On June 19, the Church commemorates the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome, about AD 67.
There have been Protestant writers, so eager to refute Roman claims about Saint Peter that they asserted Peter was never in Rome. And a sola-scriptura Protestant might note that scripture is silent on the topic and stop there, since scripture hardly addresses any history at all after about the early 60s AD. And there are really two separate assertions we should ask the early Christians about: Was Peter ever in Rome? And did he ever serve in the role of a bishop while there?
What are the earliest sources for Saint Peter’s martyrdom in Rome?
- 1 Clement 5 (c. AD 95–96). Peter “suffered martyrdom” after many labors. This letter is the earliest witness to Peter’s martyrdom. The letter is from the local church of Rome to that of Corinth, but does not mention Peter’s death happening in Rome.
- Letter from Dionysius of Corinth to the Romans (c. AD 170), preserved in Eusebius, Church History 2.25. Peter and Paul “planted” at Rome and Corinth, “taught together in Italy,” and “suffered martyrdom at the same time.” The earliest witness tying Peter’s martyrdom to Italy and Rome.
- Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.3.2 (c. AD 180). The church at Rome was “founded and organized” by Peter and Paul, who handed the episcopate to Linus.
- Acts of Peter (late 2nd century). The account is set in Rome. Peter is crucified. This is the earliest account of Peter’s being crucified.
- Tertullian, Prescription Against Heretics 36 (c. AD 200). Rome is “Where Peter endures a passion like his Lord’s.”
- Gaius of Rome (c. AD 200), preserved in Eusebius, Church History 2.25. Says the “trophies” of Peter and Paul could be seen at the Vatican and Ostian Way. Earliest witness to Roman memorial sites/tombs for Peter and Paul.
- Tertullian, Antidote to Scorpion Sting 15 (early 3rd century). Under Nero at Rome, “Peter was girded by another” and bound to a cross.
- Origen (c. AD 230), quoted in Eusebius, Church History 3.1. Peter came to Rome and was crucified head-downward at his own request.
From the first century we have a Christian pastor in Rome describing Peter’s martyrdom; by the end of the second century, popular Christian literature has Peter crucified in Rome, and by the beginning of the third century we read that Peter’s death occurred in Rome under Nero (d.AD 68).
What are the earliest sources for the assertion that Peter served as a bishop in Rome?
- Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.2–3, c. AD 180. The Roman church was “founded and organized” by Peter and Paul, and after founding it they committed “the office of the episcopate” to Linus. This is the earliest witness to Peter’s founding role in the local church at Rome.
- Tertullian, Prescription Against Heretics 32, c. AD 200. The Roman church’s register asserts Clement was ordained by Peter, just as Smyrna traced Polycarp to John. Peter ordains, but is not named “bishop of Rome.”
- Eusebius, Church History 2; 3.4, c. AD 313–325. After Peter and Paul’s martyrdom, Linus was “the first to obtain the episcopate” of Rome. Elsewhere Eusebius says Linus was Peter’s successor in the episcopate there.
- Liberian Catalogue / Chronography of AD 354. “After [Christ’s] ascension the blessed Peter took up the episcopate,” then gives Peter a tenure of 25 years, 1 month, 9 days, followed by Linus.
- Jerome, On Illustrious Men 1, c. AD 393. Peter, after being bishop of Antioch, went to Rome and “held the sacerdotal chair there for twenty-five years.”
In the late second century, Saint Peter is named as the source of apostolic succession in Rome, as Saint John is for the Church in Syria and Gaul; the first bishops of Rome received ordination from Peter. By the fourth century, Peter is conceived as having been a bishop in Rome for twenty-five years, i.e. since AD 42.
