Nov. 16, 2004 We didn't go here.
According to tradition, Peter and Paul were both imprisoned in the Mamertine
Prison/Dungeon beneath the church of S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami, via di
Marforio, Rome. It is generally accepted as being identical with "the
prison...in the middle of the city, overlooking the forum" mentioned by the
historian Livy. Some time, you know, he was "under house arrest."
The Abbey of the Three Fountains Church was built on the site where
tradition says that Paul was beheaded. The story is that "his head made
three leaps or bounced three times, corresponding to which three fountains
sprang up." The legend is nice, but the springs were known in pre-Christian
times as the Aquae Salviae.
The Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls (Italian San Paolo fuori le
Mura) is a major basilica outside Rome at the traditional burial place of
St. Paul about two kilometers from the city walls by the road to Ostia.
When Paul was first in prison in Rome (for two years, 60-62 AD) he wrote
Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, and Philippians. He was imprisoned again in
Rome around 63-64 AD, and wrote Second Timothy. He died AD 64 (although some
say AD 68).
Posted by nellie at November 29, 2004 08:54 PM