Chair of St Peter
St Peter's Basilica, Rome
Feast Day: February 22
(Photo courtesy Christus
Rex)
POSSIBLY JERUSALEM would have remained the Catholic
Christian primatial See had the Chosen People accepted Christ. But this was not to be;
indeed, the Prophets and Christ Himself had foretold rejection of His preaching by most of
the Jews. Hence during the persecution of Herod Agrippa, St.
Peter, once miraculously liberated; "departed and went to another place"
(Acts 12:17). If this other place was Rome, St. Peter could have arrived by 42 A.D., the
date required in order to have the traditional quarter century episcopate in Rome (St.
Jerome, Illustrious Men, 1).
The exact date of arrival, however, is neither certain
nor of any essential importance. What is beyond question is that Peter arrived in Rome at
an early period, well before St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, written about 57-58 A.D.
(Rom. 15:20); that he was Rome's first bishop, and that there he was martyred, sowing in
blood a perpetual progeny of episcopal and papal succession.
What, indeed, is the evidence for the confident
statements of Catholics that St. Peter was in Rome? First, Peter himself tells us so. In
his first papal encyclical he designated Rome under a symbolic name well understood by his
fellow Jews: "She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you
greetings" (1 Pet. 5:13). Now Jews would readily recognize under the name of their
ancient persecutor, Babylon, then largely in ruins, the allusion to their contemporary
ruler, Rome. Recognition became easier when St. John gave them a broad hint; "Babylon
the great . . . seven hills" (Apoc. 17:5-9) could scarcely be other than Rome's
famous seven hills. But if explicit identification be required, Clement of Alexandria
gives it about 200 A.D. Clement, who would be well aware of the existence of another small
town near Alexandria, Egypt, named Babylon, yet asserts: "Peter makes mention of Mark
in his first Epistle which they report he wrote in Rome. as he indicates where he calls
the city figuratively Babylon" (Clement, Hypotyposes, cited by Eusebius, History, II,
15).
THE CHURCH AT ROME
But Peter was not, as some might suppose, merely a
visitor in Rome. He was the founder of the church of Rome, that is, the organizer of the
Christian hierarchy there, its first bishop. For St. Clement of Rome, a disciple of the
Apostles mentioned by St. Paul (Phil. 4:3), affirmed that both Peter and Paul suffered
martyrdom "among us," that is, in Rome, where Clement was writing about 96 A.D.
St. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.), bishop of the
only other See which might have advanced a claim to succession to Peter because of his
temporary connection with Antioch, yet takes Peter's Roman commitment for granted: "I
do not command you as Peter and Paul did; they were Apostles; I am a convict" (Letter
to Romans, 4). St. Denis, Bishop of St. Paul's troublesome city of Corinth, was even more
emphatic: writing to a later Pope, St. Soter, he asserted, "By this admonition you
have bound together the plantings of Peter and Paul at Rome and at Corinth. For they both
alike planted in our Corinth and taught us, and both alike taught together in Italy and
suffered martyrdom at the same time" (Eusebius, History, II, 25).
It is St. Irenaeus (about 130-200 A.D.), Bishop of
Lyons, who explicitly affirmed both that St. Peter had founded the church of Rome, that
its bishops were his successors, and that to this church all other churches ought to be
subordinate. His assertion, issued as a challenge to contemporary gnostic heretics who
pretended to "inside knowledge" from the Apostles, is this: "By indicating
the 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, and the faith preached to men which comes down to our time, by means of
the succession of bishops, we refute all persons . . . for to this church, on account of
its more potent principality, it is necessary that every other church agree, that is,
those of the faithful everywhere, because in it is preserved by those (who preside) that
tradition received from the Apostles. The blessed Apostles, then, founded and reared up
this church and afterward committed unto Linus the office of the episcopate" (Against
Heresies, III, 3, written by St. Irenaeus).
No wonder, then, that about 200 A.D., Father Gaius of
Rome can assure would-be pilgrims: "I can show you the monumental tombs (trophies) of
the Apostles; for if you will go to the Vatican or the Ostian Way, you will find the
trophies of this church" (Eusebius, History, II, 25). Thus the fact of St. Peter's
Roman episcopate is attested by historical testimonies dating from about 130 years or two
lifetimes from the date of St. Peter's death. As for confirmation from later centuries, a
modern book (Shotwell-Loomis, See of Peter, Columbia U. Press, 1927) has filled 700 pages
with allusions to St. Peter prior to 400 A.D. alone.
The fact, then, of St. Peter's Roman episcopate is
assured by ample evidence; the details of his residence at Rome are less clear. Here
documents, archeological records, traditions and legends blend; the following cannot
pretend to being more than a reconstruction of places and an estimate of dates. But the
basic facts, the residence, the administration of the sacraments, the letters, the
episcopal chair of Peter, his martyrdom, and his grave all these are historical.
If St. Peter was the organizer of the church at Rome,
he was not the first Christian in the imperial capital. Roman Jews or proselytes had been
present at St. Peter's Pentecostal sermons (Acts 2:10), and it is reasonable to suppose
that the first news of Christ reached Rome through them. The Jewish community at Rome was
ancient and numerous. Jews were first mentioned in 160 B.C., when envoys of Judas
Macchabeus arrived to solicit an alliance from the Roman Senate (1 Mach. 8:12-14). Julius
Caesar had given them many privileges (Josephus, Antiquities, XIV, 10), and Augustus added
others (Suetonius, Lives of Caesars, 84). Jewish privileges provoked bitter anti-Semitism
among Latin writers. Aside from a few wealthy financiers or courtiers enjoying imperial
favor, the ordinary Jews dwelt in ghettos. One of these was in Trastevere in the
fourteenth district, and another in Porta Campena near the Aventine in the first district.
Seven of their synagogues are known by name, and doubtless they had others.
St. Peter, we know (1 Pet. 1:1) evangelized various
regions of Asia Minor: Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia. It is not improbable that on an early
mission St. Peter met that Aquila, "a Jew of Pontus," who with his wife Prisca
seem to have been great travelers, for they turn up at Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome
again (Acts 18:2, 26; Rom. 16:3). They were friends of St. Paul; possibly Aquila was a
convert of St. Peter either at Jerusalem or Pontus, and this explains the tradition that
St. Peter resided for a time in their house on the Aventine.
FIRST CONVERTS
For it is probable that St. Peter on coming to Rome
took up residence in one of the larger Jewish colonies. Christ had directed the Apostles
to "go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:6), and we
know that this was St. Paul's usual practice on his missions (Acts 13:46). St. Peter,
however, had none of St. Paul's educational advantages: he was no scribe who would be
invited to address the synagogues. The first Bishop of Rome, Christ's own appointed Vicar,
therefore, probably had to make his first converts among poorer Jews in the forum or
streets by private conversation or street preaching.
But just as St. Paul subsequently turned to the
Gentiles, St. Peter would have been obliged to do so even earlier in Rome. Certainly there
were many Gentile converts by 57-58 A.D., when St. Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans,
for he is preoccupied throughout with Gentile problems. Indeed, the Gentiles may already
have been in a majority in the Christian community; St. Paul seems to urge tolerance to
converts from the synagogues (Rom. 14).
SAFETY OF PETER
And if the Jews pursued St. Paul from town to town,
they would raise up trouble for St. Peter. Eventually it became advisable for St. Peter to
retire to a safer and more retired spot. Tradition indicates the Ostrian Cemetery between
the Via Nomentana and the Via Salaria as his refuge. How did St. Peter come to go there?
Apparently this was the country estate of the Acilian Gens, members of which were converts
(Maruchhi, Archeology, II, 385). One of this family, Priscilla, may have been introduced
to St. Peter through Prisca. In any event, St. Peter would be safe among these wealthy
Christians at their Ostrian Villa, just across the Via Nomentana from the Praetorian Camp.
At this time the Roman authorities did not distinguish
between Jews and Christians, so that the latter had more fear of the Jewish riots than
from Roman police, who rather served as a protection. In the year 49, we know, Emperor
Claudius went so far as to "expel the Jews who were constantly rioting at the
instigation of Christus" (Suetonius, Life of Claudius, XXV, 4). The imperial
authorities had not obtained all of the facts: the riots were about Christ, not led by
Him. But this pagan source certainly attests that vigorous Christian evangelization was in
progress in Rome before 49 A.D.
It is at the Ostrian Villa, moreover, that the
neighboring Goat's Marsh would provide opportunity for Baptism by immersion. Tradition
affirms this region to have been "St. Peter's waters, where he baptized" (Acts
of Pseudo-Marcellus). Here also was St. Peter's first chair, venerated by pilgrims as late
as the sixth century (DeRossi, Roma Soteranea, 176).
It is at this point that it is appropriate to introduce
two remarks of the African Christian controversialist Tertullian about 200 A.D. He
claimed: "There is no difference (in grace) between those whom John baptized in the
Jordan and those whom Peter baptized in the Tiber" (On Baptism, 4). Again he says:
"Recall the various churches in which the actual chairs of the Apostles are still
standing in their places, in which their own authentic letters are read, repeating the
voice and calling up the face of each of them severally . . . If you are near Italy, you
have Rome, whence also our authority is derived close at hand. How happy is that church on
which the Apostles poured forth all their teaching together with their blood; where Peter
endured a passion like his Lord's..." (Prescriptions Against Heretics, 32, 36, by
Tertullian).
This first chair of St. Peter no longer exists, but in
one of the crypts of the Ostrian Cemetery one may still see a chair cut out of the solid
tufa in ancient times to represent the original. It probably occupies the same position as
the original, and by the fifth century a lamp was kept burning before it (Barnes, St.
Peter in Rome, 36). Early Roman martyrologies record under date of January 18: "The
chair of St. Peter on which he first sat at Rome."
The Acilian family numbered St. Priscilla, Marcus
Acilius Glabrio, and others among Christian converts. They, along with Prisca and Aquila,
are buried in the Ostrian Cemetery. Another prominent person who was probably St. Peter's
convert was Pomponia Graecina. Tacitus mentions (Annales, 32) that she was accused of
"superstition" before a family council about 58 A.D., but acquitted through the
influence of her husband, General Plautius. This hypothesis is strengthened by the
discovery of a tombstone in the Christian Cemetery of St. Calixtus bearing the name of
Pomponius Graecinus, probably a grandson or grandnephew. Senator Pudens, mentioned by St.
Paul (2 Tim. 4:21), is also traditionally held as a convert of St. Peter, who is said to
have later resided in his house.
Presumably most of the Christians saluted by St. Paul
(Rom. 16) were St. Peter's converts, and these included Sts. Linus, Cletus, and Clement,
who were first St. Peter's auxiliaries and later succeeded him in the Roman episcopate.
The greater number of the converts must have been from the poorer classes, but the few
wealthier converts placed their villas and cemeteries at the disposal of their brethren.
Here groups of Christians could gather without exciting suspicion, for all Roman
patricians received daily homage from troops of clients.
In 49 A.D., as already noted, the imperial government
ordered expulsion of the Jews. Dio Cassius leads us to believe that the decree was but
partially carried out, so that probably only the leaders of the factions would be deported
(Dio Cassius, History, IX, 6). Certainly St. Peter would be regarded as a leader, and he
probably deemed it prudent to absent himself from Rome for a time. He took the opportunity
to revisit Palestine and the East, for in 49 or 50 we find him presiding over the
Apostolic Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), dealing with the Judaizing crisis. Probably
shortly afterwards he met St. Paul at Antioch (Gal. 2: 11). He may also have revisited the
missions which he salutes at the opening of his first Epistle. At some time before 57
also, he was at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:12; Eusebius, History, II, 25).
PETER RETURNS TO ROME
Probably St. Peter was back in Rome by 60 A.D., for St.
Mark's Gospel was composed about that time. For of this Gospel, Clement of Alexandria
says: "When Peter was preaching the word publicly at Rome and proclaiming the Gospel
in the Spirit, his hearers, who were many, urged upon Mark, who had long been his follower
and remembered his sayings, to write them down and Mark did so and gave his Gospel to
those who had asked for it. When Peter heard of it, he neither directly forbade nor
encouraged it" (Hypotyposes, cited by Eusebius, History, VI, 14). This merely means
that Peter was more a man of action than a scholar, and was content that his secretary
Mark record his oral catechesis in writing.
Indeed, the content of this Gospel reflects St. Peter's
humble and practical character. Here "the words and actions of Christ, without any
set order" are presented "according to the needs of his subject" (Eusebius,
History, III, 15).
Very likely, 1 Peter was written in Rome, and 2 Peter
also, if indeed, the Apostle was the actual author. In these years, he may have been
residing in the house of the layman, Pudens, for St. Paul in his second captivity at Rome
sent greetings from "Pudens, Linus . . ." (2 Tim 4:21). If linus was St. Peter's
vicar we know he was his successor and Pudens his host, this juxtaposition is
understandable.
Here too, tradition places St. Peter's second chair (of
authority), and to symbolize this, Bernini encased a chair in bronze and set it in the
apse behind the great main altar of St. Peter's in the Vatican. The establishment of
Peter's chair of authority in Rome is celebrated every year as a Catholic feast on
February 22.
The first imperial persecution, that of Nero, broke out
in 64 when the Christians were falsely blamed for a fire that began in the shops about the
Circus Maximus. The Christians took care to protect St. Peter, possibly inducing him to
flee from the city. This may be the origin of the venerable Quo Vadis legend according to
which Peter received a vision of Christ on the Appian Way that indicated to him that his
martyrdom was at hand (St. Ambrose, Against Auxentius, 13).
In any event, Christian tradition has it that St. Peter
was well aware that the time of his death was not far off. (2 Pet 1:14). The traditional
date for the martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul is June 29, 67 A.D. This is not certain, but
recent archeological discoveries indicate that St. Peter's martyrdom took place nearer 67
than the 64 that some scholars have been proposing. The Alexandrian scholar Origen (d.
256) is the first to report that St. Peter "was crucified head downward, for he had
asked that he might suffer in this way" (Eusebius, History, III, 1).
The place is pointed out as Vatican Hill, "at the
Neronian Circus, between the two goal posts, and near the obelisk" (Acts of Peter,
cited by Barnes, St. Peter in Rome, 97). The foundations of this Neronian building have
not yet been discovered, but there is good reason to believe that this account is
substantially accurate, though the obelisk was later moved to its present site before St.
Peter's by Sixtus V during the sixteenth century.
PETER'S TOMB
In a work issued in 1959, Father Kirschbaum, a member
of the archeological commission excavating under the basilica during the 1940's, has given
a summary of the findings. These are in brief that it is reasonably certain that the place
where St. Peter was buried has been discovered. According to historical records,
supplemented by these new discoveries, this is the "history" of the tomb. The
Christians buried the Apostle's body in a simple grave on the southern slope of Vatican
Hill and covered it with a few brick slabs. Soon other graves were made near that of St.
Peter, and these have been recently discovered. Their existence and inscriptions on the
wall make clear that from the very first St. Peter's tomb was a place of pilgrimage so
that there was uninterrupted Christian veneration and observation of this spot.
About the middle of the second century the grave was
marked by a simple monumental slab, the "trophy" mentioned by Father Gaius about
200. During Valerian's persecution, when Christian cemeteries were closed for the first
time, St. Peter's relics, but probably only the skull, were moved to a more secure place
on the Via Appia. They were returned in the fourth century when Constantine began the
first basilica over St. Peter's tomb. To this end he went to great labor and expense to
fill up piles on the sloping Vatican Hill to provide a level foundation. This is why St.
Peter's tomb is at a considerably lower level than the floor of the Basilica of
Constantine and its modern replacement.
St. Gregory the Great carried out extensive alterations
between 594 and 604, placing an altar over the tomb, but leaving a shaft through which
objects might be lowered to touch the tomb for the veneration of pilgrims. During a
Saracen raid in 846 much of the basilica and tomb were plundered, although the actual
grave was not penetrated. It was soon after, probably, that the skull was removed and
placed, together with that of St. Paul, in the Lateran, where they still remain. To
prevent further vandalism the tomb shaft was filled up and the crypt sealed.
In 1503, work was begun to construct the modern
basilica which was built over the tomb without disturbing it. During construction some
attempts were made to reach the tomb, but were abandoned, it is now clear, before reaching
the actual grave. The discoveries of 1940-51, however, successively penetrated the various
layers and reached the actual site of the original grave of St. Peter. Here were found
bones, all belonging to the same person, "an elderly and vigorous man," with the
skull missing.
The cautious archeologists will affirm no more than
that these bones were believed to have been those of St. Peter by those who detached the
skull for preservation during Valerian's persecution in the third century. In view of the
continuous record up to that time of Christian devotion to the tomb, we believe that this
ought to be enough to satisfy any reasonable man.
We may conclude, then, that not only St. Peter's
authority and spirit, but even the relics of his body, have remained in Rome. Nature and
grace have conspired to justify the Latin inscription on the dome of St. Peter's Basilica,
towering some 400 feet above the once simple earthen grave: "You are Peter, and on
this rock I will build my church, and I will give you the keys of heaven."
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