«Feed My sheep» (John 21: 15-17). Apostle Peter: chief shepherd or penitent sinner?

Annotation

The text of John 21:15-17, which is considered one of the three main gospel testimonies of the primacy of Peter, began to be interpreted in different ways in the process of century-old Orthodox-Catholic controversy. If the Catholic Church continues to consider it as a reference to the supreme pastorate of Peter, then the Orthodox Church understands it only as the restoration of Peter in the apostolate. According to the New Testament and ancient Church Tradition, Peter, from the moment of the Resurrection of Jesus until the conversation on the shore of Lake Tiberias, is not considered to have fallen away and retains his primacy. At the same time, Jesus' thrice asking "Do you love Me?" undoubtedly correlates with Peter's threefold denial. According to the author, John 21:15-17 does not refer to the restoration of Peter in the apostleship, but to the assignment of the pastoral ministry to him. At the same time, both as an apostle and as a shepherd of Christ's flock, Peter invariably remains the first. The understanding of this text proposed by the author is confirmed by references to the works of Western and Eastern church authors, as well as to the evidence of liturgical texts of the Byzantine tradition used by the Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches.

Keywords

John 21: 15-17, Apostle Peter, shepherd, the pastoral ministry, exegesis.

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