The Confession of St. Peter Painting

Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew relates to us the moment when Holy Apostle St. Peter, in the company of the other Holy Apostles, confessed that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God: "[13] And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? [14] But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. [15] Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? [16] Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. [17] And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. [18] And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [19] And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. [20] Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ." (Matthew 16) The painting shows Jesus standing with St. Peter on the mountain, as St. Peter receives from Him the Church and the keys to Heaven. The other Apostles are shown in Heaven where they form the Church Triumphant. At the feet of Jesus and Peter the altar is set, where the Eucharistic Lamb is offered to us. In the two insets we see events related to that solemn moment. On the left, Peter obtains the rights to the Synagogue in the Miracle of the Tribute Money. On the right Archangel Michael breakes the Gates of Hell and binds Satan as Adam and Eve are thereby rescued. Other angels are shown throughout the scene effecting the communication between the earth and the Heaven that is established though the keys. Jesus said that the Heavenly Father revealed the divinity of Christ to St. Peter. The Hand of the Father is shown with the fingers folded in a blessing. The central composition illustrates the nature of priesthood as the priest being the other Christ: the man sent to us by Christ through whom we see and hear Christ (Jn 13:20, Jn 20:21, Lk 10:16). Both are wearing papal pallia (or, in the Eastern terminology, omophoria). The Holy Apostles on the right of Christ are Top row: Sts James the Greater and Simon the Zealot of Jerusalem Bottom row: Philip, James the Just, John the Evangelist. So, how do I know what they looked like? The Byzantine iconographic tradition tells us that icons of the saints are to be treated as portraits, whenever possible. The Greek culture in the times of the Apostles was rich in visual arts, and portraits of secular figures of that time survive. It is unconceivable that the first Christians did not make the attempt to capture the facial features of Christ, Mary and the Apostles. In the case of Virgin Mary, we know that St. Luke, an educated Greek, painted her image. Even though these early images did not survive the tragedy of iconoclasm, the tradition was not killed off, and icons written in the Byzantine style today give us a rough sense of how these men looked. Interesting that when a catacomb image of St. Paul was found, -- and the catacomb frescoes are not in the Byzantine tradition, -- his facial features matched those we have known all along from the icons. On the left of Christ (viewer's right) are Holy Apostles Sts Bartholomew and Thomas Didymus on the top row; Matthew the Evangelist, Andrew and Jude Thaddeus on the bottom row. The left inset shows the Miracle of the Tribute Money is told in Matthew 17:23-26: "And when they were come to Capharnaum, they that received the didrachmas, came to Peter and said to him: Doth not your master pay the didrachmas? He said: Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying: What is thy opinion, Simon? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom? of their own children, or of strangers? And he said: Of strangers. Jesus said to him: Then the children are free. But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater: take that, and give it to them for me and thee. " I believe that this episode shows St. Peter rightfully taking over the Synagogue. This scene in the right-hand inset is St. Archangel Michael at the Gates of Hell. We see Satan bound under the broken gate as Adam and Eve, our first parents, reach for salvation as their sin has been redeemed. At the bottom center, the essence of the Church is shown as the Lamb, Who is Christ "standing as it were slain", here appearing on the Altar.

Painting:Oil on Other

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:30 W x 40 H x 1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.