"I AM NOT WORTHY" - The Martyrdom of Saint Peter
In 1985, SJVIS was asked for the source of the quotation: “I am not worthy to be put on the cross, therefore turn my cross and head downwards.” An extensive search was made that found several modern references dealing with the death of Peter, but none of these sources provided a citation to the phrase, “I am not worthy.” In response to this question again in 2003, it was decided to consult several modern references to the death of Peter to see if any of them had citations to early references that might be helpful. Indeed, the Encyclopædia Biblica referred to the Catholic Acta Petri et Pauli, which was found in translation in ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL in Vol. VIII THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS. It is the first “Early Reference” mentioned below and it does include the phrase “I am not worthy.” The full text is somewhat different from the quotation in question, but it is the only source that we have found that contains the “I am not worthy” phrase.
As a record of the search that has been made, the sources and the relevant text are listed under Modern References below. The early references that were mentioned in these modern references have been listed under Early References.
Early References (All Translations)
We have not been able to date any of the original manuscripts, (with one exception) either in the translations, using the Modern References that follow or in the sites on the web that we have consulted in which there are additional translations of these early works.
ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL in Vol. VIII THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS, Translations ... by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, ca.1884, p. 484. [Found in Encyclopædia Biblica.]
“And Peter, having come to the cross, said; Since my Lord Jesus Christ, who came down from the heaven upon the earth, was raised upon the cross upright, and He has deigned to call to heaven me, who am of the earth, my cross ought to be fixed head downmost, so as to direct my feet towards heaven; for I am not worthy to be crucified like my Lord. Then, having reversed the cros, they nailed his feet up.” The following web site contains the entire document:
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0815.htm.
Eusebius; the Ecclesiastical History, II. xxv. with English translation by Kirsopp Lake. Harvard University Press. 1959.[Found in The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911.]
p. 181. (5)“ … It is related that in his time Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified, … .”
Eusebius; The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine. Book 3. Paragraph 1. Trans. G. A. Williamson. Penguin Books, 1965. [Found in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.] p. 65.
(1) “...Finally, he came to Rome where he was crucified, head downwards at his own request.”
St. Clement. “Epistle to the Corinthians” in Vol. 1 THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS, Translations ... by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, ca.1884. titled: The First Epistle of Clement. Chapter 5. (p.6.) [Found in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.]
“Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labours; and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him.
The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. Translated by James A. Kleist, S.J., Ph.D. Newman Press [Found in The Encyclopedia of Religion.]
1 Clement 5. 4. “Peter, who through unmerited jealousy underwent not one or two, but many hardships and, after thus giving testimony, departed for the place of glory that was his due.”
Epistle of Clement to James. Vol. VIII THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS, Translations ... by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, ca.1884. Chapter 1.
“Peter...was commanded to enlighten the darker part of the world, namely the West, and was enabled to accomplish it, - and to what extent do I lengthen my discourse, not wishing to indicate what is sad, which yet of necessity, though reluctantly, I must tell you, - he himself, by reason of his immense love towards men, having come as far as Rome, clearly and publicly testifying, in opposition to the wicked one who withstood him, that there is to be a good King over all the world, while saving men by his God-inspired doctrine, himself, by violence, exchanged this present existence for life.”
The following verses in John were mentioned in The Encyclopedia of Religion and Dictionary of the Bible. 1924.
John 21: King James Version: 18) “Verily, verily, I say unto they. When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19)This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify ‘God. And when he had spoke this, he saith unto him, Follow me.”
John 21: New International Version: 18) “’I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’ 19) Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him. ’Follow Me!’”
Modern References
It may be of some interest to see how each of these modern reference books have dealt with the death of Peter. These references are included both for the information itself and for the references that they cited.
Encyclopædia Biblica. The Macmillan Co. 1903. Vol. 4.
p. 4612. [Under the heading “Contents of pre-Catholic Acta Petri,”] “Agrippa sentences him [Peter] to be crucified (36=Linus 3.6). Arrived at the cross, Peter begs to be fastened to it with his head downward, and his request having been carried out, expounds at some length the mystery of the cross, especially that of crucifixion with head downward (37f.=Linus 12), and dies.”[A translation of Acts of Peter was not found.]
“p. 4613 [Under the heading “Contents of Catholic Acta Petri et Pauli,”] “Peter at his own request is crucified head downwards (60). From his cross he reproves the people, who are wishing to kill Nero and relates how a few days before, in his flight from the devices of Agrippa, he himself had been met by Jesus, who had said he wished to be crucified in place of Peter (61). Peter then dies. (62).” [This lead to ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL in Vol. VIII THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS.]
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1910.
p. 481. “Thus Clement, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, written in 95-97 records: ‘Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two but numerous labors; and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him’ (ANF,i.6) [Refers to St. Clement. “Epistle to the Corinthians” and The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch.]
p. 482. [Peter], finally being crucified head downward in the last year of Nero’s reign.... his crucifixion is perhaps drawn from a literal interpretation of John xxi.18, while the manner of it (cf Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., III., 1 savors of post-apostolic rather than apostolic taste....” [Refers to Eusebius; the Ecclesiastical History, II. Xxv.]
p. 482. “It seems most probable, on the whole, that Peter died a martyr’s death in Rome toward the close of Nero’s reign.... Absolute certainty is, however, unattainable.”
The Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Co. 1911. p.751.
“Concerning the manner of Peter’s death, we possess a tradition - attested to by Tertullian at the end of the second century (see above) and by Origen (in Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. II.i.) - that he suffered crucifixion. Origen says: ‘Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer.’” [Refers to Eusebius; the Ecclesiastical History, II. Xxv.]
Dictionary of the Bible. Ed. by James Hastings, et. al. 1924
p.714.
“There are copious traditions about Peter. Suffice it to mention that he is said to have … been crucified (cf. Jn 21:18.19) in the last year of Nero’s reign (A.D.68) being at his own request nailed to the cross head downwards, since he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord.”
The Saints; a concise biographical dictionary edited by John Coulson. Hawthorn Books, 1958. p. 370.
“In the light of this evidence, literary and monumental, there is a strong case for holding that Peter did visit Rome and transmitted his primacy to its first bishop personally, before undergoing martyrdom during Nero’s persecution of the Roman Christians. Of his activities and domicile in Rome we know nothing. The familiar stories are all derived either from local legends or from relatively late and unreliable documents.”
Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Abingdon, 1960. p. 55.
“...Origen reported that Peter ‘at the last came to Rome and was crucified head-downwards’ (Euseb. Hist. III.1.2).”
Dictionary of the Bible. Ed. by James Hastings, et. al. 1963 p.754
“The First Epistle of Clement (c 96) provides indirect evidence of Peter’s martyr death in Rome. Support for this tradition is also given by Gaius, a Roman presbyter (c 200) quoted in Eusebius and by early Roman liturgical calendars which contain statements regarding the date and place of the martyrdom. According to Eusebius, Origen (c225) wrote that Peter was at his own request nailed to a cross head downward, since he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord.
The Encyclopedia of Religion. By Mircea Eliade, ed. in chief Vol. 11 ? 1987.p. 259.
“Equally early is the tradition of Peter’s martyrdom (Jn. 21:18-19) and of his martyrdom in Rome (1 Clement 5). [Refers to The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch.]
New Catholic Encyclopedia. Second Edition. Thomson/Gale. 2003.
p.176.
“By the late 2d and early 3d centuries, the tradition of Peter’s Roman sojourn and martyrdom is solidly established. The martyrdom is usually dated 64 or 65 during the Neronian persecution. The tradition that he was crucified goes back to Tertullian (De praescriptione 36; Scorpiacus 15).
All the men of the Bible by Herbert Locker. Grand Rapids, Michigan Zondervan Pub Co.
p. 273. “...Legend has it that Peter deemed himself unworthy to die in exactly the same way as his Lord had, and so begged his crucifiers to crucify him upside down.”
Saints, signs, and symbols. By Willard Ellwood Post. 2d ed. Wilton, Con., Morehouse-Barlow Co. 1974
p. 20 Shows an upside down cross with two keys overlaid. Text: ST. PETER, AP.M., 1st cen. – Because he felt unworthy to die as had Christ, St. Peter requested that his cross be inverted so that he might look Heavenward as he was crucified. A gold cross, silver keys of the Kingdom of Heaven all on a red field.”
A.D.Ammo Domini. By Kirk Mitchell. P.364
This is a work of fiction. Quotes Gavius in responding to Valerius: “He [Peter] asked me to crucify him upside down. He said he wasn’t worthy to die in the same way as Jesus did.
The preceding information was derived from the backfiles of the San Joaquin Valley Information Service.
We hope you will find it useful, both as an introduction and as a guide for further study.
Please consult with your local public library about obtaining copies of the works cited.
Revised 4/2003