Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

The Death of the First Pope

A number of accounts regarding the death of Simon Magus have come down to us today, but only one of them is the most persistent and probable.

One Bible Dictionary states that "Hegesippus, who wrote in the 4th Century, describes the contest between Peter and Simon Magus over a kinsman of the emperor [Nero] raised from the dead, and then HOW THE DECEIVER REACHED A TRAGIC END. Because of this, the emperor, who treated Simon Magus as a favorite, was so enraged that he had Peter cast into prison" (article, "Simon Magus").

What was the "TRAGIC END" Simon Magus came to?

"There are," according to the book Andrew and Peter, Brothers from Bethsaida, "TWO conflicting tales of Simon's downfall. A third century writer Hippolytus, states that Simon [Magus] asked to be buried alive in order to demonstrate his power to survive, but that he failed to rise. The Acts of Peter relates his dramatic downfall while ATTEMPTING TO FLY OVER THE ROMAN FORUM." [1]

In an attempt that parodies the account in Matthew 4 where Satan set the Messiah on the pinnacle of the Temple and told him to throw himself down, Simon Magus,

"having asserted that he was himself a god, and could raise the dead, Peter...rebuked his impiety, and challenged him to a trial of skill in the presence of the emperor [actually, the prefect of Rome]. The arts of the magician failed; Peter...restored the youth to life...at length he [Simon Magus] undertook to FLY UP TO HEAVEN in sight of the emperor [prefect!] and the people; and crowned with a laurel, and supported by MENONS [DEMONS], he FLUNG HIMSELF FROM A TOWER, and appeared for a while to float thus in the air, but St. Peter, falling on his knees commanded the menons to let go their hold, and SIMON MAGUS, PRECIPITATED TO THE GROUND, AND WAS DASHED TO PIECES." [2]

The author of the work called The Clementines is more specific regarding Simon Magus' injuries and tells us that "finding Simon Magus there [in Rome], the apostle [Peter] challenged him to give proof of his miraculous or magical powers, whereupon the sorcerer flew up into the air, and Peter brought him down in such haste THAT HIS LEG WAS BROKEN."  [3]

The Apostolic Constitutions state: "...I [Peter] had overcome him [Simon Magus]...I drove him away into Italy. Now, when he was at Rome, he commanded that the people should bring me also by force into the theatre, and promised that HE WOULD FLY IN THE AIR, and when all the people were in suspense at this, I prayed by myself."  [4] After this is mentioned the legend of Simon Magus' fall.

In the little church of Francesca Romana, near the Basilica Marentia at the triumphal Arch of Titus, is found a stone in which are seen marks that tradition says were left by Peter when he knelt to pray that Simon Magus might fall to his doom. While this is more than likely not the stone that Peter knelt on, it does show a long-standing tradition that the event actually happened.

According to the book Peter: Prince of Apostles, "...Simon [Magus], according to the Latin version [of his fall and death], dies under the hands of unskillful physicians." [5] Keep this in mind.

There is an engraving extant today -- found on a basilica door in Rome -- that shows the dramatic downfall of Simon Magus while attempting to fly from a tower erected on a hill overlooking the Forum, before the PREFECT and populace of Rome.

The aftermath of this incident is noted by William Cave --

"Such was the end of this miserable and unhappy man (Simon Magus): which no sooner came to the ears of the emperor [Nero], to whom by wicked artifices he [Simon Magus] had endeared himself, but it became an occasion of HASTENING PETER'S RUIN. The emperor probably had been before displeased with Peter, not only upon the account of the general disagreement and inconformity of his religion, but because he had so strictly pressed temperance and chastity...." [6]

Peter was ordered arrested by Nero and thrown into the Mamertine Prison to await the return of Nero from Greece. Shortly after Nero's return to Rome, Peter was crucified in Nero's Circus.

We have seen how Simon Magus died after falling from a tower, but what happened to his remains? Where was the body buried? The answer to these questions is full of mystery and intrigue!

The Empty Grave

Around 330 A.D. -- only two decades or so after the Emperor Constantine issued his Edict of Milan (by which he ended the persecution of the infant church) -- the old Roman district known as Vaticanum was covered over by a huge Roman basilica, and has lain hidden beneath St. Peter's for more than sixteen hundred years. Why did Constantine pick the spot that he did for the new basilica -- and why was the high altar centered over a particular spot in an ancient pagan cemetery?

Constantine, in his efforts to bring stability to the empire, set himself the task of blending the pagan religions of Rome with the new and expanding Christianity. What better way to satisfy both the pagan and Christian elements in Roman society that to erect a house of worship OVER THE GRAVE OF SIMON MAGUS -- and to transfer the remains of Peter from their resting place on the Via Appia to the tomb under the basilica? In The Lives and Deaths of the Holy Apostles we read that: "His [Peter's] body was removed [from alongside Nero's circus] to the cemetery in the Appian Way, 2 miles from Rome where it rested obscurely until the reign of Constantine [who] rebuilt and enlarged the Vatican to the honor of St. Peter." [7]

"Constantine himself," writes John Evangelist Walsh, "though he was at that period more concerned with the plans for his new capital at Constantinople, took a symbolic part in the work, going so far as to carry on his shoulders twelve baskets of earth-fill, one for each of the apostles." [8]

Then in the 16th Century, having come into a state of disrepair, the splendid structure was demolished, stone by stone. In its place, even while the work of demolition proceeded, "there slowly arose -- more than a century was needed for completion -- an even larger and grander monument, the present basilica [of St. Peter's] with its breathtaking proportions and majestic dome" (ibid., p. 16).

Only when necessary to sink foundations for the massive pillars and the enormous walls did the builders of the new basilica interfere with the original ground. The purported grave of the apostle Peter -- deep beneath the high altar -- was scrupulously avoided. The floor of the new basilica's central aisle was raised well above the old one. "Thus," comments Walsh, "while Constantine's church had completely disappeared aboveground, AT NO TIME had there been any wholesale intrusion on the sequestered precincts below. Whatever was buried under the first basilica in the fourth century -- no actual record had come down to the present -- must still lie there for the most part undisturbed in the twentieth" (ibid., p.16).

In 1939, following the death of Pope Pius XI, alterations needed for his interment in St. Peter's caused the first extensive change in the area under the central aisle after it had lain undisturbed for centuries. Soon after the pope's burial it was decided that this area should be converted into a subterranean chapel. Working towards the high altar, the excavators found a succession of second- and third-century Roman tombs. Reaching the area under the high altar, they discovered a grave that they believed to be that of the apostle Peter. Writes John Walsh --

"...straight down, a simple slab grave was encountered, holding a portion of a skeleton. When the grave proved to be of the fourth century, the bones were removed and the slabs cleared away. Another foot down and the foundations of the wall came into view. They were made of plain brick with a waterproof outer layer, and they rested directly atop another slab grave. To the excavators' delight, this grave proved to be of the FIRST CENTURY."  [9]

Gaining access to the grave, one of the excavators, Engelbert Kirschbaum, "quickly scrambled down into the pit and aimed a flashlight. Because of his nervous excitement and the sudden yellow glare, for a moment his straining eyes swam out of focus. As his vision cleared he found himself peering into an irregular little chamber, about four feet on a side with an earthen floor. IT APPEARED TO BE EMPTY"! (ibid., p. 54).

Empty! How could this be? The amazing truth can be found in Bede's Ecclesiastical History! In the year 656 Pope Vitalian decided the Catholic Church was no longer interested in the remains of the apostles Peter and Paul. The Pope therefore ordered them sent to Oswy -- King of Britain! Here is part of his letter to the British king:

"However, we have ordered the blessed gifts of the holy martyrs, that is, the relics of the blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and of the holy martyrs Laurentius, John, and Paul, and Gregory, and Pancratius, to be delivered to the bearers of these our letters, to be by them delivered to you." [10]

Could anything be more astounding? The bones of Peter and Paul (termed "relics" in the Pope's letter) sent by the Pope from Rome to Britain! The arrival of the remains in Britain was recorded and the record kept in the archives of Canterbury Cathedral -- still available today!

The Red Wall Bones

This being the case -- how could Pope Paul VI drop the following bombshell on the world in 1968?

"In the summer of 1968 it was announced by Pope Paul VI that the skeletal remains of St. Peter had at last been found and satisfactorily identified. The revered bones had been unearthed some time before, he said, from the tangle of ancient structures that lay deep beneath the magnificent high altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Paul was careful to explain that his statement rested on long and intensive study by experts, but then he deliberately WENT FURTHER, adding the weight of his own prestige. In light of the archaeological and scientific conclusions, he said, "the relics of St. Peter have been identified in a manner which WE BELIEVE convincing...very patient and accurate investigations were made with a result which WE BELIEVE positive." Firmly persuaded as he was, he had felt it nothing less than a duty to make "this happy announcement" at the earliest possible moment." [11]

On the day following the Pope's announcement, the bones were placed in the empty grave claimed to be that of Peter's. Since then, privileged visitors have regularly been allowed to enter the small, silent chamber beneath the high altar of St. Peter's to pay homage to what they believe to be the final resting place of Peter's remains. Through a narrow opening in the repository, "the bones" -- encased in several transparent receptacles -- are just visible.

If Peter's remains are now resting somewhere in Britain -- as Bede plainly states -- whose remains were identified by Pope Paul VI as being those of Peter's? And whose remains were placed into the supposed grave of the apostle beneath the high altar of St. Peter's? The story gets even more intriguing!

Let's now go back to 1942 and the original excavation of what was believed to be Peter's grave. After Kirschbaum entered the grave and FOUND IT EMPTY, "he gradually became aware that the chamber held an air of disarray. The rough niche in the red wall, especially, and the heavy sill above it that supported the closure slab, had both suffered extensive breakage at their right extremities. It was if they had been purposely hacked away....With a sigh, Kirschbaum wondered if he was looking at some of the 'unspeakable iniquities' committed by the Saracen horde a thousand years before" (ibid., p. 56).

While what Kirschbaum was seeing could well be the result of Saracen intrusion, it could also have been caused by Pope Vitalian's workers who removed Peter's remains to be sent to Britain!

Continues Walsh --

"As the [flash]light continued slowly to search into cracks and crevasses, Kirschbaum spotted another feature he had missed. At the bottom of the niche in the red wall foundations, where they disappeared into the dirt floor, there was a small opening. He inserted an exploratory hand but felt nothing. Then he scraped away some of the dirt. The space was not just an opening, it was a large gap in the structure of the wall itself, shaped like an inverted V, apparently a rise and fall in the foundations. Running his hand over the dirt that almost filled the gap, he felt his fingers brush something hard embedded in the earth. He scraped around the object, then gently pulled it free. Holding it up, he saw that it was a bone, about five inches long....More bones, deeply embedded, were piled in and around the same spot...workmen were sent to procure some of the special lead-lined boxes that had been prepared for holding any random bones turned up in the digging....

"During the next several hours, bone after bone was gingerly passed out, some broken or reduced by decay, many more only fragments, and all were carefully deposited in the boxes... [12]

When these bones were later examined, they were found to belong to not one but several individuals -- three in fact. Two had probably been in their fifties and the third individual was determined to be a female. Bottom line: NONE of these bones could be linked to the apostle Peter. Therefore the grave, assumed to be that of Peter's, was completely DEVOID of any bones that could be identified as those of the apostle.

The Graffiti Wall Bones

But the story doesn't end here! At the time the grave was discovered, and the bones were being removed from the inverted V-shaped space beneath the red wall that crossed the grave, one of the excavators, without the knowledge of the other four, found some bones in the graffiti wall that abutted the red wall and was to one side of the grave. Notice what unfolded --

"As the work beneath the body of the basilica brought to light stray parts of skeletons, he [Monsignor Kaas] had made it his personal duty to see that no human bones should, in the confusion of cleaning up, become mixed with the mounds of dirt and debris and be accidently thrown out. Whenever bones were found, including an occasional skull, he had them placed in special boxes and stored away for reburial."

Walsh continues with the incredible story:

"One evening early in 1942, a day or so after the team had first exposed the graffiti wall and peered briefly into the man-made cavity, intending to return later for a close look, Kaas had come to the area on his rounds, along with the foreman. Segoni, flaking off some of the plaster rim for a better view, inspected the cavity with a light. When he reported what appeared to be a NUMBER OF BONES mixed with some debris, Kaas unhesitatingly told him to REMOVE THEM for safekeeping" (ibid., p. 79).

Many human bones were found in the cavity, along with shreds of cloth, a few thick threads and two corroded coins. These items were all placed in a wooden box. Kaas NEVER TOLD THE OTHERS of his discovery!

Years later the wooden box, with its contents, was uncovered in a Vatican storeroom and handed over to one Professor Correnti for evaluation. Aside from the bones, he found some dozen small shreds of decaying fabric, colored a washed-out reddish-brown "in which still glinted purplish highlights and gold threads....Led to believe that the graffiti wall cache held a varied mix of individuals, Correnti was mildly surprised when he could find no duplication among the bones spread before him on the table, duplication such as had been quickly evident with the red wall bones" (ibid., p. 106).

As Correnti continued to examine the bones one very curious factor leapt right out at him -- every part of the skeleton was represented EXCEPT FOR THE FEET! "Only THE FEET, from the ankles down, were ENTIRELY MISSING. Not a single one of the many small bones to be found in the human foot could be seen on the table." [13] How curious! There has been little or no comment from the Catholic Church on this peculiarity of the graffiti wall cache. That these bones may have been lost because of their small size is no answer because many bones from the fingers of a similar size are present -- showing how much care and devotion was used with these relics.

So WHAT is the answer? WHY are all the bones from the ankles down missing? Because when SIMON MAGUS fell from the tower he smashed his feet so badly that he died "under the hands of unskilful physicians" when they attempted to amputate his feet! These remains, found in the graffiti wall cavity, WERE THOSE OF SIMON MAGUS -- NOT the apostle Peter!

Professor Correnti determined that the bones belonged to a man between 60 and 70 years of age, about five feet seven inches tall and of heavy build -- certainly the age range of Simon Magus when he died.

Another interesting fact that came to light was that four of five of the larger bones showed an unnatural staining on their intact extremeties. "The color," comments Walsh, "was a dark, uncertain red, in spots tending to reddish-brown, the same as could be seen in the shreds of fabric found in the wooden box. All these bones, it appeared, at some time after dissolution of the flesh, had been TAKEN FROM THE EARTH and WRAPPED IN A PURPLISH, GOLD-THREADED CLOTH" (ibid., p. 107).

As well as the staining, there was soil still adhering to the bones, indicating that the body must first have been buried in the ground. Then, at some later date, the bones had been wrapped in the purple cloth and deposited in the graffiti wall. From WHAT grave had these decayed bones been lifted and WHY were they found in the graffiti wall and not in the grave where they belonged? And WHO was responsible? John Walsh inadvertently answers the last question when he says -- "But why, in the first place, had the bones been moved from the grave to the wall, and who was responsible? Constantine?" (ibid., p. 112).

In the spring and summer of 1964 tests were conducted on the bones at the University of Rome. Particles of earth from the central, empty grave, the courtyard in front of the MEMORIAL or TROPAION, and the graffiti wall were broken down chemically into their basic elements then, under a microscope, the mineral and other components were identified and their relative quantities enumerated. "At the conclusion of the study there was NO DOUBT: the soil scraped from the bones made a perfect match with the soil in the central grave. Both were of a type called sandy marl, quite different from the blue clay or yellow sand which occurred generally in Rome, and which overlay much of Vatican Hill" (ibid., p. 115).

In other words, the bones found in the graffiti wall -- those of SIMON MAGUS -- were originally lying in the central grave! Simon Magus was the original occupant of the empty grave explored by Engelbert Kirschbaum. So HOW did they come to be found in the graffiti wall? WHY were they moved?

As mentioned before, Emperor Constantine, in his efforts to stabilize the empire, decided to MERGE the prevalent PAGAN mystery religions (which he himself actually followed) with that of Christianity; and to keep both parties happy he built his new basilica OVER THE LOCATION OF SIMON MAGUS' GRAVE, centering it under the high altar. Then he MOVED THE REMAINS OF PETER from their resting place on the Appian Way, placed them in a bronze casket which, in turn, was placed in the central grave where Simon Magus lay. To make room for the casket, the remains of Simon Magus were carefully wrapped in the purple cloth and deposited in the cache in the graffiti wall to the side of the grave! Brilliant! The followers of the pagan mystery religions could worship in the basilica confident that their PETER, or INTERPRETER of the mysteries was buried below, while the Christians (who by this time were moving away from "the faith once delivered") could worship there knowing that the remains of the apostle Peter were also buried below!

Peter's remains lay in the grave until Pope Vitalian sent them to King Oswy of Britain in the year 656. By this time the location of Simon Magus' remains was probably forgotten, or the papacy by then believed that the grave was indeed Peter's and that Peter was the founder of the Catholic Church. And so Simon Magus' remains lay hidden in the graffiti wall and the grave remained empty after 656.

The Question of the "Tropaion"

We mentioned earlier that soil samples were taken from the courtyard in front of the "memorial" or "Tropaion" -- what was this structure that was carefully preserved by Constantine under the high altar of St. Peter's, and was attached to the red wall directly above the grave? Built some 60 or 70 years after Pope Anacletus (84-95 A.D.), this Tropaion was mentioned by the Christian historian Eusebius in his work entitled Theophania: "...he [PETER] is honored with a SPLENDID TOMB overlooking the city. To this tomb, countless crowds come from all parts of the Roman Empire, AS TO A GREAT SANCTUARY AND TEMPLE OF GOD." [14] Eusebius also mentions that a priest by the name of Gaius saw the memorial around the year 200, and cited him as saying the memorial was familiar to most people in Rome.

Emperor Constantine took great care not to disturb this "Tropaion" when he built his basilica over it -- centering the Tropaion (which stood over the grave) directly under the high altar.

But there is something very disturbing about this memorial! "How can the unusual design of the Tropaion, its largely PAGAN DERIVATION, be explained?" laments John Walsh, "And how does it happen that the name of [the apostle] Peter IS NEVER ONCE written out in full among the crowding inscriptions on the graffiti wall, while in its CODED FORM it appears as many as two dozen times?" [15]

In an attempt to explain away the PAGAN design of the Tropaion, Walsh comes up with a theory that many entertain --

"Concerning the Tropaion's design, only one answer will satisfy. The close similarity to PAGAN ARCHITECTURE, and the TOTAL LACK OF ANY CHRISTIAN ELEMENT were no accidents. The form was DELIBERATELY CHOSEN, and therefore could only have been meant as a disguise, a means of hiding the monument's real function....No wandering visitor, passing to view the site, would have had any cause to suspect the presence of the outlawed faith" (ibid., p. 133).

Well, I'm afraid this answer doesn't satisfy! The disguise obviously didn't work -- the priest Gaius clearly reported the memorial was familiar to most of the citizens of Rome and Eusebius said that "countless crowds come from all parts of the Roman Empire as to a great sanctuary and temple of God"! Some secret!! Even Walsh, later on in his book, casts doubt on his own conclusion! Notice!

"In the discussion so far, based on the theory of a HIDDEN GRAVE, it must be admitted that there lurks a difficulty, or an apparent difficulty. If the LOCATION of the grave was always to be kept a secret, then WHY did the church erect over it a CONSPICUOUS MONUMENT, THE TROPAION, surrounded by other substantial structures? Even though disguised, all this hardly added to the grave's concealment" (ibid., p. 140).

Why indeed! The bottom line is that the true church NEVER erected a monument over the grave in the pagan cemetery on Vatican Hill! It was the site of SIMON MAGUS' burial and the pagan Tropaion erected over the grave was FITTING in every respect! It was a "great sanctuary and temple" of Simon Magus who claimed to be God!

Further proof of this is found in the two NICHES located in the Tropaion -- "a broad upper one with a window-like aperture cut through it, and a lower, narrower one, the two niches separated by a jutting, table-like shelf" (ibid., p. 69). Walsh asks, "What exact purpose [might] the two niches...have served, especially the upper one with its curious aperture..."? The answer to this is provided by the Greek dramatist Euripides (c. 480-406 B.C.) [16] who tells us that the niches, which held idols, were called PETRAE -- once again proving the Tropaion to be dedicated to Simon Magus, the great PETER or OPENER of the mysteries!

When the apostle Peter was crucified in Nero's circus his body was "buried in the Vatican, NEAR THE TRIUMPHAL WAY. Over his grave a small church was soon after erected; which being destroyed by Heliogabalus (A.D. 218-222), his body was removed to the cemetery in the Appian Way, two miles from Rome..." [17] His remains remained on the Appian Way until Constantine re-interred them under his newly built basilica. This was the first and only time the remains of the apostle Peter were buried at this spot. This location truly belonged to SIMON MAGUS -- the great PETER or INTERPRETER of the Babylonian Mystery Religion!

Footnotes:

[1] Andrew and Peter, Brothers from Bethsaida, (page 75).

[2] Jameson, Anna, Sacred and Legendary Art. University of California Libraries, 1904, p. 209.

[3] Gieseler, Daniel, The Clementines. Vol. i. pp. 206-208.

[5] Foakes-Jackson, F.J., Peter: Prince of Apostles: A Study in the History and Tradition of Christianity. Publisher: George H. Doran, 1927.

[6] Cave, William, Apostolici: Or, the History of the Lives, Acts, Death, and Martyrdoms of Those who Were Contemporary With, or Immediately Succeeded the Apostles. Publisher: Gale Ecco, Print Editions, 2018.

[7] Newman, Dorman, The Lives and Deaths of the Holy Apostles. 1685, p. 20.

[8] Walsh, John Evangelist, The Bones of Saint Peter: The First Full Account of the Discovery of the Apostle's Tomb. Publisher: Sophia Institute Press, 2013.

[9] Ibid., p. 53.

[10] Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, bk. III, ch. 29.

[11] Walsh, The Bones of Saint Peter, pp. 1-2.

[12] Ibid., pp. 57-58.

[13] Ibid., p. 107.

[14] Eusebius, The Theophania or Divine Manifestation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Publisher: Aeterna Press, 2015.

[15] Walsh, The Bones of Saint Peter, p. 133.

[16] Euripides, The Dramas of Euripides: Complete Surviving Works. Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2007.

[17] William Cave, Apostolici: Or, the History of the Lives, Acts, Death, and Martyrdoms of Those who Were Contemporary With, or Immediately Succeeded the Apostles. Publisher: Gale Ecco, Print Editions, 2018.