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Summary
- The New Testament records the deaths of only two of the Twelve: Judas Iscariot, who hanged himself (Matthew 27:5), and James son of Zebedee, killed with the sword in AD 44 (Acts 12:2).
- Peter was crucified in Rome under Nero; the first account of his crucifixion head downward is in the Acts of Peter, from the late second century.
- Paul was beheaded in Rome, according to Tertullian and Eusebius.
- John is the one apostle tradition says died of old age, at Ephesus, in the reign of Trajan (from AD 98), which makes him the last of the Twelve to die.
- The deaths of the other apostles rest on later traditions of uneven reliability; in the second century Heracleon said Matthew, Philip and Thomas were not martyred.
- The fall from the temple and the fuller’s club belong to James the Just, the brother of the Lord, killed in AD 62, not to James son of Alphaeus.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Matthew 8:14; 10:3–4; 27:3–5; Mark 2:14; 14:50; Luke 6:15–16; John 1:41, 44; 19:26–27; 21:18–19, 23; Acts 1:18–19, 26; 12:2; 1 Corinthians 7:8; 9:5; Galatians 1:19). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- Clement of Rome. First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 5. Translated by John Keith. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 9. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm
- Eusebius. Church History, Book II, chapters 9, 23 and 25. Translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd series, vol. 1. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm
- Eusebius. Church History, Book III, chapters 1, 18, 23, 30 and 31. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm
- Eusebius. Church History, Book V, chapter 10. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250105.htm
- Tertullian. The Prescription against Heretics, chapter 36. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm
- Clement of Alexandria. Stromata, Book IV, chapter 9 (quoting Heracleon). Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/02104.htm
- Jerome. On Illustrious Men, chapter 1. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd series, vol. 3. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm
- The Acts of Peter, chapters 37–38; The Acts of Andrew; The Acts of Thomas, chapters 164–168. Translated by M. R. James, The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford, 1924). Early Christian Writings. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html; http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actsandrew.html; http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actsthomas.html
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1907–1912): “St. Andrew,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01471a.htm; “St. James the Greater,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08279b.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. Peter, Prince of the Apostles,” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11744a.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
- Orthodox Church in America. Lives of the saints: “Apostle Bartholomew of the Twelve,” https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/06/11/101690-apostle-bartholomew-of-the-twelve; “Apostle Jude, the Brother of the Lord,” https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/06/19/101752-apostle-jude-the-brother-of-the-lord; “Apostle Simon the Zealot,” https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/05/10/101337-apostle-simon-the-zealot; “Apostle Matthias of the Seventy,” https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/08/09/102243-apostle-matthias-of-the-seventy; “Apostle James, son of Alphaeus,” https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/10/09/102916-apostle-james-son-of-alphaeus
- “Saint Peter the Apostle.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Peter-the-Apostle
- “St. James, son of Zebedee.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/St-James-son-of-Zebedee
- “St. James, the Lord’s Brother.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-James-the-Lords-brother
- McDowell, Sean. “Did the Apostles Really Die as Martyrs for their Faith?” Biola Magazine, 4 November 2013. https://www.biola.edu/blogs/biola-magazine/2013/did-the-apostles-really-die-as-martyrs-for-their-f
- Smith, Kyle. “What Do the Apostles’ Deaths Prove?” Guest post, The Bart Ehrman Blog, 12 March 2023. https://ehrmanblog.org/what-do-the-apostles-deaths-prove-guest-post-by-kyle-smith/
- Benedict XVI. Homily at First Vespers of the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, closing of the Pauline Year, 28 June 2009. https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20090628_chius-anno-paolino.html
- Rasmussen, Kaare Lund, et al. “Investigations of the relics and altar materials relating to the apostles St James and St Philip at the Basilica dei Santi XII Apostoli in Rome.” Heritage Science 9, 14 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00481-9
- “Salerno Cathedral.” Wikipedia (on the translation of St Matthew’s relics in 954). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salerno_Cathedral
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