AD 67

Martyrdom of Peter and Paul

The undatable deaths of Peter and Paul in Rome

The earliest surviving account remembers both deaths and supplies neither a year, a day, an execution method, nor even the name of an emperor.

Why the entry says "possible date"

67 is a possible traditional chronology, not a securely established date. The ancient proposals for the two men vary by more than a decade, and a modern Oxford chronology calls 64 the probable year of Peter's martyrdom in Rome.

Nothing requires the two to have died in the same year at all. Paul may have died in a different one, and no reliable evidence puts them on the same day.

David Eastman's study of the traditions makes the spread itself the point: the deaths are remembered confidently and dated inconsistently.

What each source actually says

The earliest witness, the late first-century letter known as 1 Clement, treats Peter and Paul as recent examples who suffered and died. It supplies no year, calendar day, execution site or method.

Tacitus records that after Rome's fire in 64 Nero blamed Christians and subjected them to executions and public tortures. He does not name either apostle among the victims.

Writing in the early fourth century, Eusebius reports that Paul was beheaded in Rome and Peter crucified under Nero.

A feast day is not an anniversary

The joint commemoration on 29 June cannot be shown to be the day either man died. Oxford scholarship argues that it worked as a literary and commemorative date rather than a demonstrable historical anniversary.

An Augustinian tradition goes further and says the two did not die within the same sunrise-to-sunset day.

Eusebius cites memorial locations associated with Peter at the Vatican and Paul along the Ostian Way, not documented execution sites.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 7 sources 3 audit passes, 1 issue open Date disputed

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

Date disputed. Sources disagree; the research places it at ~0067.

What the sources leave uncertain

The listed year 67 is a possible traditional chronology, not a securely established historical date.
A modern Oxford chronology calls 64 the probable year of Peter’s Roman martyrdom, but Paul may have died in a different year.
No reliable evidence establishes that Peter and Paul died on the same day, or even in the same year.
June 29 is a liturgical date. Oxford scholarship argues that it functioned as a literary and commemorative date rather than a demonstrable historical anniversary.