Peter and Rome in Early Christian Writings
Early Christian writings strongly connect Peter with Rome and often place his martyrdom there. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Lactantius all give important witness, and several texts also link Rome’s church line to Peter and Paul. The case is strong for Peter’s Roman presence and death, but the evidence for later Roman authority claims is more mixed. Bible passages in Acts and 1 Peter give background, but they do not state the whole claim in one place.
97 early-church witnesses · 172 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What did early Christians believe about peter and Rome?
Early Christian writings strongly link Peter with Rome and often place his martyrdom there, especially in Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Lactantius. Several writers also connect Rome’s church line to Peter and Paul, and later texts say Clement of Rome followed Peter. The evidence is broad for Peter’s presence, preaching, and death at Rome, but the details of authority and succession are mixed because some passages are later, brief, or part of polemical arguments.
Bible passages on Peter and Rome are indirect here: Acts shows Paul going to Rome and Peter preaching earlier, while 1 Peter 5:13 mentions “Babylon,” which many early Christians read in light of Rome but does not name the city. Overall, the early Christian witness is strong for Peter’s Roman connection and martyrdom, but thinner and less direct for any single fixed theory of Roman primacy.
Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Lactantius all place Peter in Rome or connect him closely to Rome.
- Several early writers say Peter was crucified in Rome or that Rome’s church was founded by Peter and Paul.
- The evidence is strong for Peter’s Roman connection, but less direct for later claims about Roman primacy.
Questions Answered by the Sources
Did early Christians say Peter went to Rome?
The clearest early witnesses say Peter came to Rome and preached or worked there. The Bible cards mainly support Peter’s activity and movement, while the early writers provide the direct Roman tradition.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Direct teaching
...he Gospel of God equally and individually. Matthew also wrote a Gospel in the Hebrew language while Peter and Paul were preaching in Rome and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, wrote down what Peter had preached. Luke, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. Later on, John, the disciple of the Lord, who had leaned upon His chest, published a Gospel during his time in Ephesus in Asia.
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Clement of Alexandria, Fragments Direct teaching
Marcus, my son, sends you greetings. Mark, Peter's follower, wrote what is called the Gospel according to Mark while Peter was publicly preaching the Gospel at Rome before some of Caesar's equites and giving many testimonies about Christ. He did this so that they might be able to remember what had been spoken. Mark wrote down completely what Peter had spoken. In the same way, Luke also can be recognized by his style as the one who composed the Acts of the Apostles and translated Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews.
More related quotations from this section 7 shown
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness
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.
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Anonymous, Treatise on Re-Baptism Supporting witness
And that after such long time, Peter and Paul, after the collation of the Gospel in Jerusalem, and the mutual consideration and altercation and arrangement of things to be done finally, were known to one another, as if then for the first time;
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
But He also opened to them all things which were about to happen, which Peter and Paul preached at Rome;
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
Of Antioch, Euodius, ordained by me Peter; and Ignatius by Paul.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Background
...ism: but in every nation, the one who fears Him and works righteousness is acceptable to Him." He clearly indicated that the God whom Cornelius had previously feared and heard of through the law and the prophets, and for whom he gave alms, is indeed God. However, Cornelius lacked knowledge of the Son, so Peter added, "You know the message that was spread throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism John preached—Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power; who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him. We are witnesses of everything He did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom they killed, hanging Him on a beam of wood. God raised Him on the third day and showed Him openly; not to all the people, but to us, witnesses chosen by God, who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection. He commanded us to preach to the people and testify that He is the one ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. To Him, all the prophets bear witness, that through His name, everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." The apostles preached the Son of God, whom
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Origen, Against Celsus Background
...poor among the Jews, and those Jews who have received Jesus as Christ are called Ebionites. Indeed, Peter himself seems for a considerable time to have kept the Jewish observances required by the law of Moses, because he had not yet learned from Jesus to rise from the law governed by the letter to the law understood according to the spirit. We learn this from the Acts of the Apostles. For on the day after the angel of God appeared to Cornelius and told him to send to Joppa for Simon, surnamed Peter, Peter went up to the upper room to pray about the sixth hour. He became very hungry and wanted to eat. But while they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel coming down to him, like a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, creeping things of the earth, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him: "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat." But Peter said, "Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything common or unclean." And the voice spoke to him a second time: "What God has cleansed, call not common." Now notice how, by this example, Peter is shown as still keeping the Jewi
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Background
and what befell Paul there, how he was sent to Rome in bonds;
Did early Christians say Peter was martyred in Rome?
Several sources explicitly place Peter’s death at Rome, usually as crucifixion or martyrdom. This is one of the strongest and most repeated claims in the supplied evidence.
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Direct teaching
... the foundations of the Church in every province and city. And while Nero was reigning, the Apostle Peter came to Rome. Through the power of God given to him, he worked certain miracles. By turning many to the true religion, he built up a faithful and steadfast temple for the Lord. When Nero heard these things, and saw that not only in Rome but in every other place, a great multitude was turning away daily from the worship of idols and, condemning their old ways, was going over to the new religion, he, a detestable and destructive tyrant, rushed forward to tear down the heavenly temple and destroy the true faith. He was the first who persecuted the servants of God. He crucified Peter and killed Paul. Nor did he escape without punishment, for God looked on the suffering of His people. Therefore the tyrant, stripped of authority and thrown down from the height of empire, suddenly disappeared, and even the burial place of that poisonous wild beast was nowhere to be seen. This has led some people of wild imagination to suppose that, having been carried away to a distant region, he is still being kept alive. To him they apply the Sibylline verses concerning
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Supporting witness
And while Nero reigned, the Apostle Peter came to Rome, and, through the power of God committed unto him, wrought certain miracles, and, by turning many to the true religion, built up a faithful and steadfast temple unto the Lord.
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Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians Direct teaching
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.
More related quotations from this section 2 shown
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Peter of Alexandria, Canonical Epistle Direct teaching
Thus Peter, the first of the apostles, having been often apprehended, and thrown into prison, and treated with igominy, was last of all crucified at Rome.
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Supporting witness
he crucified Peter, and slew Paul: nor did he escape with impunity;
How did early Christians describe Rome’s connection to Peter and Paul?
Some early writers describe the Roman church as founded or organized by Peter and Paul, and others link later Roman leadership to the apostolic line. The evidence shows a strong early memory tying Rome to both apostles, though the exact wording varies.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Direct teaching
[we do this, I say,] by indicating that 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;
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Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics Supporting witness
as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter.
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Tertullian, Against Marcion Supporting witness
what utterance also the Romans give, so very near (to the apostles), to whom Peter and Paul conjointly bequeathed the gospel even sealed with their own blood.
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Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics Supporting witness
In exactly the same way the other churches likewise exhibit (their several worthies), whom, as having been appointed to their episcopal places by apostles, they regard as transmitters of the apostolic seed.
More related quotations from this section 1 shown
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness
...as revealed to him by revelation, let Paul himself refute them. He says that the same God worked in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised and in himself for the Gentiles. Therefore, Peter was an apostle of the same God as Paul, and both preached about God and the Son of God; Peter to those of the circumcision and Paul among the Gentiles. For our Lord did not come to save only Paul, nor is God so limited that He would have only one apostle who understood the plan for His Son. Furthermore, when Paul says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news and preach the Gospel of peace,” he clearly shows that there were many who preached the truth. Additionally, in the Epistle to the Corinthians, after listing all who saw God after the resurrection, he continues, “But whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed,” recognizing the unity in the preaching of all those who witnessed God after the resurrection.
Did early Christians say Mark wrote his Gospel from Peter’s preaching in Rome?
The supplied early writers repeatedly say Mark wrote down Peter’s preaching, specifically while Peter was preaching in Rome. These are among the clearest repeated traditions in the set.
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Caius, Fragments Supporting witness
and that the truth of Gospel preaching was preserved until the times of Victor, who was the thirteenth bishop in Rome from Peter, and that from his successor Zephyrinus the truth was falsified.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching
...blican. After him was Cornelius, and the third was Theophilus. In Antioch, Euodius, ordained by me, Peter; and Ignatius, by Paul. In Alexandria, Annianus was the first, ordained by Mark the evangelist. The second was Avilius, by Luke, who was also an evangelist. In the church of Rome, Linus the son of Claudia was the first, ordained by Paul, 2 Timothy 4:21. After Linus's death, Clemens was the second, ordained by me, Peter. In Ephesus, Timotheus, ordained by Paul; and John, by me, John. In Smyrna, Aristo was the first. After him was Strataeas the son of Lois, 2 Timothy 1:5, and the third was Aristo. In Pergamus, Gaius. In Philadelphia, Demetrius, by me. In Cenchrea, Lucius, by Paul. In Crete, Titus. In Athens, Dionysius. In Tripoli in Phoenicia, Marathones. In Laodicea in Phrygia, Archippus. In Colossae, Philemon. In Borea in Macedonia, Onesimus, once the servant of Philemon. In the churches of Galatia, Crescens. In the parishes of Asia, Aquila and Nicetas. In the church of Aegina, Crispus. These are the bishops entrusted by us with the parishes in the Lord. Always keep their teaching in mind, and observe our words. And may the Lord be with you now and through endless ages, as H
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
Of the church of Rome, Linus the son of Claudia was the first, ordained by Paul;
Did early Christians connect Peter with the Church or leadership?
A few sources describe Peter as chosen by the Lord, associated with the Church, or linked to a special role among the apostles. The evidence supports that early Christians honored Peter, but it does not by itself prove later claims about universal jurisdiction.
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Clement of Alexandria, Fragments Supporting witness
Marcus, my son, salutes you. Mark, the follower of Peter, while Peter publicly preached the Gospel at Rome before some of Cæsar's equites, and adduced many testimonies to Christ, in order that thereby they might be able to commit to memory what was spoken, of what was spoken by Peter, wrote entirely what is called the Gospel according to Mark.
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Clement of Alexandria, Connection to 1 Peter 5:13 Supporting witness
"Marcus, my son, salutes you." Mark, the follower of Peter, while Peter publicly preached the Gospel at Rome before some of Caesar's equites, and adduced many testimonies to Christ, in order that thereby they might be able to commit to memory what was spoken, of what was spoken by Peter, wrote entirely what is called the Gospel according to Mark.
Common Questions
Did early Christians believe Peter went to Rome?
Yes. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Lactantius all connect Peter with Rome in their writings.
Did early Christians say Peter died in Rome?
Yes. Several early writers say Peter was crucified or suffered martyrdom in Rome.
Did early Christians teach that Rome’s church came from Peter?
Many did. Irenaeus says the church at Rome was founded and organized by Peter and Paul, and later writers link Roman bishops to Peter.
Source Index for Peter and Rome
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 155 ranked source links from 172 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 155 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 97
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
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Clement of Alexandria, Connection to 1 Peter 5:13
Bible Passages 75 included
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.