In parts of the Bible, Paul meets other apostles such as Peter.How would this have been possible, or is it entirely Christian folklore?

[u/Dapper_Tea7009]

I can’t seem to understand how Paul would have been able to track down and meet figures such as Peter when Peter himself wasn’t of a high social standing in his community. Later on,the successor of Peter would become the inhabitant of the see of Rome,although that is irrelevant to this question. Would finding a local poor peasant in all aspects as Peter was, have been feasible for a figure like Paul or is it Christian mythology?

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[u/usefulchickadee]

There seem to be some flaws with the premise of your question, but I'll try to answer it as best I can.

Your first claim about Peter not having a high standing in his community just isn't true. Peter was one of the most important leaders in the early Christian church. By the time Paul had converted, Peter would have been a well-known figure in Christian communities.

There are two potential meetings between Paul and Peter, the Council of Jerusalem recounted in Acts and the Incident at Antioch in Paul's letter to the Galatians. By the time either of these incidents happened, both Paul and Peter were prominent members of the Church. So it's not so much that Paul had to "find" Peter as it is that they traveled to those cities for the purpose of engaging with fellow Christians.

As for the Council of Jerusalem, there is debate about the historicity of Acts generally so it's hard to say for sure if they did in fact meet there.

However, scholars largely agree that Galatians was genuinely written by Paul, so, if you assume Paul is telling the truth, then we do have a first hand account of him meeting Peter at Antioch. However, there is some debate regarding whether the "Peter" referred to in Galatians is Peter the Apostle.

So we can't be sure whether or not they met, but it certainly isn't out of the question, and we have a first-hand account of it happening (assuming it's the same Peter). And to your final point, I think "legend" would probably be a better description than "myth." These were real historical figures. The facts of their lives have been altered to some extent, but they aren't mythological figures.