Peter in the New Testament : A Collaborative Assessment by Protestant and Roman Catholic Scholars

The role of Peter has remained one of the most sensitive and divisive areas of New Testament inquiry, particularly because of its implications for the position of the papacy in Christendom. Now, under ecumenical sponsorship, a notable group of Protestant and Roman Catholic New Testament scholars have sat down together over a period of nearly two years to study this matter in the light of modern biblical criticism - surely a first" in cooperative ventures since the Reformation. The results of their joint study, concisely presented in a form intelligible to the interested reader, are significant both in terms of what can be known with assurance about the historical career of Peter, and still more with regard to the development of the images of Peter after his death. This study, which moves the discussion beyond many old impasses, has biblical, theological, and ecumenical implications for all Christian churches.

Raymond E. Brown (1928 - 1998), a Sulpician priest, was Auburn Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Union Theological Seminary, New York. He was twice appointed a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, by Pope Paul VI in 1972 and by Pope John Paul II in 1996. He wrote extensively on the Bible and was known worldwide as an expert in Johannine literature.

Karl P. Donfried is the Elizabeth A. Woodson Professor of Religion and Biblical Literature, at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.


John Reumann was a professor of New Testament studies at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA. He was the author of Righteousness in the New Testament: Justification in the Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue, and , Ministries Examined: Laity, Clergy, Women, and Bishops in a Time of Change.