08 — Martyrdom and Veneration
The end of Paul’s road and the Church’s keeping of his memory: the tradition that the apostle was put to death at Rome under Nero — beheaded by the sword, as befitted a Roman citizen — and its earliest attestations from Clement of Rome onward; and the veneration of the apostle, the great feast he shares with Peter on June 29, and his place among the Twelve. This section pins the martyrdom tradition to its sources and sets out the liturgical honor the Church pays him.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
The Acts of the Apostles closes with Paul under house arrest at Rome, preaching unhindered (Acts 28:30–31); it does not narrate his death. The tradition of his martyrdom comes from other and early sources — Clement of Rome (c. 96), the second-century witnesses preserved by Eusebius, and the later apocryphal Acts of Paul — and is remarkably consistent in outline: Paul died at Rome, under Nero, by beheading, about the same time as Peter. This section examines that tradition, distinguishing the early and firm from the late and legendary per METHODOLOGY §3.5, and then turns to the veneration of the apostle: the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the Apostles’ Fast that precedes it, the Synaxis of the Twelve, the relics and the great basilica at Rome, and the apostle’s enduring place in Orthodox piety and hymnody.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Roman Martyrdom | The tradition of Paul’s death at Rome under Nero by beheading: the earliest witnesses (Clement of Rome; Gaius and Dionysius of Corinth in Eusebius; the Acts of Paul), the date (c. 64 or c. 67), the manner, and what is early and firm versus late and legendary. |
| Veneration and the Feast | The veneration of the apostle: the feast of June 29, the Apostles’ Fast, the Synaxis of the Twelve on June 30, the relics and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the hymnography, and Paul’s place in Orthodox piety. |
See Also
- The Two Chief Apostles — the joint witness and martyrdom with Peter
- The Journeys — the road that ended at Rome
- The Roman Martyrdom — the death itself
- Divine Liturgy — the liturgical life in which the apostle is commemorated
References
- Clement of Rome. First Epistle to the Corinthians 5. Trans. in Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers, 2007.
- Eusebius of Caesarea. The Ecclesiastical History 2.22, 2.25, 3.1. Trans. in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 1.
- The Acts of Paul (and the Acts of Paul and Thecla). In The Apocryphal New Testament, ed. J. K. Elliott. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.