The Secret World Of History's First Pope | St Peter's Holy Relics: The Quest | Timeline

The first of Jesus' apostles, guardian of the gates of Paradise, founder of the Christian Church, the first pope in history… Peter is a key figure of the Christian religion. Yet, there remain many unsolved questions regarding his incredible life.

How did he really die? Where was he buried? Why did this Saint have such an important place in the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the powers he was said to have? Today, there's an interesting twist to the mysteries that surround Saint Peter. Two large archaeological sites in Rome and Israel have unearthed unexpected discoveries, shaking up Christianity's long-held beliefs.

Based on recent excavations and ongoing research, this documentary shows us the latest findings on Saint Peter and his place of burial. Enough to overturn the legends and mysteries that surround the Prince of the Apostles.

You can find more from us on:

[AndreasVulpes]

Saints aren't "worshiped, " they are "venerated." For being a documentary on a key Christian figure, their familiarity with actual Christian terminology is disappointingly lacking.

[geoffhunter]

Despite an unremarkable beginning as the video progressed it began to hold my interest more and more and i am glad to say that it proved so absorbing and interesting programme, Well done.

[gabrielsantamaria]

Very interesting, but the image of the emperor described as Constantine is actually Justinian :)

[francoaguilar]

I’ve done the Scavi Tour. It’s breathtaking. They sent us down there with an archaeologist, there were only 7 of us.

[TimeTrekTaless]

Fascinating historical insights! The journey of the Vatican Obelisk and the mysteries surrounding St. Peter's tomb add layers to the rich history of Rome and the Vatican.

[dirkmolen]

Interesting documentary. One little thing though: when Emperor Constantine is mentioned, Emperor Justinian is actually shown...

[mandabean.]

The structures they built were so solid with phenomenal detail. There is a serious issue with modern technology that our structures today can't compare.

[BOLLOCKS]

I thought that it is Good Friday I would learn something more about the Popes and how it works. Happy Easter!

[alienmarqz]

The bones can be both in Peters basilica and in other old
Churches. There is a tradition in the catholic church to embed bones and relics of saints in altars. It doesnt mean that the entire skeleton are there, just a small piece of relic will do.

[joebombero]

There really should not be any controversy here. The bones under St Peter's are likely the real bones of the first Pope. The bones found in the other church are likely Peter's also. The explanation is easy. Constantine's mother, St. Helena, encouraged excavation throughout the empire. It was her doing that the birthplace of Christ was determined as well as the place of crucifixion and the tomb. It would have been easy for her to find St. Peter's tomb as certainly local Christians kept the memory alive. It is likely at least some bones were removed from the tomb when Constantine built the first St. Peter's basilica. The original altar is still there, directly under the current altar at St. Peter's basilica. It makes sense therefore that the current altar is directly above the original tomb, as Constantine would not have built St. Peter's basilica there had he not found the original tomb and put the altar directly above it.

[bja]

"CHRISTIANISM" really?

Makes me seriously question the accuracy of the rest of the programme - from the very first sentence.

[heritage]

That Vatican Obelisk was originally in Karnack in Egypt but was moved to the Circus Maximus in the 1st Centry. It was then moved to the Vatican in 1587

[Bloomcycle]

My first name means "The Rock "
My last name means "The Round"
I'm"The Round Rock"😂

[johncarter]

Odd, if Jesus was to walk the earth today, anyone thinks He would appreciate seeing crosses around the necks of His devotees?
Was Jesus materialistic? How come the Vatican even owns its own bank?
Jesus Christ was everything the Vatican is not!

[PapaRocks]

St. peter would likely say, “ It’s not about me; it’s about Lord Jesus.”

[vickyabramowitz]

This documentary ended strangely. It seems like it was cutoff in the way that I would expect a Part 2 to follow.

[johnt]

Pope Urban II could have had part of the bones moved to another church to assure he had an insurance policy against any usurper. That the terra cotta jar also has the names of the next three popes also leads me to believe this may have been in his mind.

[pravinshrisunder]

St Thomas Cathedral Basilica Chennai Indi s also built on Relics of St Thomas called as Patron saint of India.. St Thomas bones preserved in 4 churches in south India, St Thomas came to India in 52 Ad and was martyred in 72 AD

[RandomMoves]

"Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was very sick. She had a high fever. They asked Jesus to do something to help her. 39 He stood very close to her and ordered the sickness to go away. The sickness left her, and she got up and began serving them. Luke 4:38-40

[minutestomidnight]

Although this is an interesting documentary, it's a ridiculous debate. Even if you had a box from the right time period saying "Peter, the First Pope" it would be impossible to determine whose bones were inside. Today you can find the names of celebrities scrawled all over different objects but that doesn't mean those objects belong to those celebrities (or are even vaguely connected to them - they can just be a fan's handwriting). Peter was a huge celebrity in antiquity, and a huge fixation of a hyper-religious population, so there's no telling what was done with his stuff or his body. He could have even been buried in a different country and an early Christian raided his grave, stole his bones and bought them to Rome to start a new church with. For all we know, all of his stuff was taken and buried with other people as sacred objects.

More, importantly, archeologists should all know this is a pointless discussion. Archeology can only ascertain the traces of what still physically exists. Things like physiology and pathology of a person can leave traces in their bones (and even traces of how they lived), but not their identity - you can only say there's supporting evidence of someone who fits certain parameters. Furthermore, lots of evidence has been lost or destroyed over the years for many different reasons, so you can't say that absence of evidence is evidence of absence, either. Saying "we're not 100% sure whatsisname was here 2000 years ago" like that means anything is stupid too, because you can never be sure about someone's whereabouts that long ago. Even records of where someone died very publicly with a whole crowd watching (like Caesar's assassination or Jesus's crucifixion) could themselves have been fabricated at the time or later, so you can only say "our sources say this". I mean, seriously.

In any case, religion of any kind is all about faith, so don't start complaining now about wanting "evidence" to back it up.