Was Peter ever in Rome?

Response

The Bible does not explicitly mention Peter going to Rome in either the book of Acts or the Epistles. The closest biblical reference is found in the final greetings of 1 Peter, “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark” «The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son. », (1 Peter 5:13).

Some scholars have suggested that “Babylon” was a code name for Rome, and Peter used it to avoid persecution or to emphasize the similarities between the two empires. The book of Revelation also mentions Babylon, and a common interpretation likens it to Rome (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:5; 18:2).

Christian tradition is the primary source of Peter’s purported journey to Rome, originating from the early church fathers. An example is Irenaeus of Lyons, who wrote in Against Heresies, “Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church” 3:1:2. Later in the same volume, Irenaeus spoke of “tradition derived from the apostles, of the very great, the very ancient, and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul” 3:3:2. We note here that these passages are from an unreliable fourth-century translation and contain at least one error: Paul could not have founded the church in Rome because that church was already in existence many years before Paul ever visited Rome «But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; », Facebook Comments