Which emperor ordered Saint Peter to be crucified?

Answer 1

A:A second-century tradition is that Peter was beheaded in rome on the orders of Emperor Nero. Origen changed this tradition in the third century, to say that Nero ordered Peter to be crucified. Another tradition is that Nero had Paul beheaded in Rome.

On the other hand, Clement of Rome, writing around 95 CE (1 Clement), spoke in general terms about the life and death of Peter but appears to have been unaware that Peter had even visited Rome and was certainly unaware that he had been executed in any way at all. Clement seems to have believed that Paul travelled to the west (Spain) and live out his last years there.

Answer 2

The Catholic Church has held from the earliest of times that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome under orders from Nero. Nero had a grand plan to rebuild the city to reflect his own tastes. However, how could he go about it? Tradition says that Nero ordered the city to be set ablaze. Next, he needed to draw suspicions away from himself as the cause of the fire. He chose to blame the Christians, for whom he had no love. Christians were rounded up and imprisoned, Peter among them. When his time for execution came, Peter insisted on being crucified upside down as he did not feel he deserved to be killed in the same manner as Our Lord. Even most main stream Protestants agree that Peter was crucified in Rome.

There are obscure sources that say Pope Anicetus (pope 157-168) told Saint Polycarp that Peter was beheaded. However, the story is a pure fabrication. The only information surviving from the reign on Anicetus was that he and Polycarp disagreed on the date on which Easter should be celebrated. As the Pope respected Polycarp, they agreed to disagree.

Answer 3

Christian tradition holds that Peter was crucified in Rome on the orders of Emperor Nero. However, there is no actual evidence that Peter ever visited Rome, nor that he was ever crucified.

Clement of Rome, regarded in Catholic tradition as a successor to Peter, wrote of Peter's death in general terms, but says nothing about Peter having been executed, although he could be expected to have if the tradition already existed in his time.

The venerable Polycarp of Smyrna had tried to win an argument with the mid-second century pope Anicetus (156-166) on a matter of theology, by saying that he spoke with the authority of the apostle John. In response, Anicetus said that Peter was beheaded by Nero in Rome and that he spoke with the authority of Peter. In the first mention of Peter's death, he was beheaded, not crucified.

Then in the third century, the Church Father Origen changed the story somewhat, saying that Peter, condemned to crucifixion, felt himself unworthy to be crucified the same way as his Lord, and so chose crucifixion upside down.

On the evidence, there are very good reasons to believe that Peter was never crucified. For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/church-leadership/what-do-we-really-know-about-the-apostle-peter

http://christianity.answers.com/catholicism/a-brief-history-of-the-early-popes