How long did Saint Peter live in Rome?

Answer 1

Peter is considered the first pope even though the term 'pope' did not come into common usage until much later. Whether Peter was in Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome or elsewhere, he is still considered the first pope. Later, as the Church grew and a hierarchy developed. the Church established its headquarters in Rome as Rome was considered the center of the world at the time. It had good roads reaching out to the vast empire as well as ships that plied the Mediterranean. Missionaries could reach anywhere in the known world from Rome.

Tradition holds that Peter was first in Rome about the year AD44. He remained there until AD49 when Claudius expelled all the Jews from that city and for a time ruled the Church from Antioch and was the bishop of that city. In the year AD54 he returned to Rome when Nero lifted the ban. He remained there until his martyrdom in about 65- 67. For more information, read the information provided at this link.

As the pope was the highest ranking Church authority in Rome, he was automatically consider the Bishop of Rome. From 1309 until 1377 popes reigned from Avignon in France. No matter, the pope was still the pope. Once the situation was resolved, the papacy returned to Rome and the pope again resumed his position as the Bishop of Rome along with his title of Pope.

Even today, should Pope Francis make the unlikely decision to move the Church headquarters to, say, Buenos Aires, Argentina, he would still be Pope and the assigned Bishop of Rome would simply be the Bishop of Rome. The Pope would be the Bishop of Buenos Aires as well as pope of the Universal Church. The Church has ample evidence that Peter did rule from Rome at some time.

But even if he had never stepped foot in the city, he was still the Pope. Being Bishop of Rome is not a prerequisite for the papacy. By default, if the pope is headquartered in Rome, he is also the bishop of that diocese.

Answer 2

There is no evidence that Peter was ever in Rome and, on the little evidence we do have, it seems unlikely that he ever was in Rome. However, if he was in Rome, we can make a guess as to how long.

Peter could not have been in Rome at the time Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, which is traditionally believed to have been written in the late 50s. This indicate that if Peter went to Rome it was probably not before about 60 CE. A tradition, although of dubious value, is that Peter was executed in Rome in 65 CE. Based on the estimated date of Paul's epistle and the tradition of Peter's execution, Peter would have lived in Rome no more than five years.