Jealousy, Internal Strife, and the Deaths of Peter and Paul: A Reassessment of 1 Clement

Abstract

One of the great mysteries of early Christian history surrounds the ends of the lives of Peter and Paul. In this article, I will begin by summarizing the traditional view on the apostolic martyrdoms and Oscar Cullmann’s brief argument that internal strife, not imperial paranoia, may have led to the deaths of the apostles. By appealing to the broader literary context of 1 Clement, New Testament texts, Roman historical sources, and the apocryphal acts, I will then expand on and strengthen the thesis that the author of 1 Clement is communicating that internal disputes between Christians provoked imperial attention and eventually led to the deaths of Peter and Paul. The evidence from the text itself points strongly in that direction, although this is certainly a story that authors like Luke and Clement would not want to highlight, for it would directly undermine the desired image of Peter and Paul standing together as symbols of apostolic and ecclesiastical unity in Rome and elsewhere.