Saint Peter

===Death and burial===

====Crucifixion at Rome====
[[File:Domine, quo vadis.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Domine quo vadis?]]'' (1602) by [[Annibale Carracci]]]]

In the epilogue<ref>{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Stephen L. |author-link=Stephen L Harris |title=Understanding the Bible |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U-yAQQAACAAJ |edition=8th |location=New York |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=2010 |page=381 |isbn=978-0-07-340744-9|quote=[John's] Gospel is commonly divided into a prologue (1:1–51); a Book of Signs&nbsp;... (2:1–11:57); the Book of Glory&nbsp;... (12:1–20:31); and an epilogue (21:1–25).}}</ref> of the Gospel of John, Jesus hints at the death by which Peter would glorify God, saying: "when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go."<ref>{{bibleref2|Jn.|21:18–19}}</ref> This is interpreted by some as a reference to Peter's crucifixion.<ref name="May Metzger" /> Unitarian theologian Donald Fay Robinson has suggested that the incident in Acts 12:1–17,<ref>{{bibleverse||Acts|12:1–17|NKJV}}</ref> where Peter is "released by an angel" and goes to "another place", really represents an idealised account of his death, which may have occurred in a Jerusalem prison as early as AD 44.<ref>Robinson, D. F., 'Where and When did Peter die?', ''[[Journal of Biblical Literature]]'' Vol. 64 (1945), supported by Smaltz, W. M., Did Peter die in Jerusalem?, ''[[Journal of Biblical Literature]]'' Vol. 71, No. 4 (Dec. 1952), pp. 211–216. Accessed 31 August 2015.</ref>

Early Church tradition says that Peter died by [[crucifixion]] (with arms outstretched) at the time of the [[Great Fire of Rome]] in the year 64. This probably took place three months after the disastrous fire that destroyed Rome for which the emperor (Nero) wished to blame the Christians. This "{{lang|la|dies imperii}}" (regnal day anniversary) was an important one, exactly ten years after Nero ascended to the throne, and it was "as usual" accompanied by much bloodshed. Traditionally, [[Roman Empire|Roman]] authorities sentenced him to death by [[crucifixion]] at [[Vatican Hill]].<ref name="newadvent"/> In accordance with the [[apocryphal]] [[Acts of Peter]], he was [[Cross of Saint Peter|crucified head down]].<ref>[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html Apocryphal ''Acts of Peter Chapter 37''] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20200108220758/http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html |date=8 January 2020 }}.</ref> Tradition also locates his burial place where the [[St. Peter's Basilica|Basilica of Saint Peter]] was later built, directly beneath the Basilica's high altar.

[[File:Crucifixion of Saint Peter-Caravaggio (c.1600).jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Crucifixion of Saint Peter (Caravaggio)|The Crucifixion of Saint Peter]]'' (1601) by [[Caravaggio]]]]

[[Pope Clement I]] (d. 99), in his ''Letter to the Corinthians'' (Chapter 5), written c. 80–98, speaks of Peter's martyrdom in the following terms: "Let us take the noble examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most just pillars of the Church were persecuted, and came even unto death. …Peter, through unjust envy, endured not one or two but many labours, and at last, having delivered his testimony, departed unto the place of glory due to him."<ref>{{cite web|author=Clement of Rome|title=The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians|url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-hoole.html|publisher=earlychristianwritings.com|access-date=1 June 2015}}</ref>

The apocryphal Acts of Peter (2nd cent.) ([[Vercelli manuscript|Vercelli]] Acts XXXV)<ref>[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html The Acts of Peter] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20200108220758/http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html |date=8 January 2020 }}, by M. R. James</ref> is the source for the tradition about the famous Latin phrase "[[Quo vadis?|Quo vadis, Domine?]]" (in Greek: {{Lang|grc|Κύριε, ποῦ ὑπάγεις "Kyrie, pou hypageis?"}}), which means "Where are you going, Lord?". According to the story, Peter, fleeing Rome to avoid execution meets the risen Jesus. In the Latin translation, Peter asks Jesus, "Quo vadis?" He replies, "''Romam eo iterum crucifigi"'' ("I am going to Rome to be crucified again"). Peter then gains the courage to continue his ministry and returns to the city, where he is martyred. This story is commemorated in an [[Annibale Carracci]] painting. The [[Quo Vadis (church)|Church of Quo Vadis]], near the [[Catacombs]] of [[Pope Callistus I|Saint Callistus]], contains a stone in which Jesus' footprints from this event are supposedly preserved, though this was apparently an ''[[ex-voto]]'' from a [[pilgrim]], and indeed a copy of the original housed in the [[San Sebastiano fuori le mura|Basilica of St Sebastian]].

The death of Peter is attested to by [[Tertullian]] (c. 155 – c. 240) at the end of the 2nd century in his ''Prescription Against Heretics'', noting that Peter endured a passion like his Lord's: "How happy is that church . . . where Peter endured a passion like that of the Lord, where Paul was crowned in a death like John's".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Quintus Septimius Florens|first1=Tertullian|title=Prescription Against Heretics Chapter XXXVI|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.v.iii.xxxvi.html|publisher=ccel.org|access-date=1 June 2015|quote=Since, moreover, you are close upon Italy, you have '''Rome''', from which there comes even into our own hands the very authority (of apostles themselves). How happy is its church, on which apostles poured forth all their doctrine along with their blood; '''where Peter endures a passion like his Lord's'''; where Paul wins his crown in a death like John's [the Baptist]; where the Apostle John was first plunged, unhurt, into boiling oil, and thence remitted to his island-exile.}}</ref> The statement implies that Peter was killed like Jesus (by crucifixion) and Paul was killed like John (by beheading). It gives the impression that Peter also died in Rome since Paul also died there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Was Peter in Rome? |url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/was-peter-in-rome |access-date=14 January 2023 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref> In his work ''Scorpiace 15'', he also speaks of Peter's crucifixion: "The budding faith Nero first made bloody in Rome. There Peter was girded by another, since he was bound to the cross."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Quintus Septimius Florens|first1=Tertullian|title=Scorpiace Chapter 15|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0318.htm|publisher=newadvent.org|access-date=6 June 2015}}</ref>

[[Origen]] (184–253) in his ''Commentary on the Book of Genesis III'', quoted by Eusebius of Caesaria in his ''Ecclesiastical History (III, 1)'', said: "Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer."<ref>{{cite book |last1=of Caesarea |first1=Eusebius |title=Church History, Book III Chapter 1 (Eusebius) |publisher=newadvent.org |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm |access-date=9 May 2022}}</ref> The [[Cross of St. Peter]] inverts the [[Crux immissa|Latin cross]] based on this refusal, and on his claim of being unworthy to die the same way as his Saviour.<ref>Granger Ryan & Helmut Ripperger, ''The Golden Legend Of Jacobus De Voragine Part One'', 1941.</ref>

[[Pope Peter I of Alexandria|Peter of Alexandria]] (d. 311), who was bishop of [[Alexandria]] and died around AD 311, wrote an epistle ''on Penance'', in which he says: "Peter, the first of the apostles, having been often apprehended and thrown into prison, and treated with ignominy, was last of all crucified at Rome."<ref>{{cite web|last1=of Alexandria|first1=Peter|title=Canonical Epistle on Penitence Canon 9|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0620.htm|publisher=newadvent.org|access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref>

[[Jerome]] (327–420) wrote that "at Nero's hands Peter received the crown of martyrdom being nailed to the cross with his head towards the ground and his feet raised on high, asserting that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord."<ref name="Jerome1" />

====Burial====
[[File:SaintPeterRelic.jpg|thumb|Looking down into the ''[[crypt|confessio]]'' near the tomb of Apostle Peter, [[St. Peter's Basilica]], [[Rome]]]]
Catholic tradition holds that Peter's inverted crucifixion occurred in the gardens of Nero, with the burial in [[Saint Peter's tomb]] nearby.<ref>{{cite video| people = Vatican Cardinal Angelo Comastri (interviewee)| year = 2011| title = Secret Access: The Vatican | medium = Video| language = en, it| publisher = A&E Studio Entertainment| location = Vatican City, Rome, Italy| time = 94 minutes| quote = This is the holiest site in the Basilica, where the Apostle Peter was crucified and his blood shed to the ground}}</ref>

[[Caius (presbyter)|Caius]] in his ''Disputation Against Proclus'' (A.D. 198), preserved in part by Eusebius, relates this of the places in which the remains of the apostles Peter and Paul were deposited: "I can point out the trophies of the apostles. For if you are willing to go to the ''Vatican'' or to the Ostian Way, you will find the trophies of those who founded this Church."<ref>{{cite web|last1=presbyter|first1=Caius (Gaius)|title=Dialogue or Disputation Against Proclus (A.D. 198) in Eusebius, Church History Book II Chapter 25:6–7|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm|publisher=newadvent.org|access-date=1 June 2015}}</ref>

According to [[Jerome]], in his work ''[[De Viris Illustribus (Jerome)|De Viris Illustribus]]'' (A.D. 392), "Peter was buried at Rome in the Vatican near the triumphal way where he is venerated by the whole world."<ref name="Jerome1">{{cite web|last1=saint|first1=Jerome|title=De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men) Chapter 1|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm|publisher=newadvent.org|access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref>

In the early 4th century, the [[Emperor Constantine I]] decided to honour Peter with [[St. Peter's Basilica|a large basilica]].<ref name=CathEncy>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13374a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Tomb of St. Peter|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pope/hd_pope.htm|title=The Papacy and the Vatican Palace &#124; Essay &#124; The Metropolitan Museum of Art &#124; Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History|first=Authors: Department of European|last=Paintings|website=The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History}}</ref> Because the precise location of Peter's burial was so firmly fixed in the belief of the Christians of Rome, the church to house the basilica had to be erected on a site that was not convenient to construction. The slope of the [[Vatican Hill]] had to be excavated, even though the church could much more easily have been built on level ground only slightly to the south.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Partner |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bZ6eJuZfTAEC&q=saint+peter+rome+846+desecrating&pg=PA57 |title=The Lands of St. Peter: The Papal State in the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance |date=1972 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02181-5 |language=en}}</ref> There were also moral and legal issues, such as demolishing a cemetery to make room for the building. The focal point of the Basilica, both in its original form and in its later complete reconstruction, is the altar located over what is said to be the point of Peter's burial.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Suzanne |first=Boorsch |title=The Building of the Vatican: The Papacy and Architecture": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 40, no. 3 (Winter, 1982–1983) |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/the_building_of_the_vatican_the_papacy_and_architecture_the_metropolitan_museum_of_art_bulletin_v_40_no_3_winter_1982_1983 |access-date=14 January 2023 |website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref>
[[File:Vatican City at Large.jpg|thumb|[[St. Peter's Basilica]], believed to be the [[Saint Peter's tomb|burial site of St. Peter]], seen from the [[River Tiber]]]]

====Relics====
According to a letter quoted by [[Bede]], [[Pope Vitalian]] sent a cross containing filings said to be from Peter's chains to the queen of [[Oswy]], [[Anglo-Saxon]] King of [[Northumbria]] in 665, as well as unspecified relics of the saint to the king.<ref name="Wall">Wall, J. Charles. (1912), ''Porches and Fonts.'' Pub. London: Wells Gardner and Darton. p. 295; {{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/bede-book3.html |title=Venerable Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Book III, Chapter 29 |publisher=Fordham.edu |access-date=12 September 2010}}</ref> The skull of Saint Peter is claimed to reside in the [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]] since at least the ninth century, alongside the skull of Saint Paul.<ref>{{cite journal|last = Cuming | first = H. Syer | title = Notes on a group of reliquaries | journal= Journal of the British Archaeological Association|date=December 1870 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=UDAGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA272 }}</ref>

In 1950, human bones were found buried underneath the altar of St. Peter's Basilica. The bones have been claimed by many to have been those of Peter.<ref>Walsh, ''The Bones of St. Peter: A 1st Full Account of the Search for the Apostle's Body''</ref> An attempt to contradict these claims was made in 1953 by the excavation of what some believe to be [[Saint Peter's tomb]] in Jerusalem.<ref>Finegan, ''The Archeology of the New Testament'', pp. 368–370.</ref> However along with this supposed tomb in Jerusalem bearing his previous name Simon (but not Peter), tombs bearing the names of Jesus, Mary, James, John, and the rest of the apostles were also found at the same excavation—though all these names were very common among Jews at the time.

In the 1960s, items from the excavations beneath [[St Peter's Basilica]] were re-examined, and the bones of a male person were identified. A forensic examination found them to be a male of about 61 years of age from the 1st century. This caused Pope Paul VI in 1968 to announce them most likely to be the relics of Apostle Peter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/JW/TheBonesofStPeter-1.htm |title=The Bones of St. Peter |publisher=Saintpetersbasilica.org |access-date=12 September 2010}}</ref> On 24 November 2013, [[Pope Francis]] presented part of the relics, consisting of bone fragments, for the first time in public during a Mass celebrated in St. Peter's Square.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/24/vatican-st-peters-bones-display-pope-francis
|agency=Associated Press |title=Vatican displays Saint Peter's bones for the first time|newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=24 November 2013 |access-date=24 November 2013}}</ref> On 2 July 2019, it was announced that Pope Francis had transferred nine of these bone fragments within a bronze reliquary to Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch [[Bartholomew I of Constantinople|Bartholomew of Constantinople]].<ref name=braveandbold>{{cite news|url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/07/02/pope-gives-relics-of-st-peter-to-orthodox-patriarch/|title=Pope gives relics of St. Peter to Orthodox patriarch|author=Cindy Wooden|publisher=Catholic News Service|date=2 July 2019|access-date=2 July 2019|archive-date=25 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025194659/https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/07/02/pope-gives-relics-of-st-peter-to-orthodox-patriarch/}}</ref> Bartholomew, who serves as head of the Eastern Orthodox Christian church, described the gesture as "brave and bold."<ref name=braveandbold /> Pope Francis has said his decision was born "out of prayer" and intended as a sign of the ongoing work towards communion between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Brockhaus|first=Hannah|title=Pope Francis explains decision to give relics of St. Peter to Orthodox|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-says-gift-of-st-peters-bones-meant-to-signify-efforts-toward-catholic-orthodox-unity-70651|access-date=27 March 2021|website=Catholic News Agency|language=en}}</ref> The majority of Saint Peter's remains, however, are still preserved in Rome, under the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica.<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 July 2019|title=The inexplicable transfer of St Peter's relics to Constantinople|url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/the-inexplicable-transfer-of-st-peters-relics-to-constantinople/|access-date=27 March 2021|website=Catholic Herald|language=en-GB}}</ref>

====Scholarly views====
Some church historians consider Peter and Paul to have been [[martyr]]ed under the reign of Nero,<ref name="ODCC self"/><ref name="St-Paul-Outside-the-Walls homepage"/> around AD 65 after the Great Fire of Rome.{{refn | group = note | name=historians}}<ref name="Wylen, pp.190-192"/><ref name="Dunn, pp. 33-34"/> Currently, most Catholic scholars,<ref>"most scholars, both Catholic and Protestant, concur that Peter died in Rome" Keener, Craig S., [https://books.google.com/books?id=8C2Y_HaL5W0C The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary], p. 425, n. 74, 2009 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company</ref> and many scholars in general,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title = Saint Peter the Apostle|year=2013|author=O'Connor, Daniel William|encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453832/Saint-Peter-the-Apostle/5632/Tradition-of-Peter-in-Rome|page=5|access-date=12 April 2013|quote=[M]any scholars… accept Rome as the location of the martyrdom and the reign of Nero as the time.}}</ref> hold the view that Peter was martyred in Rome under Nero.{{refn|group=note|[[Margherita Guarducci]], who led the research leading to the rediscovery of Peter's reputed tomb in its last stages (1963–1968), concludes Peter died on 13 October AD 64 during the festivities on the occasion of the "dies imperii" of Emperor Nero.<ref>Rainer Riesner, ''Paul's Early Period: Chronology, Mission Strategy, Theology'' (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1998) p. 65</ref>}}

While accepting that Peter came to Rome and was martyred there, there is no historical evidence that he held episcopal office there.<ref name=BrownMeier>{{Cite book|title=Antioch and Rome: New Testament Cradles of Christianity |publisher=Paulist Press |year=1983 |page=98 |quote=As for Peter, we have no knowledge at all of when he came to Rome and what he did there before he was martyred.|author1=Brown, Raymond E. |author2=Meier, John P. |name-list-style=amp |isbn=978-0-8091-0339-3}}</ref><ref name=Cullman>{{Cite book|first=Oscar |last=Cullmann |title=Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr, 2nd ed. |publisher=Westminster Press |year=1962 |page=234 |quote=From the second half of the second century we do possess texts that mention the apostolic foundation of Rome, and at this time, which is indeed rather late, this foundation is traced back to Peter and Paul, an assertion that cannot be supported historically. Even here, however, nothing is said as yet of an episcopal office of Peter.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Henry |last=Chadwick |title=The Early Church, rev. ed. |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1993 |page=18 |quote=No doubt Peter's presence in Rome in the sixties must indicate a concern for Gentile Christianity, but we have no information whatever about his activity or the length of his stay there. That he was in Rome for twenty-five years is third-century legend.}}</ref><ref>J.N.D. Kelly, ''Oxford Dictionary of the Popes'' (Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 6. "Ignatius assumed that Peter and Paul wielded special authority over the Roman church, while Irenaeus claimed that they jointly founded it and inaugurated its succession of bishops. Nothing, however, is known of their constitutional roles, least of all Peter's as presumed leader of the community."</ref><ref>''Building Unity'', Ecumenical Documents IV (Paulist Press, 1989), p. 130. "There is increasing agreement that Peter went to Rome and was martyred there, but we have no trustworthy evidence that Peter ever served as the supervisor or bishop of the local church in Rome."</ref> According to two studies published by the German philologist {{Interlanguage link|Otto Zwierlein|de}} in 2009<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V4V222SlC4oC&q=Zwierlein+Petrus+Gruyter&pg=PP1|title=Petrus in Rom|first=Otto|last=Zwierlein|date=20 February 2010|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|via=Google Books|isbn=978-3-11-024058-0}}</ref> and 2013 respectively,<ref>Zwierlein, Otto: ''Petrus und Paulus in Jerusalem und Rom. Vom Neuen Testament zu den apokryphen Apostelakten''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2013. {{ISBN|978-3-11-030331-5}}.</ref> "there is not a single piece of reliable literary evidence (and no archaeological evidence either) that Peter ever was in Rome."<ref name="Zwierlein review">[[Pieter Willem van der Horst]], review of Otto Zwierlein, ''Petrus in Rom: die literarischen Zeugnisse. Mit einer kritischen Edition der Martyrien des Petrus und Paulus auf neuer handschriftlicher Grundlage'', Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2009, in ''[[Bryn Mawr Classical Review]]'' [http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010-03-25.html 2010.03.25] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505161124/http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010-03-25.html |date=5 May 2010 }}.</ref><ref>[[James Dunn (theologian)|James Dunn]], review of Zwierlein 2009, in ''[[Review of Biblical Literature]]'' [http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7189 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725092129/http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7189 |date=25 July 2011 }}.</ref>{{refn|group=note|Zwierlein's thesis has caused debate.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kBPGDQAAQBAJ&q=Siecienski+Zwierlein&pg=PA48|title=The Papacy and the Orthodox: Sources and History of a Debate|first=A. Edward|last=Siecienski|date=20 February 2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0-19-024525-2}}</ref><ref name=Vision>{{cite web|url=http://subscribe.vision.org/first-followers/bid/41962/Petrus-im-Rom-or-Peter-in-Rome-revisited|title="Petrus im Rom" or Peter in Rome revisited|first=Staff|last=Bloggers|access-date=9 June 2017|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120102549/http://subscribe.vision.org/first-followers/bid/41962/Petrus-im-Rom-or-Peter-in-Rome-revisited}}</ref> Zwierlein has made a summary of his view available online in English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philologie.uni-bonn.de/philologie/personal/zwierlein/st_peter_in_rome.pdf|title=Has St. Peter ever been in Rome?|access-date=2 November 2013|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306171055/https://www.philologie.uni-bonn.de/philologie/personal/zwierlein/st_peter_in_rome.pdf}}</ref> An edited volume in German was also written in rebuttal against Otto Zwierlein's views.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rosetta.reltech.org/TC/v17/TC-2012-Rev-Heid-Bockmuehl.pdf|title=Review of ''Petrus und Paulus in Rom''.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jesusmemoirs.wordpress.com/2017/06/19/otto-zwierlein/|title=Otto Zwierlein on the Traditions about Peter in Rome|first=Michael J.|last=Kok|date=19 June 2017}}</ref>}} [[Timothy Barnes (classicist)|Timothy Barnes]] has criticised Zwierlein's views as "a nadir in historical criticism".<ref>{{cite book |title=Peter in Early Christianity |last=Barnes |first=Timothy D. |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-8028-7171-8 |editor-last=Bond |editor-first=Helen K. |page=86 |chapter=’Another Shall Gird Thee’:  Probative Evidence for the Death of Peter |editor-last2=Hurtado |editor-first2=Larry W. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DabDCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86}}</ref>

[[First Letter of Clement|Clement of Rome's First Letter]], a document that has been dated from the 90s to the 120s, is one of the earliest sources adduced in support of Peter's stay in Rome, but Zwierlein questions the text's authenticity and whether it has any knowledge about Peter's life beyond what is contained in the New Testament [[Acts of the Apostles]].<ref name="Zwierlein review"/> The letter also does not mention any particular place, only saying: "Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labours and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him" (ch. 5).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scripturecatholic.com/the-primacy-of-peter/|title=The Primacy of Peter|date=7 August 2017}}</ref>

A letter to the Romans attributed to [[Ignatius of Antioch]] might imply that Peter and Paul had special authority over the Roman church,<ref name="ODCC Peter" /> telling the Roman Christians: "I do not command you, as Peter and Paul did" (ch. 4), although Zwierlein says he could be simply referring to the Epistles of the Apostles, or their mission work in the city, not a special authority given or bestowed. Zwierlein questions the authenticity of this document and its traditional dating to c. 105–10, saying it may date from the final decades of the 2nd century instead of from the beginning.<ref name="Zwierlein review"/>

The ancient historian [[Josephus]] describes how Roman soldiers would amuse themselves by crucifying criminals in different positions,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Flavius|first1=Josephus|title=Jewish War, Book V Chapter 11|url=http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/war-5.htm|publisher=ccel.org|access-date=1 June 2015}}</ref> and it is likely that this would have been known to the author of the ''Acts of Peter''. The position attributed to Peter's crucifixion is thus plausible, either as having happened historically or as being an invention by the author of the ''Acts of Peter''. Death, after crucifixion head down, is unlikely to be caused by [[suffocation]], the usual "cause of death in ordinary crucifixion".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=V8IjAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA350 The Holy Bible, according to the authorized version (A.D. 1611)]&nbsp;– [[Frederic Charles Cook]]&nbsp;– J. Murray (1881) p. 350</ref>

[[File:Domenico Fetti 007.jpg|thumb|''Peter's vision of a sheet with animals'', [[Domenico Fetti]], 1619]]

==== Rome as Babylon ====

Church tradition ascribes the epistles [[First Epistle of Peter|First]] and [[Second Epistle of Peter|Second Peter]] to the Apostle Peter, as does the text of Second Peter itself, an attribution rejected by scholarship. First Peter<ref name="bibleverse|1 Peter|5:13"/> says the author is in "Babylon", which has been held to be a coded reference to Rome.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Stephen L. |author-link=Stephen L Harris |title=Understanding the Bible |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U-yAQQAACAAJ |edition=8th |location=New York |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=2010 |page=477 |isbn=978-0-07-340744-9|quote='Babylon' became the Christian code name for Rome after Titus destroyed Jerusalem, thus duplicating the Babylonians' demolition of the holy city (587 BCE).}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuauhZijcb4C&pg=PA69|title=Knowing the End From the Beginning|isbn=978-0-567-08462-0|last1=Grabbe|first1=Lester L.|last2=Haak|first2=Robert D.|date=2003|publisher=A&C Black |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vUkZpLbOooC&pg=PA41|title=The First Letter of Peter|via=google.ca|isbn=978-1-60258-024-4|last1=Feldmeier|first1=Reinhard|year=2008|publisher=Baylor University Press }}</ref> Early Church tradition reports that Peter wrote from Rome. Eusebius of Caesarea states:

{{blockquote|[[Clement of Alexandria]] in the sixth [book] of the Hypotyposeis cites the story, and the bishop of Hierapolis named [[Papias of Hierapolis|Papias]] joins him in testifying that Peter mentions Mark in the first epistle, which they say he composed in Rome herself, and that he indicates this, calling the city more figuratively Babylon by these: "She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings and so does my son Mark. (1 Pet 5:13)"<ref>{{cite web|author=Eusebius|title=Church History Book II Chapter 15:2|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm|publisher=hypotyposeis.org & newadvent.org|access-date=4 June 2015}}</ref>}}

If the reference is to Rome, it is the only biblical reference to Peter being there. Many scholars regard both First and Second Peter as not having been authored by him, partly because other parts of the [[Acts of the Apostles]] seem to describe Peter as an illiterate fisherman.<ref name="Martin 2009"/><ref>Brown, Raymond E., ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gk_uAAAAMAAJ Introduction to the New Testament]'', Anchor Bible, 1997, {{ISBN|0-385-24767-2}}. p. 767 "the pseudonymity of II Pet is more certain than that of any other NT work."</ref>

Most Biblical scholars<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MFbHT73BxpAC|title=Women in scripture: a dictionary of named and unnamed women in the Hebrew|isbn=978-0-8028-4962-5|last1=Meyers|first1=Carol|date=28 August 2001|publisher=Island Press }}</ref><ref>*[[L. Michael White]], [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/revelation/white.html Understanding the Book of Revelation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228151125/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/revelation/white.html |date=28 December 2017 }}, [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]
*[[Helmut Köster]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=qWflda5Erq4C&pg=PA260 Introduction to the New Testament, Volume 2], 260
*[[Pheme Perkins]], First and Second Peter, James, and Jude, 16
*Watson E. Mills, Mercer Commentary on the New Testament, 1340
*Nancy McDarby, [https://books.google.com/books?id=i962jBEOJVYC&pg=PA349 The Collegeville Bible Handbook] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222162623/https://books.google.com/books?id=i962jBEOJVYC&pg=PA349 |date=22 December 2022 }}, 349
* Carol L. Meyers, Toni Craven, Ross Shepard Kraemer [https://books.google.com/books?id=NIMam563-fsC&pg=PA528 Women in scripture: a dictionary of named and unnamed women in the Hebrew Bible]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, p. 528
*David M. Carr, Colleen M. Conway, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dJerjvlxCHsC&pg=PA353An Introduction to the Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222162619/https://books.google.com/books?id=dJerjvlxCHsC&pg=PA353An |date=22 December 2022 }}, 353
*Larry Joseph Kreitzer [https://books.google.com/books?id=VNQlTGRm-bEC&pg=PA61 Gospel images in fiction and film: on reversing the hermeneutical flow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222162610/https://books.google.com/books?id=VNQlTGRm-bEC&pg=PA61 |date=22 December 2022 }}, 61
*By Mary Beard, John A. North, S. R. F. Price [https://books.google.com/books?id=2rtaTFYuM3QC&pg=PA283 Religions of Rome: A history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222162613/https://books.google.com/books?id=2rtaTFYuM3QC&pg=PA283 |date=22 December 2022 }},
*David M. Rhoads, [https://books.google.com/books?id=4rGPq4fKncIC&pg=PA174 From every people and nation: the book of Revelation in intercultural perspective] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222162614/https://books.google.com/books?id=4rGPq4fKncIC&pg=PA174 |date=22 December 2022 }}, 174
*Charles T. Chapman, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qPAiFCpfNUEC&pg=PA114 The message of the book of Revelation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222162615/https://books.google.com/books?id=qPAiFCpfNUEC&pg=PA114 |date=22 December 2022 }}, 114
*Norman Cheadle, [https://books.google.com/books?id=u0Pxziu43BUC&pg=PA36 The ironic apocalypse in the novels of Leopoldo Marechal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222162620/https://books.google.com/books?id=u0Pxziu43BUC&pg=PA36 |date=22 December 2022 }}, 36
*Peter M. J. Stravinskas, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ihHMmu2_NFkC&pg=PA18 The Catholic answer book, Volume 1], 18
*Catherine Keller, God and power: counter-apocalyptic journeys, 59
*Brian K. Blount, Revelation: A Commentary, 346
*Frances Carey, The Apocalypse and the shape of things to come, 138
*Richard Dellamora, Postmodern apocalypse: theory and cultural practice at the end, 117
*A. N. Wilson, Paul: The Mind of the Apostle, 11
*Gerd Theissen, John Bowden, Fortress introduction to the New Testament, 166</ref> believe that "Babylon" is a metaphor for the pagan [[Roman Empire]] at the time it persecuted Christians, before the [[Edict of Milan]] in 313: perhaps specifically referencing some aspect of Rome's rule (brutality, greed, [[paganism]]). Although some scholars recognise that Babylon is a metaphor for Rome, they also claim that Babylon represents more than the Roman city of the first century. According to Lutheran scholar on Revelation Craig R. Koester "the whore [of Babylon] is Rome, yet more than Rome".<ref>Craig R. Koester, ''Revelation'', Anchor Yale Bible 38A (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014), 684.</ref> It "is the Roman imperial world, which in turn represents the world alienated from God".<ref>Craig R. Koester, ''Revelation'', Anchor Yale Bible 38A (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014), 506.</ref>

At that time in history, the ancient city of Babylon was no longer of any importance. E.g., [[Strabo]] wrote, "The greater part of Babylon is so deserted that one would not hesitate to say ... the Great City is a great desert."<ref>Strabo. Geography 16.1.5</ref>

Another theory is that "Babylon" refers to the [[Babylon (Egypt)|Babylon in Egypt]] that was an important [[Babylon Fortress|fortress city]] in Egypt, just north of today's Cairo and this, combined with the "greetings from Mark" (1 Peter 5:13), who may be [[Mark the Evangelist]], regarded as the founder of the [[Church of Alexandria]] (Egypt), has led some scholars to regard the First Peter epistle as having been written in Egypt.<ref>Manley, Gerald T. (1944). [https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/1944-2_138.pdf Babylon on the Nile]. In: The Evangelical Quarterly 16.2 pp. 138-146;</ref>