What caused Saint Peter the first pope's death?

Answer 1

A:

Those who believe that Saint Peter was the first pope, or bishop of Rome, also believe that he was crucified upside-down, on the orders of Emperor Nero. Normal crucifixion would cause death, generally over a period of several days, from asphyxiation, as the victim is no longer able to breath while hanging from his arms. In the upside down position, this would not apply, so the crucifixion would probably not directly cause death, although exposure and starvation would eventually take their toll. I suspect this would be a more humane way of dying than by normal crucifixion.

There is no actual evidence that Peter ever went to Rome, so it is possible that Peter never was reall the first leader of the Christians in Rome. Scholars say we do not know how he died.

Catholic Answer:

The Catholic Church has taught the tradition of Saint Peter dying in Rome by crucifixion for nearly 2000 years and there is evidence to support this in The Bible itself. See the links below. Since the Catholic Church did write the New Testament, I tend to believe their explanation rather than a Protestant interpretation. Of course, for those who believe, no proof is necessary and for those who do not believe, no proof is possible.

As to being crucified upside down, I doubt if it would have prolonged life but would have cut it drastically short. Looking back on my college biology I seem to remember that the human circulatory system is primarily designed to work properly in the upright or prone position and not upside down. In a short time the blood would begin to pool in the head and cause severe cerebral and cardiac difficulties.

Actually, it would have made little difference had Peter never gone to Rome. He was still the appointed leader of the Church and his successor, whether in Rome, Antioch, Jerusalem or Chicago, would be the apostolic successor of Peter. Peter chose Rome since Rome was considered the "center of the world" at the time. All roads lead to Rome, as the saying goes.

By the way, the author of the article cited in the first link below, Dr. Taylor Marshall. was an Episcopal priest until be converted to Catholicism a few years back.