sins, and of thy mercy preserve us from all evil.
It was included in the pre-1962 General Calendar of the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
(see the Tridentine Calendar
Tridentine Calendar
The Tridentine Calendar is the calendar of saints to be honoured in the course of the liturgical year in the official liturgy of the Roman Rite as reformed by Pope Pius V, implementing a decision of the Council of Trent, which entrusted the task to the Pope....
, the General Roman Calendar as in 1954 and the General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII
General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII
In 1955 Pope Pius XII made several changes to the General Roman Calendar of 1954, changes that remained in force only until 1960, when Pope John XXIII, on the basis of further recommendations of the commission that Pius XII had set up, decreed a further revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of...
). Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast day of "St Peter's Chains" either as a Greater-Double or a Double Major
General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII
In 1955 Pope Pius XII made several changes to the General Roman Calendar of 1954, changes that remained in force only until 1960, when Pope John XXIII, on the basis of further recommendations of the commission that Pius XII had set up, decreed a further revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of...
feast.
External links
- "St. Peter ad Vincula, or St. Peter’s Chains", Butler's Lives of the Saints