Peter’s Proximity to Christ in Early Christian Art

This close relationship between Peter and Christ was often reflected in early Christian art. One example can be found in the depictions carved into the sarcophagus of a wealthy, Christian woman, dated about AD 300. The beautiful artwork on the sarcophagus represents the style of Christian art that existed in Western Europe before Christianity was legalized by Constantine in AD 313. The sarcophagus, which illustrates events from the life of Jesus, shows Peter right next to Jesus in every single scene.

Curiously, these illustrations of Peter depict him with curly hair and a curly beard—the quintessential representation of Peter in early Christian art. The reason for this particular depiction of Peter goes back to the Roman custom of representing the emperor in art. Every town or village or person who wanted to have an image of the emperor had to copy the image that was approved by Rome itself. The idea was that everyone in the Roman Empire would be able to identify the image of the emperor because it was always the same. The early Christians adopted this practice in their own art. They wanted every Christian throughout the empire to be able to recognize Peter, Paul, Jesus, etc., whenever they were depicted.

It is also important to note that the depictions of Jesus are not what we are accustomed to in later Christian art. Here, as was the artistic custom in the early Church, Jesus appears as a young man without a beard. In Roman art, a beardless youth signified divinity. You can see this with artistic renditions of the Roman emperor. For example, Caesar Augustus—as with all images of the emperors—always appears clean shaven. It’s not until Hadrian, who reigned AD 117–138, that we see an emperor depicted with a beard. Just as the emperor was considered divine, Christ—who is the Son of God and, therefore, truly divine—appears youthful and clean shaven to signify his divinity, his Resurrection from the dead, and eternal life.

Beginning at the far right of the sarcophagus, we see the gospel scene of the haemorrhaging woman who was healed by touching Jesus’s garment—and Peter is standing right next to him. The gospel tells us that Jesus stopped and asked, “Who was it that touched me?” (Lk 21:45). Peter, who was attempting, somewhat unsuccessfully, to keep the crowd at arm’s length, seemed a little offended and answered, “Master, the multitudes surround you and press upon you!” (ibid.).

The next scene on the sarcophagus shows the paralytic man who was healed by Christ. Once again, Peter is standing beside Jesus, watching him carefully. The following scene depicts the blind man who was healed by Jesus. While Jesus is touching the eyes of the man, we notice Peter standing right beside him. Peter is constantly there, scene after scene, peering over Jesus’s shoulder.

The main illustration on the sarcophagus is taken from the Wedding at Cana. We see servants with the containers of water that have been changed into wine. Of course, Peter is there again looking over Christ’s shoulder. Then, directly in the center of the sarcophagus, is a woman, depicted in a gesture of prayer. This represents the woman who was buried in the sarcophagus. Her hands are outstretched, demonstrating that she is asking for prayers of intercession. It’s interesting that in 300 AD, we have this example of a Christian seeking prayers after she has passed away. That the artist placed this petitioning woman next to the Wedding at Cana scene seems to identify her with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who interceded with Christ to change the water into wine. Perhaps this woman had a great devotion to Our Lady. We can’t be sure, but the placement of her in this scene is rather suggestive of Marian devotion.

As we continue to look at the sarcophagus, we see the gospel episode where Peter is arrested. Later, we see him in prison along with two guards who are drinking water from the rock that Peter struck. This represents the Baptism of the guards who converted after having been evangelized by Peter. These artistic depictions of Peter, most of which show him looking over Christ’s shoulder, are drawn from the gospels themselves. Peter is mentioned twenty-five times in Matthew’s gospel, twenty-five in Mark’s, thirty in Luke’s, and thirty-nine in John’s. And almost every time he is mentioned, he is right next to Jesus. 

This close proximity to Jesus gave Peter a unique perspective, and the study of his life opens up for us a window into the Person, life, teaching, and mission of Jesus Christ. Because of this, we can say that the closer we get to Peter, the closer we get to Christ himself. While this close relationship of Peter to Christ is one reason for us to study Peter in more depth, there is another reason that stands out above the others. Peter is the bridge for our understanding of the relationship between Christ and his Church. He becomes that bridge when Jesus turns to Peter and says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:18–19). Appointed by Christ himself, Peter was the first leader of the Church community, the “Vicar of Christ” on earth.

In today’s society, there is often a mistaken sense of self-independence that says we don’t need organized religion or we don’t need the Church. This would have been incomprehensible to Peter and the Apostles, and to Christ himself. Recently, there was a book published with a title like How to Be Christian without Going to Church. Ideas such as this demonstrate that there is something of an identity crisis as to what the Church is supposed to be. This makes it very important to go back to the very origins of the Church, and back to that rock upon which Christ built his Church. By doing this, we will understand better what Jesus intended for the Church, why we need the Church, and why the Church is a firm foundation for our faith.