petra

This name derives from Latin "petra" (Petrus), from the Ancient Greek “pétrā ‎(πέτρᾱ) Pétros (Πέτρος)”, from the Aramaic word “kephas”, which in turn from the Syriac “kefa”, all words meaning “stone, rock” (figurative meaning: solid, strong and resolute). Saint Peter, according to ancient tradition was a prominent early Christian leader, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament. He is venerated as a saint and considered by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy to be the first bishop of Rome and first Pope. Roman Catholics consider him to have been the first Pope and all subsequent popes to have been his successors, and therefore sometimes refer to the Pope or the Papacy itself as Peter.