Saint Peter

===Apostolic succession===
{{Main|Apostolic succession}}

The leadership of Peter forms the basis of the Apostolic succession and the institutional power of orthodoxy, as the heirs of Peter,{{sfn|Pagels|2005|p=43}} and is described as "the rock" on which the church will be built.{{sfn|Pagels|2005|p=45}}
Catholics refer to him as chief of the Apostles,<ref name=CE>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf212.ii.v.xlii.html |title=Sermon by Leo the Great (440–461) |publisher=Ccel.org |date=13 July 2005 |access-date=12 September 2010}}</ref> as do the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greekorthodox.org.au/downloads/files/english/voo/2005/11VOO05E |title=Archbishop Stylianos of Australia |access-date=12 September 2010 |archive-date=7 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101107000949/http://www.greekorthodox.org.au/downloads/files/english/voo/2005/11VOO05E }}</ref> and the [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.syrianchurch.org/PZakka/Jubilee.htm |title=Patriarch H.H. Ignatius Zakka I Iwas |publisher=Syrianchurch.org |access-date=12 September 2010 |archive-date=11 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011205211/http://www.syrianchurch.org/pzakka/Jubilee.htm }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://syrianorthodoxchurch.com/pa_identity.htm|title=Syriac Orthodox Church in Canada - Identity of the Church|website=syrianorthodoxchurch.com}}</ref> In Coptic Orthodox Church liturgy, he is once referred to as "prominent" or "head" among the Apostles, a title shared with Paul in the text (''The Fraction of Fast and Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria''). Some, including the Orthodox Churches, believe this is not the same as saying that the other Apostles were under Peter's orders.