Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-09-01
S. S. PETER AND PAUL
MARTYRDOM CONFIRMED
Famous Archaeologists Find Proof
of Traditions Attaching
to Saints.

/ Rome, Aug 1S.-According to the
evidence and discoveries of two famous
1 archeologists of Rome, Profs Grossi
| Condi and Orazio Marucchi, there no
| longer remains any doubt that the Apos-
/ ties Peter and Paul both came TO Rome
/ and suffered martyrdom here. That doubt
| has been raised several times IN con-
| troyersles between various schools OF
archeologlsts.
| ''The Apostles Sts Peter and Paul. =
/ Prof. Marucchl tells The World cor
| respondent. did come to Rome. | have
| found traces of their burial in a catcomb
hewn out of the rock on the Appian WAY.
behind the ancient church OF St. Sebas-
tlan. There are graves in this underground
burying place which Of course prove
nothing But there are also writings on the
wall, and these writings all invoke the aid
of Peter and Paul, described as living
here"
The little church of St. Sebastian. near
where the rock. Is, has its own history IN
the annals OF the early Christians And
tradition always had il that the bodies of
the two apostles were taken somewhere
near ii for greater safety during the
pagan prosecutions of Christians in the
third century after Christ. When Chris
llalltf DtGdIilc Iit Te1lEIUn Ol
emperors the bodies were removed, ac-
cording TO tradition, from their humble
hiding places to the spots where the mag
nihcent cathedrals of St. Peter and St
Paul now stand, a wonder Of the world,
the mecca of millions Of pilgrims for over
1000 years.
But tradition is one thing; certainty
another; and only lately have these two
learned professors discovered that the
burial place for time, Of the two apostles
was not the little Church OF St. Sebastian.
built over the ruins of an ancient inn, much
visited by Christian pilgrims, but deep
rock nearby. And those graphltes, as the
wall inscriptions are called are written
proof that here and not elsewhere the
bodies were hidden for a while for fear
the pagans should desecrate them. These
writings on the wall have pagan origin too
and are the relic Of appeals pagans made
in the temples Of their gods for help and
intercession.
"These graves" said the professor
prove that the apostolic tradition of the
Appian Way was a true one; | hope to
find proof that the apostles sojourned
while alive In the hostel, or hotel as We
should call it now, over which the ancient
Church of St. Sebastian was built For
why should the early Christians build a
church in that spot except because some
holy. relic was to be found there, just as
the Church of ST. Pudenziana, in this city,
is built on the site of the house Of the
Roman Pudens because Peter the Apostle
lived there? Ii is beautiful thought for
all Christians, no matter 10 what church
they belong, that the two apostles did die
and were buried in Rome, the city from
which Christianity in the Western world
sprang And it puts an end to the doubts
Of scoffers, who laugh at tradition and
say that the Acts of the Apostles is merely
work Of somebody's fertile imagination.
"The bodies were only taken here for
short time for greater safety And these
shed more light on the history of the early
Christians"