What role did the church play in Peter's miraculous escape from Herod's prison?

A:

A hidden theme in Acts of the Apostles is a comparison between Peter and Paul, such that Peter always comes across as the more worthy apostle, so we will find quite a number of very similar miracles performed by both Peter and Paul, but in each case Peter's miracle was even more awe-inspiring and worthy than the miracle performed by Paul.

We see this in the stories of their miraculous escapes from prison. Peter was released from prison twice by angels, who in one case accompanied Peter from the prison. Paul was released from prison by a timely earthquake that arguably need not have been of divine origin, but chose not to make good his escape. There is a clear parallel between the story of Paul's release from prison and the ancient play, Bacchae, so there is no doubt that the story was inspired by a play, not an actual event. Peter's miraculous escapes were literary creations intended to help develop the theme of how much greater Peter was than Paul.

Hans Joachim Schoeps writes that Acts is only a retrospective view of Christian origins written by one party - the winners. It would seem to be anomalous, but there were several competing branches in early Christianity, and Acts represents one branch that flourished and eventually saw Peter acclaimed in tradition as the bishop of Rome.