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Summary
- The Bible records the deaths of two of the twelve apostles: James son of Zebedee, killed with the sword by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:2), and Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:3–8; Acts 1:18–19).
- Jesus foretells Peter’s death (John 21:18–19); Clement of Rome (about AD 96) says Peter died a martyr, later writers place his death in Rome, and the upside-down crucifixion first appears in the late second-century Acts of Peter.
- The Bible does not record Paul’s death; Clement of Rome says he died a martyr, Tertullian likens his death in Rome to John the Baptist’s, and Eusebius says he was beheaded.
- John’s Gospel denies a rumor that John would not die (John 21:22–23); Irenaeus places him at Ephesus until the reign of Trajan, and no early writer calls him a martyr.
- Stories of how the other apostles died come from apocryphal Acts and later lists, often centuries later and in conflict with one another.
- The Jewish historian Josephus records the stoning of James the brother of the Lord in about AD 62.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version: Matthew 27:3–8; Mark 10:39; John 21:18–19, 22–23; Acts 1:18–19, 25–26; 12:1–3; 15:13; 28:30–31; Galatians 1:19; 2:9; 2 Timothy 4:6–7; 2 Peter 1:14; Revelation 1:9. https://www.biblegateway.com/
- Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians 5, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ii.ii.v.html
- Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3.3.4, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.iv.iv.html
- Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4.9, quoting Heracleon, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf02.vi.iv.iv.viii.html
- Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics 36, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.v.iii.xxxvi.html
- Tertullian, Scorpiace 15, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.v.x.xv.html
- Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History 2.9, 2.23 and 2.25 (quoting Clement of Alexandria, Hegesippus, Dionysius of Corinth and Gaius). https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm
- Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History 3.1 (quoting Origen) and 3.31. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm
- Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History 5.10 and 5.24 (quoting Polycrates of Ephesus). https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250105.htm
- Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1, translated by William Whiston. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0146:book=20:whiston%20chapter=9:whiston%20section=1
- Acts of Peter, translated by M. R. James. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html
- Acts of Andrew, dating and translation. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/actsandrew.html
- Acts of Thomas, dating and translation. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/actsthomas.html
- “Acts of Philip,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acts_of_Philip
- “Acts of Peter,” Wikipedia, on its date and the upside-down crucifixion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acts_of_Peter
- Pseudo-Hippolytus, On the Twelve Apostles. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0524.htm
- North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature, e-Clavis: “Breviary of the Apostles (Breviarium apostolorum).” https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/breviary-of-the-apostles-breviarium-apostolorum/
- NASSCAL e-Clavis: “Apostolic Histories (Virtutes apostolorum),” including the Passion of Matthew. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/apostolic-histories-virtutes-apostolorum/
- NASSCAL e-Clavis: “Passion of Simon and Jude.” https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/passion-of-simon-and-jude/
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1907–1912): “St. Andrew,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01471a.htm; “St. Bartholomew,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02313c.htm; “St. James the Less,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08280a.htm; “St. John the Evangelist,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08492a.htm; “St. Matthew,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10056b.htm; “St. Matthias,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10066a.htm; “St. Philip the Apostle,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11799a.htm; “St. Simon the Apostle,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13796b.htm; “St. Thomas the Apostle,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14658b.htm
- “Judas Iscariot,” Wikipedia, on the two accounts of his death and their harmonization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Iscariot
- “Herod Agrippa,” Wikipedia, on the dates of his reign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Agrippa
- “St. Peter’s Basilica” and “Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica
- Sean McDowell, The Fate of the Apostles (Farnham: Ashgate, 2015), and “Did the Apostle Thomas Die as a Martyr?” https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/did-the-apostle-thomas-die-as-a-martyr
- Sean McDowell, “Did the Apostles Really Die as Martyrs for their Faith?” Biola Magazine, fall 2013. https://www.biola.edu/blogs/biola-magazine/2013/did-the-apostles-really-die-as-martyrs-for-their-f
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2473. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P8J.HTM
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