# Peter — The City of God character guide > Peter in The City of God by Augustine of Hippo. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** the Apostle Peter **First appearance:** 0002-part-i-book-i ## Snapshot The chief apostle whose authority Augustine cites when arguing about God's hidden will and the prayers of the saints that seem unanswered. ## Who they are Peter stands in the book as a witness to the apostles' teaching, invoked alongside John and Paul when Augustine untangles how God is said to will what He causes His people to will. The tension is not Peter's own but the reader's: saints pray piously for things that never happen, and yet God is said to have wrought that very will in them. His presence keeps the discussion anchored in the church's lived experience of prayer and foreknowledge. ## In the story ### [Concerning the eradication of the love of human praise, because all the glory of the righteous is in God](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xiv) Implied among the holy apostles who preached Christ despite persecution. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xxiii) Cited as one who, by revelation of the Father, recognized Jesus as the Christ. ### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xxvii) Mentioned as a martyr to whom no sacrifice is offered. ### [Of the two different and dissimilar communities of angels, which are not inappropriately signified by the names light and darkness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxxiii) Quoted as declaring that God cast the sinning angels into chains of darkness until judgment. ### [Book XIV: The Sin of the First Man and the Two Cities](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-book-xiv) Mentioned in the exchange with Christ regarding love (dilectio/amor) and in the context of weeping. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-vii) Cited in his exchange with Christ, where he affirms his love for the Lord. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-ix) Referenced as weeping, an example of grief in temptation. ### [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xiii) Cited as an example of healthier condition when weeping and dissatisfied with himself, contrasting with proud presumption. ### [Chapter XXIII: On the Nature of Angels and the Birth of Giants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxiii) Quoted by Augustine regarding the angels that sinned and were cast into chains of darkness, though Augustine interprets this as referring to the original apostate angels, not those in Genesis. ### [LII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-lii) Imprisoned and nearly killed, but freed by an angel, as an example of early persecution. ### [Of the hidden time of the final persecution](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-liii) Mentioned in the context of pagan claims that he used magic to ensure the worship of Christ for 365 years. ### [LIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-liv) Apostle; accused by pagans of using magic arts to spread Christianity, but Augustine defends him as a faithful preacher. ### [Book XX: The Last Judgment and the Resurrection](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-book-xx) Apostle whose prophecy about the last days and the new heavens and earth is referenced. ### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-x) Quoted for calling believers a holy people and royal priesthood. ### [What the Apostle Peter predicted regarding the last judgment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xviii) Quoted for his prophecy about the last judgment and the destruction of the world by fire. ### [Chapter XXIV: Passages from the Psalms of David which predict the end of the world and the last judgment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxiv) His epistle is cited regarding the world perishing by water and being reserved for fire. ### [Chapter V: Of the Resurrection of the Flesh, Which Some Refuse to Believe, Though the World at Large Believes It](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-v) Implied as one of the fishermen-apostles sent by Christ to spread the faith. ### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxv) Mentioned in the context of sorceries, but the prediction of belief predates Peter. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/characters/peter - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/characters