From Dr. Taylor Marshall's Canterbury Tales
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| Peter Crucified Upside Down in Rome |
Most Protestant scholars contest that Catholic claim that Saint Peter was the first bishop (pope) of Rome. They go so far as to say that Peter never even visited Rome.
As we prepare to celebrate the feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (June 29), we should take a look at this objection.
I argue that there is plenty of evidence of Peter’s presence not only in tradition, but also in Sacred Scripture.
I refer to the mystery of the “another man” in Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.
[the following is a free selection from my book The Eternal City: Rome and the Origins of Catholicism]
As one reads the thirteenth chapter of Romans, one cannot help but see a concern in Paul’s mind about the tenuous state of the Roman Church in relationship to Imperial Rome. Once already the emperor had exiled all Jews from the city on account of “Chrestus” – a Roman mispronunciation of “Christus.” Perhaps Paul was worried that the current emperor Nero Caesar might hear rumors that “Chrestus” was once again stirring up rebellion in the imperial city—this time not only among the Jews but also among the non-Jews. Paul therefore exhorts the Roman Christians to “be subject to the governing authorities,” and to honor the Roman Caesar in things pertaining to civic duties (Rom 13:3-7).
