Why do we say "Rob Peter to pay Paul"?

Meaning:

To take money from one source to give to another that is virtually identical.

Background:

This phrase dates back to at least the 16th century as it is included in John Heywood's lengthy list of proverbs in the middle of the 1500s.

The reference to Peter and Paul could just be alliteration but most sources agree that it refers to the two apostles. One school of thought is that the reference is to Church taxes paid to either St Paul's in London or St Peter's in Rome (i.e. Church of England vs Catholic Church), but this would not seem to align with the interpretation of the expression as meaning to take from one body to give to another that is virtually the same.

What seems more likely is that it derives from the shared feast day of St Paul and St Peter and thus to rob the feast of St Peter to pay for the feast of St Paul is pointless. Both Peter and Paul share June 29th as their Saint's Day because tradition says that they were both martyred on the same day in Rome by Emperor Nero; although historical accounts suggest that Peter was probably killed in 64 AD and Paul three years later in 67 AD.

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