The only 4 Apostles with churches on their graves

Only a few churches in the world stand upon what tradition holds to be tombs of the 12 apostles. These are not just symbolic dedications — they are shrines built where early Christians believed the apostles were buried. Each one marks a place where memory, faith, and stone come together.

Built over what has been traditionally believed to be the burial site of the apostle Peter, this basilica has been a center of Christian worship since the 4th century. Beneath the high altar lies a 1st-century grave, Peter’s, venerated since antiquity.

In the mid-20th century, archaeological work confirmed the presence of bones from a man matching Peter’s age and build, wrapped in purple and gold cloth and placed in a niche inscribed with “Peter is here.”

No canonical text refers to the death of St. Peter but, according to early sources, the apostle was crucified in Rome under Nero and buried in a nearby necropolis. The current basilica, completed in the 17th century, was designed to stand directly above that site.

According to tradition, James the Greater, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, was buried in Galicia after his remains were brought from Jerusalem. His tomb was reportedly rediscovered in the 9th century, prompting the construction of a shrine that grew into today’s cathedral. Beneath the main altar, a silver reliquary contains the relics identified as those of the apostle.

While the historical path of his body is uncertain, devotion to the site has persisted for over a thousand years, making it the destination of the Camino de Santiago, one of Christianity’s oldest pilgrimage routes.

Christian tradition in India holds that the apostle Thomas preached the Gospel on the subcontinent and was martyred near present-day Chennai. His tomb, located in a crypt beneath this cathedral, has been venerated by local Christian communities for centuries.

The original shrine was expanded by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century, and the current neo-Gothic basilica was completed in 1896. While some of Thomas’ relics were later transferred to Edessa and elsewhere, this church remains a unique witness to ancient Christianity beyond the Roman world.

Though now largely in ruins, the Basilica of St. John was once one of the most important churches in the Eastern Roman Empire. Built by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, it covered a tomb that tradition identified as the final resting place of John the Evangelist.

Early Christian sources suggest that John spent his last years in Ephesus with Our Lady, and died there peacefully. His tomb lies under what was once the main altar. Today, the site remains a place of quiet pilgrimage and archaeological significance.

These four churches are magnificent monuments, yes, but they are mostly signs of the Church’s continuity with its apostolic foundation — concrete expressions of a memory kept alive across continents and centuries.