Early Church History 

to deal with future persecutions, the recent famine, and the attention which the Church must always give to 

the poor (even after the famine had ended). 

Peter in Rome 

    As explained above, Peter was imprisoned at the time of the martyrdom of James the Greater, in spring of 

A.D.

 27. He soon escaped and left the area (Acts 12:4 17). Since Herod Agrippa I had imprisoned Peter, 

perhaps with the intention of eventually putting him to death, Peter would have gone to a place not under 

Herod's authority. At that time, in 

A.D.

 27, Herod controlled the areas formerly controlled by Philip (cf. Lk 

3:1) and Herod the tetrarch, as well as Judea, Samaria, and Caesarea.

621

 Herod Agrippa I controlled a large 

area.

622

 And so, Peter had to go far to escape from the threat of imprisonment and death at Herod's hands. 

    According to Saint Jerome, Peter went to Rome in the second year of Claudius (in this chronology, 

A.D.

27), and he reigned as bishop there for 25 years.  Simon Peter pushed on to Rome in the second year of 

Claudius to over throw Simon Magus, and held the sacerdotal chair there for twenty five years until the last, 

that is the fourteenth, year of Nero. 

623

 The second year of Claudius is the same year as the martyrdom of 

James the Greater. So, after he escaped from prison, Peter made his way to Rome and arrived there in the 

same year, 

A.D.

 27. 

    Peter fled for Rome about the time of the Passover (Acts 12:3). The length of Peter's bishopric at Rome is 

given in several different sources as 25 years, 1 month, and 8 or 9 days.

624

 Since Peter died on June 29, one 

might conclude that he arrived in Rome about May 20. There is sufficient time between the Passover of 

A.D.

27 (which began April 9) and the date of May 20 for a trip to Rome by boat in the spring, when the sailing 

weather on the Mediterranean is good. Now this date for Peter's arrival is not certain. He may have taken 

longer to make the trip to Rome, especially since he had to avoid detection by Roman officials under Herod's 

authority as well as by Jewish leaders (who might turn him over to the Romans). But, in any case, Peter would 

have been able to arrive in Rome, even if his journey had difficulties and delays, at least by mid 

A.D.

 27. 

    Several different sources give the length of Peter's reign as bishop of Rome as 25 years.

625

 These sources are 

not counting the years inclusively, because they attempt to give the exact length of Peter's reign (25 years, 1 

month, and 8 or 9 days).

626

 If we count forward 25 years from 

A.D.

 27, we arrive at 

A.D.

 52 as the year of 

Peter's martyrdom. The emperor Nero died in the 14th year of his reign, on June 9 of 

A.D.

 53 (see chapter 13). 

In this chronology, then, Peter died in the 13th year of the reign of Nero, which is 

A.D.

 52. Why then does 

Saint Jerome give the 14th year of Nero as the year of Peter's death? 

The Martyrdoms of Peter and Paul 

    Finegan reasonably places the death of Peter on June 29, based on a number of ancient sources.

627

According to Jerome, as well as Eusebius, Peter and Paul were both put to death on the same day, during the 

reign of Nero.

628

 Since Nero died on June 9, it is unlikely that Peter and Paul were put to death 20 days later. It 

was Nero who undertook the first major persecution of the Church by the Roman Empire. When he died, 

there was a succession of three emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius) whose reigns were brief and who did not 

have the time, power, or inclination to give attention to the Christians. Therefore, the 13th year of Nero, 25 

years after Peter came to Rome, is the most likely time for the deaths of Peter and Paul. 

    Jerome calls the year in which Peter and Paul died:  the last, that is the fourteenth, year of Nero. 

629

 Peter 

and Paul did die less than a year before the death of Nero, so they died literally in Nero's last year. It was not 

the 14th calendar year, but rather the 13th calendar year. Furthermore, Jerome also states that Peter and Paul 

died two years after the death of the poet Seneca.  He [Seneca] was put to death by Nero two years before 

Peter and Paul were crowned with martyrdom. 

630

 The usual date for Seneca's death is 

A.D.

 65, which is 

A.D.

50 in this revised chronology, and which is in any case the 11th year of Nero's reign. Counting forward 2 years 

brings us to the 13th year of Nero's reign and this according to Jerome's own words. 

149