Was Peter in Rome?
Question 60009
The question of whether Peter was in Rome matters for several reasons. Roman Catholics point to Peter’s presence in Rome as foundational to papal claims, whilst some Protestants have questioned whether Peter was ever there at all. What does the Bible actually tell us, and what can we know from history?
What Scripture Actually Says
Let’s be honest from the start – the Bible never explicitly states “Peter was in Rome.” We need to deal with what the text actually says rather than reading our traditions into it.
The closest we get is in Peter’s first letter: “She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son” (1 Peter 5:13). Now, many scholars believe “Babylon” here is coded language for Rome. There are good reasons for thinking this. By the time Peter wrote this letter, probably in the AD 60s, literal Babylon was essentially a ruin. Nobody was living there in any significant way. Using “Babylon” as a reference to Rome also fits with how John uses the same imagery in Revelation, where Babylon clearly represents Rome (Revelation 14:8; 17:5; 18:2).
If Peter was writing from Rome during Nero’s persecution, using coded language made perfect sense. You don’t make it easy for the authorities to track you down. We also know that Mark was associated with Peter, and later church history consistently places both of them in Rome together. So the pieces fit.
But here’s the thing – the text doesn’t actually say “Rome.” It says “Babylon.” That’s interpretation, and whilst it’s reasonable interpretation, we need to acknowledge what we’re doing.
What Scripture Doesn’t Say
Here’s something worth noticing. When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans around AD 57, he greeted loads of people by name in Romans 16. But Peter isn’t mentioned. Not once. If Peter had been a prominent leader in Rome at that time, surely Paul would have greeted him. This suggests Peter probably wasn’t in Rome yet, or at least wasn’t established there.
Similarly, when the book of Acts ends with Paul in Rome around AD 60-62, there’s no mention of Peter being there. Luke wrote Acts, and he was meticulous about details. If Peter and Paul had been in Rome at the same time, Luke would surely have mentioned it. The silence is telling.
So from Scripture alone, we can say it’s possible Peter went to Rome later in his life, but we cannot be dogmatic about it based solely on the biblical text.
What Early Church History Tells Us
Now, whilst Scripture doesn’t explicitly place Peter in Rome, the early church was absolutely unanimous on this point. And I mean unanimous – there isn’t a single dissenting voice in the early centuries.
Clement of Rome, writing around AD 95-96 (just 30 years after Peter’s death), refers to Peter’s martyrdom in a way that implies it happened in Rome. Ignatius of Antioch, writing around AD 110, mentions Peter and Paul giving commands to the Roman church. Irenaeus, around AD 180, states clearly that Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome. Eusebius, the church historian writing around AD 325, records the consistent tradition that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome under Nero.
Think about what this means. These weren’t people writing hundreds of years later. Clement was writing within living memory of Peter’s death. If Peter hadn’t been in Rome, someone would have said so. If he’d died in Jerusalem or Antioch or anywhere else, there would be a competing tradition. But there isn’t. Everyone agrees Peter died in Rome.
Archaeological Evidence
There’s also some fascinating archaeological work that supports this. In the 1940s, excavations beneath St Peter’s Basilica in Rome uncovered what appears to be a second-century shrine to Peter, built over a first-century grave. Inscriptions and graffiti from the second and third centuries identify this as Peter’s burial place. Now, that doesn’t prove Peter was buried there, but it does show that Christians from the earliest times believed he was. If there had been any doubt about where Peter died, you wouldn’t have such consistent veneration of this specific site.
Why Does This Matter?
For us as Evangelical Baptists, this question matters for a couple of reasons.
First, it demonstrates that early church tradition, when it’s consistent and widespread, is generally trustworthy on historical matters. We don’t build doctrine on tradition, but we shouldn’t dismiss reliable historical testimony either.
Second, we need to distinguish between Peter being in Rome (which appears historically sound) and the Roman Catholic claims about Peter being the first “Pope” and establishing papal succession. Those are much later developments that have no support in Scripture or the earliest church history. Peter being in Rome doesn’t validate papal claims any more than Paul being in Rome would.
Third, this reminds us that Scripture doesn’t tell us everything that happened historically. It tells us everything we need for faith and practice, but it’s not meant to be an exhaustive historical record. The Bible is concerned with theological truth and spiritual instruction, not with giving us a complete travel diary of every apostle.
Conclusion
So here’s where we land. From Scripture alone, we can say it’s probable that Peter was in Rome based on the “Babylon” reference in 1 Peter 5:13, but we cannot be absolutely certain. From Scripture combined with early church history, the evidence becomes overwhelming. The tradition is ancient, consistent, and unchallenged.
Peter being in Rome is a historical fact that helps us understand how the gospel spread in the first century. It doesn’t change any doctrine. It doesn’t validate Roman Catholic claims about the papacy. It simply shows us that the apostles took the gospel to the heart of the Roman Empire, even at the cost of their lives.
We should be confident Peter was in Rome based on the totality of evidence, but we should also be careful to distinguish between what Scripture explicitly states and what we know from reliable historical tradition. Both have their place, but Scripture always has the final authority in matters of faith and practice.
“She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.” 1 Peter 5:13
