Andreas of Caesarea : Notice how right from the start Peter encourages the souls of the believers by raising them up to the same spiritual level as that of the apostles. For the grace of baptism is the same in every believer. — CATENA Bede : In the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, the apostle Peter writes a letter to them, greeting those who have obtained an equal faith to his own, and exercise it through works of righteousness. Namely, the righteousness which human prudence has not discovered, nor legal institution teaches, but the Lord and our Savior speaking through the Gospel has shown, when he says: Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5). And again: You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder. But I say to you, etc. (Ibid.). — Commentary on the Catholic Epistles Hilary of Arles : In his second letter Peter describes himself both as Simon and as a servant, in order to show that he was humble and obedient. In his first letter he confined himself to the name Peter, which had been given to him by the Lord himself and signified that he was the chief of the apostles, but here he reverts to his original name Simon in order to show those who preferred to forget his Jewish origins that he had not rejected them. — INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 2 PETER Oecumenius : Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. "Simon." It is also written as Simeon. For Simon is short for Simeon: just as from Metrodoros we have Metras, from Menodoros we have Menas, and from Theodosios we have Theudas. Immediately from the beginning, he lifts the minds and souls of believers, inspiring them to equal diligence in preaching with the apostles. For it is not just that those who have obtained a faith of equal standing should be in any way inferior to those who have been declared to be equals. Moreover, Peter receives them everywhere with peace, not that which is of the world, but that which is rooted in the knowledge of God. For this alone is called peace, as it frees us from offense and hatred toward God. Therefore, Christ also grants this to us as he departs to the Father, and when he rose from the dead, he proclaimed, "Peace be with you." (Jn. 14:27; 20:19,21,26) And in the churches, we pray that the angel of peace may be given to us: and the priest frequently grants this to the people from the altar: we also use this in our mutual addresses, that this is the mother of all good things, and the substance of our joy. Therefore, Christ commanded His disciples to first offer this divinely as they entered homes: (Luke 10:5) "Grace to you and peace." The order is as follows: May grace and peace be multiplied to you, as all things that pertain to life and godliness, in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, since by His divine power this grace has been granted to you, the knowledge, glory, and virtue of Him: through which the greatest promises have been given: that you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. "In the knowledge of God." Otherwise: To you who have equally been honored with us in the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, may grace and peace be multiplied through the righteousness of our God. Or this is the order: In the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, which knowledge has been granted through His divine power, everything that pertains to life and godliness, and that very knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which glory and virtue precious and magnificent promises have been granted, so that you may become partakers of the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, applying all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, and to self-control perseverance, and to perseverance godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love (2 Peter 1:3). — Commentary on 2 Peter