Where was Peter buried?

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Hi everyone,

Recently I’ve been discussing the Papacy with an anti-Catholic, and their last message put me in somewhat of a bind, but I have faith in the Catholic Church and continue to believe she is the one faith established by Christ. 😃

Now to my problem, I haven’t read the whole thing yet but I was wondering what you guys make of this article (I think that’s what it is)

aloha.net/~mikesch/peters-jerusalem-tomb.htm

I thought St. Peter was buried under the Basilica?

Thanks for the help!
Zach
 
zach_dunn said:
Hi everyone,

Recently I’ve been discussing the Papacy with an anti-Catholic, and their last message put me in somewhat of a bind, but I have faith in the Catholic Church and continue to believe she is the one faith established by Christ. 😃

Now to my problem, I haven’t read the whole thing yet but I was wondering what you guys make of this article (I think that’s what it is)

aloha.net/~mikesch/peters-jerusalem-tomb.htm

I thought St. Peter was buried under the Basilica?

Thanks for the help!
Zach
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We know that it is documented that Peter was martyred in Rome. We have documentation that he was buried in Rome, on what is known now as Vatican Hill. Recent (1940’s) excavations under St. Peters located a grave with an inscription of Peters name.

I sure there were others named Peter in Jerusalem.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
We know that it is documented that Peter was martyred in Rome. We have documentation that he was buried in Rome, on what is known now as Vatican Hill. Recent (1940’s) excavations under St. Peters located a grave with an inscription of Peters name.

I sure there were others named Peter in Jerusalem.
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I know, that’s what I believe too. But the inscription in Jerusalem reads “Simon son of John” and I think there are probably even more people named that than Peter from those days! 🙂
 
zach_dunn said:
I know, that’s what I believe too. But the inscription in Jerusalem reads “Simon son of John” and I think there are probably even more people named that than Peter from those days! 🙂
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Most likely. There is also the possibility that it is a fake like the burial box of “James brother of Jesus” proven a couple of years to be a fake.
 
note also, that this whole question is being raised by a 50 year old article that mentions that the finding would nullify Catholicism . Pretty hard to take that kind of article seriously. If this was serious, don’t you think they could have found something more current.
 
zach_dunn said:
Now to my problem, I haven’t read the whole thing yet but I was wondering what you guys make of this article (I think that’s what it is)
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It is built upon a false assumption, namely:
Catholics largely base their faith on the assumption that Peter was their first Pope and that he was martyred and buried there.
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It is true that Catholic theology places great emphasis on Peter’s primacy, but we don’t really care where he was martyred or buried. It would not matter to Catholic theology if he had died a natural death while visiting a cousin in Crete.

Historic evidence overwhelmingly says Peter was martyred and buried in Rome. This is a fitting, but not necessary, event. But it is, in no way, shape, or form, any “basis” of our Catholic Faith.

This is a “straw man” - they set up a bogus criteria and then try to discredit it (rather poorly, I might add). But even if they are correct (which they are not), it would not matter.
 
Tradition states that St. Peter was held in the Mamertine prison (its still there) beside the forum in Rome. In the 1st century AD, the site of St. Peter’s Basilica hosted the Circus* of Nero (*an oval track for racing chariots and fighting gladiators; circus=circle) and a cemetery. According to ancient tradition, St. Peter was martyred in the Circus and buried nearby.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran, however, is the cathedral of the Church of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope. Officially named Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sancti Iohannes Baptista et Evangelista in Laterano (English: Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Sts. John the Baptist and the Evangelist at the Lateran", it is the oldest and ranks first (being the cathedral of Rome) among the four major basilicas of Rome, and holds the title of ecumenical mother church (mother church of the whole inhabited world) among Catholics.
The Basilica of St. John Lateran is within the city of Rome but its not across the river in Vatican city.
 
Yes, there are several excavated layers below the altar. There is a box and an inscription. I watched a movie on it but I cannot locate it.
 
I have been to Rome a number of times and have taken the scavi tour under the baslica. Of course St. Peter is buried there without doubt. There was a time you could get very close to the area where St. Peter is buried, but because of the exposure to the air some of the graffiti has started to fade a bit, so the tours no longer get that close to the burial area. It is a great tour even today and newer lighting was installed and it is now humidity controled to help protect the frescoes and graffiti that still remain.
 
zach_dunn said:
Hi everyone,

Recently I’ve been discussing the Papacy with an anti-Catholic, and their last message put me in somewhat of a bind, but I have faith in the Catholic Church and continue to believe she is the one faith established by Christ. 😃

Now to my problem, I haven’t read the whole thing yet but I was wondering what you guys make of this article (I think that’s what it is)

aloha.net/~mikesch/peters-jerusalem-tomb.htm

I thought St. Peter was buried under the Basilica?

Thanks for the help!
Zach
Click to expand...
Well, let me say that this is very interesting subject. I know of course by studying scripture that there is nothing to indicate that Peter ever was in Rome. This belief that Peter was in Rome of course comes from the RCC, and is the very foundation of their hierarchy teaching regarding the popes of Rome. This is just one of the RCC teachings based on tradition which RC believe and follow and cannot be verified by the bible. Ralph
 
The most striking point about the body under the altar of St. Peter’s is that it has no feet. To me this is proof positive that it is the body of Peter. You remember that Peter asked to crucified upside down because he was unworthy to die in the same method as his Lord.

Crucifixion was usually accomplished with by rope or by nails. When nails were used they were driven through the wrists otherwise the weight on the nails would cause them to tear through the hands. Imagine the full weight of the body pulling on nails driven through the feet. It seems only logical that the feet would rip through. Fortunately being crucified upside down is much faster than the normal way due to all the blood rushing to the head, so the feet didn’t have to hold up too long. In any case, no feet on the body under the altar and being crucified upside down makes perfect sense to me.
 
zach_dunn said:
Hi everyone,

Recently I’ve been discussing the Papacy with an anti-Catholic, and their last message put me in somewhat of a bind, but I have faith in the Catholic Church and continue to believe she is the one faith established by Christ. 😃

Now to my problem, I haven’t read the whole thing yet but I was wondering what you guys make of this article (I think that’s what it is)

aloha.net/~mikesch/peters-jerusalem-tomb.htm

I thought St. Peter was buried under the Basilica?

Thanks for the help!
Zach
Click to expand...
This article shows all the signs of being standard anti-Catholic garbage. For example, it gets decidedly off point when it starts talking about the alleged affairs of many Popes including Pius XII (Some Popes undoubtedly did have affairs… but to mention it in this article is silly unless the author is attacking Catholicism as opposed to a specific belief).

It also makes silly statements such as that Simon Bar Jona would be so uncommon as to make it unlikely that it could be anyone other than Peter. We know that Simon was a fairly common name during the period, and Jonah probably wasn’t uncommon either. Jerusalem was hardly a small city in the first century AD.

I also find it amusing that the Author claims that the style of writing on the tomb can be dated to just before the destruction of Jerusalem. I agree that writing styles tend to change over time, but I doubt that anyone can date writing based on its style much closer than about a century in time.

–
Bill
 
The fact that the ossuary says “Simon Bar Jonah” is conclusive proof that it is not what the author claims. Our Lord himself changed Simon’s name to Peter, and any authentic ossuary or burial place that claimed to be Christian would acknowledge this.
 
Mother Church agrees that St Peter is buried under the High Altar in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. That is good enough for me.

Thank God for Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magestirium.

God bless us all.
 
For Ralphi: so many things that christians believe are not written in the bible that doesn’t mean that are in fact not true… of course you have to be a protestant…:tsktsk: to think that way… remember the Bible was preserve until now because or the CATHOLIC monks whom copied all the books through the years until the year 1,500 when the 1rst. Bible was printed. :signofcross: …What do you think now about the Bible?
 
phes3 said:
For Ralphi: so many things that christians believe are not written in the bible that doesn’t mean that are in fact not true… of course you have to be a protestant…:tsktsk: to think that way… remember the Bible was preserve until now because or the CATHOLIC monks whom copied all the books through the years until the year 1,500 when the 1rst. Bible was printed. :signofcross: …What do you think now about the Bible?
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I think the bible is the word of God. It was written by men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that is all I follow. Ralph
 
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