SAINTS PETER AND PAUL

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Since ancient times, in the Slavic tradition, Saints Peter and Paul are paired characters, such as Saints Kuzma and Demyan, Saints Florus and Laurus, Saints Peter and Fevronia. Peter was considered the younger spiritual brother and kinder: he allowed the farmers to work on his holiday, and Paul – the elder, he was formidable and severely punished violators of holiday customs, sending thunder and lightning from the sky, burning sheaves. According to a Serbian tradition, “the division of faith into Orthodox and Catholic occurred after a quarrel between the apostles: Peter declared himself Orthodox, and Paul said that he was a Catholic.” They had different paths to faith, but at the same time, they eventually became the most revered Saints, whose names are firmly connected in the memory of both the Orthodox and Catholics, and indeed all other believers. As a rule, the icon of the apostles Peter and Paul can be found in almost every church, regardless of its affiliation to religion. And these temples are countless, although the largest Christian church in the world Saint Peter’s Cathedral (Basilica di San Pietro), which was created by several generations of great masters (Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini, Maderno) is located in the Vatican, and the largest in the world Saint Paul’s Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral designed by the architect Sir Christopher Wren – in central London. (By the way, there is an interesting fact – Saint Paul’s Cathedral is the burial place of almost two hundred famous citizens of Great Britain. It was its architect, Christopher Wren, who was honored first to be buried in the new Saint Paul’s Cathedral. No monument was erected on his grave, but only an epitaph in Latin “Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice” (“Reader, if you are looking for a monument, just look around”).

However, the life story of each of these Saints is a unique story of faith and devotion to Jesus.

For many years, Peter was a fisherman, who was called for Christ by his brother, Andrew the First-Called Apostle. It was Peter, having become a follower of the Savior and eventually one of his twelve apostles, who was the first to call Jesus Christ God: “Simon Peter, answering, said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” … And he became “the foundation stone of the Church”!

Paul, for many years, opposed Jesus and blasphemed his faith. Nevertheless, after the Savior appeared to him in a miraculous way, Paul became a believer and an apostle, although he was not among the 12 (closest disciples of Jesus Christ) or 70 apostles, but was considered the supreme apostle – such is his special title.

The Antiochian Orthodox Church (the Roman Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and the whole East) leads the patriarchal (episcopal) row from Peter the Apostle, who, according to legend, together with Paul the Apostle, founded it in Antioch around the year 37.

By the way, what else brings Saint Peter closer to Saint Paul, and not, for example, to his brother Andrew the Apostle – they were both executed in Rome on the same day in 67… That is why apostles Peter and Paul are often depicted on icons embracing each other. They are clinging to each other just as Christ clings to his own Mother on the icon “Tenderness”, where in this way the aspiration of kindred souls in a single impulse to the spiritual world is symbolized, and not just the relationship of loved ones.

In the traditional worldview of the Russian people, Peter the Apostle was one of the most revered Saints, who in legends and epics appeared under the name of Peter the Key-keeper – meaning the keeper of the keys to the kingdom of heaven; and artistically and symbolically, Saint Peter was usually depicted with short hair and a beard, in a yellow-blue halo.

Saint Peter was born in Bethsaida of Galilee (a city on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret, where the tetrarch of the Roman Empire Herod Antipas ruled), in the family of a fisherman, Jonah. Growing up, the brothers moved to Capernaum, where they got their own house and continued to fish. Andrew became the first in the chronological sense of the called Disciples of Christ; therefore, this apostle is often called the First-Called. According to the Gospel of Matthew and Mark, the calling of Andrew and Peter took place near the Lake of Galilee, but the apostle John in the Gospel describes the calling of Andrew, which took place near the Jordan immediately after the baptism of Jesus, after which Andrew found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus.

The original name of the Apostle was Simon, and the name Peter (Petrus, from the Greek Πέτρος – stone) arose from the nickname Cephas (in Aramaic it also meant “stone”, “rock”), which Jesus Christ gave him. Peter the Apostle was married, although only his mother-in-law is mentioned in the Gospels.

By nature, Peter was very lively and quick-tempered. It was he who wished to walk on water in order to come to Jesus; it was he who promised at the Last Supper that he would not deny Jesus Christ, and on the night after the arrest of Jesus, as Jesus predicted, he showed weakness and, fearing to incur persecution, denied Him three times before the cock crowed… However, later the Lord acknowledged Peter’s sincere and deep repentance and let Peter know that he was forgiven.

Here the question involuntarily arises: why Peter was forgiven, but Judas Iscariot was not?

What do we know about Judas? – That Judas was in charge of the money of the Apostles and that he betrayed Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. At that time it was the price of one slave, or a four-month salary with a seven-day working week; the purchasing power of 30 pieces of silver is also evidenced by the fact that for this money at that time a plot of land for a cemetery near the capital of Judea – Jerusalem was bought. The contemptuous expression “thirty pieces of silver” is a winged word or a stable phraseological unit in the Russian language, used in the meaning of the price of betrayal.

After Jesus Christ was sentenced to be crucified, Judas also repented and returned 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They replied, “What is that to us? That’s your responsibility.” Throwing the pieces of silver in the Temple, Judas left and… hanged himself…

And still, why was Peter forgiven, but Judas was not? Judas, of course, has his lawyers and accusers… However, probably, the main thing is that… there is repentance and there is repentance…

There is repentance recognizing the depravity of one’s actions, regret over them, a sense of guilt for what one has done and its consequences out of fear of retribution… This repentance does not involve a change in mind, a change of action or a changed life. This repentance does not involve recognizing that you have acted and thought wrongly in the past and determining to act and think rightly in future.

And there is repentance – as faith and a passionate desire to take the “narrow road” to the “small gate” when death is better than a repetition of wrong actions and thoughts in life… Taking one’s own in comparison with the fear of eternal death is also weakness and betrayal!

And who, if not Jesus, saw and understood this difference?

Peter the Apostle is repeatedly mentioned in the first part of the book The Acts of the Apostles (chapters 1–15). In subsequent chapters, he is not mentioned at all, they are devoted exclusively to the missionary journeys of Paul the Apostle. In the first part of The Acts, Peter plays a major role. The Acts describe how Peter the Apostle preached with such power that at once he converted to Christ up to five thousand people, healed the sick and resurrected the dead. People revered him so much that they carried the sick right into the streets so that at least the shadow of Peter the Apostle would overshadow them. Saint Peter led the order of twelve apostles. He served as the first bishop of Rome for 25 years – from 43 to 67.

The main episodes in The Acts with the participation of Peter the Apostle are:

• the speech before the order of apostles about the need of electing the twelfth apostle to replace the traitor Judas;
• preaching to the Jews on the day of Pentecost;
• healing the lame and preaching to the people;
• the speech before chiefs and elders;
• the episode with Ananias and Sapphira;
• the answer to the Sanhedrin;
• the episode with Simon the Magician, when Peter questioned Simon’s magical abilities and demanded proof of his supernatural abilities – the sorcerer took off into the air, and Peter lowered him to the ground, so quickly that the sorcerer broke his leg… It happened by chance, but… do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated;
• visiting Lydda and Joppa and miraculous deeds;
• the episode with Cornelius the Centurion, as well as acceptance of the first pagans into the Church;
• the arrest by King Herod and miraculous rescue a few days later with the help of the Lord’s angel;
• the Apostolic Council;
• presence together with the Apostles James and John on Mount Tabor, when the transfiguration of Jesus Christ took place.

Emperor Nero, in annoyance with Peter the Apostle for the conversion of his two beloved wives to Christianity, ordered the Apostle to be imprisoned and then executed. Shortly before this, at the request of the believers, Peter went out of Rome at night to be saved; but as he was leaving the city, the Lord appeared before him in a vision entering Rome. “Quo vadis, Domine?” (“Where are you going, Lord?”) The Apostle asked Him. “I am going to Rome to be crucified again”, the Lord answered. Therefore, Peter realized that his removal was not pleasing to the Lord, and he returned to the city. Here he was taken by soldiers, imprisoned, and a few days later, in the year 67, he was put to death – he was crucified on an inverted cross upside down at his request, because he considered himself unworthy to die the death of his Lord. Paul the Apostle, as a Roman citizen, could not be executed on the cross, and he was beheaded.

According to Christian tradition, the ancient Roman basilica of Constantine was built over the burial place of Peter the Apostle. Later, the Vatican Cathedral of Saint Peter, which has already been mentioned above, was erected here.

In honor of Saint Peter, the city of Saint Petersburg is named (literally – “the city of Saint Peter”), founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 16 (27), 1703.

The main sources of information about the life of Paul the Apostle are the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles and, in part, The Epistles by Saint Paul himself.

Paul the Apostle, one of the greatest teachers of the Christian faith, who converted to Christ after other apostles, was by origin a Jew of the Mediterranean diaspora. He was born in Tarsus, the main city of Cilicia and one of the largest centers of the Hellenistic culture. Paul’s Hebrew name was Saul, which meant “small”. Paul came from the tribe of Benjamin, and was probably named after the biblical king Saul, who was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel and belonged to the same tribe.

Paul’s father was a Pharisee, so Paul was brought up in the tradition of Pharisaic piety. At the same time, Roman citizenship passed to Paul from his father, which indicates the high status of the family, since at that time only a few in the provinces of the Roman Empire had the status of a citizen. This is probably due to the fact that Paul had the Roman name Paulus, which also means “small”. Subsequently, calling himself “the least of the apostles”, Paul may have played on the meaning of his name.

To get an education, the parents sent Saul to Jerusalem to the Rabbinical Academy, headed by the famous Rabbi Gamaliel – the son of Simeon ben Hillel and grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder.

Rabbi Gamaliel was a freethinking person, interested in Greek literature, was extremely judicious and showed leniency in his judgments against false opinions, and therefore enjoyed great respect. In the Talmud, he was called “the glory of the law”.

The stay of the Apostle to-be in the Jerusalem Academy was of great importance for him, since it affected both his mind and his morality. At school, they thoroughly studied laws and the prophets’ teachings; this form of learning gave him great skills in using the Old Testament and gave him that sharp dialectics, which later rendered him a great service in the development of the Christian doctrine. Therefore, that scientific education made the basis for his amazing eloquence, which we see in his later speeches and epistles.

Possessing exceptional abilities, a sharp and lively mind in combination with a strong will, the young man Saul mastered the rabbinical wisdom to perfection. He himself later said that Rabbi Gamaliel carefully instructed him in the fathers’ law.

The impact of the school on the moral character of the young man Saul was also considerable. Later, he himself said that he tried to lead a life without reproach and, “according to the truth, he was blameless.”

The school, in addition to mental and moral development, taught the young man Saul also to work. The Jews had a custom, without fail, along with learning to combine the study of any craft so that the student in the aftermath of learning had the means of subsistence. Moreover, labor filled up leisure, ennobling the young man, and distracted him from everything bad and stupid. His craft consisted of making tents from coarse wool felt. Perhaps this is an indirect indication that Paul was going to become a rabbi: it was impossible to take money for teaching the Torah, so all the rabbis earned their living by one or another trade. Indeed, later, during the time of the Apostle’s ministry, Paul financially provided himself with this particular craft. In the Epistles, Paul repeatedly mentioned that he was not a burden to the community, since he satisfied his needs himself.

Saul considered the extermination of Christianity to be a duty of conscience and – not only that – a God-pleasing deed. On his own initiative, he asked the High Priest, the President of the synedrion (who had the main supervision of all synagogues, both in Judea and outside it), the right to impose correction measures and punishments for violators of the law, as well as the authority to arrest all Christians.

After the persecution of Christians, after the murder of Archdeacon Stephen, Jerusalem Christians dispersed in different cities. Damascus was densely populated by Jews, and, consequently, one could count on finding many Christians there, and therefore Saul chose this very ancient Syrian city, 300 kilometers away from Jerusalem.

However, on the way to Damascus, something happened that from Saul, the persecutor of Christ, bursting with anger, immediately turned him into His zealous servant. The self-deceptive and proud Pharisee became a humble Christian. The Jew Saul was cast into the dust, but Paul the Apostle arose. Luke the Apostle tells that when Saul with his companions approached Damascus and was close to the purpose of their journey, suddenly, he was shone with light from heaven. “He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting’.” A sudden and too bright light had such an effect on Saul’s vision that he stopped seeing and the people who were with him had to lead him by the hand. For three days, Saul did not see, did not eat or drink. These three days were Saul’s birth pains, the time of transition from death to a new life; and the more decisive and energetic his character was the more torment he endured during his revival. A well-meaning Christian man, named Anania, revitalized Saul with a holy baptism and delivered him a complete spiritual and physical recovery.

After his conversion to the faith, Paul the Apostle retired from Damascus to Arabia, that is, in the neighboring kingdom of Arabs. How long he stayed in Arabia is not known exactly, but apparently, about three years. The purpose of this journey was to prepare himself for service through the formation of a new Christian worldview. The shock that happened to him was very, very strong; he needed an environment that would give him the opportunity to concentrate, so that he could work on the revelation received from above. The event on the way to Damascus gave him a new direction to his entire inner life, alien to his former views and beliefs. The formation of this completely new Christian worldview of the Apostle was taking place in an exceptional setting. There were no New Testament Scriptures yet; there was only oral tradition, the guardians of which were the Apostles. Since Paul the Apostle had recently been a persecutor of Christ and a tormentor of Christians, the way of learning the truth of faith from the Apostles was still rebuffed, and the external environment was against it. Only one way remained – self-absorption and revelation from above. In this way, the Apostle received the teaching about the truths and mysteries of Christianity. He himself said, “The gospel, which I have preached, is not human, for I did not accept it from a human, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The main episodes of Acts with the participation of Paul the Apostle:

• the 1-st apostolic journey (in 47–48 – Seleucia-Salamis-Paphos-Pergia-Antioch-Iconium-Lystra-Dervia and back to Antioch, Syria and Jerusalem) with the aim of spreading the faith of Christ, with the aim of preaching the doctrine of salvation not by deeds, but by faith and the power of grace;
• the Apostolic Council of 49 years;
• the 2-nd apostolic journey (in 49–52 – Dervia-Lystra-Phrygia-Galatia-Troad-Samothrace-Naples-Philippi-Thessalonica-Veria-Athens-Corinth-Ephesus-Caesarea-Jerusalem);
• the 3-rd apostolic journey ( in 52–56 – Antioch-Galatia-Phrygia-Ephesus-Macedonia-Corinth-Macedonia-Troads-Assos-Lesbos-Samos-Miletus-Kos-Rhodes-Patara-Tyre-Jerusalem);
• creation of numerous Christian communities in Asia Minor and on the Balkan peninsula;
• a trial in Jerusalem, where the Jews accused Paul of bringing Gentiles into the Temple of Solomon. Nevertheless, the Jews could not execute Paul because of his Roman citizenship and sent him to Caesarea for trial by the procurator Felix, who “left Paul in chains”, however, the new procurator of Judea, Porcius Festus, together with the Jewish king Agrippa, decided to send Paul to Rome for trial by the emperor;
• from Rome, Paul the Apostle wrote his famous epistles to the Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon; the writing of the Epistle to the Hebrews by the Apostle belongs to the same time;
• in general, the ancient Christian tradition, shared, in particular, by the Orthodox and Catholic churches, assigns to Paul the Apostle the authorship of the fourteen epistles included in the New Testament;
• finally separated the Christian doctrine from Judaism and Judaizing Christians;
• in Rome, the Apostle was released and made his 4-th missionary journey (in 62–64) visiting the churches he had previously founded.

Involuntarily the question arises – why history has preserved all the travels of Paul the Apostle and even numbered them… Why were all his travels so important? – Probably, because at that time he practically made a “round-the-world trip” …, scattering the seeds of Truth throughout the Earth… Actually, “life is measured not by years that you live, but by the roads you take”, and even more so the life of an Apostle!

According to “Church History” by Eusebius of Caesarea, after the 4-th apostolic journey and suffering, Paul the Apostle was captured in Jerusalem, delivered at his request to Rome, to the Mamertine prison, in which the Apostles Peter and Paul languished awaiting execution. In the end, Peter was taken to be crucified on the Vatican Hill. Paul, as a Roman citizen, as already mentioned above, was not allowed to be executed by a shameful death, crucifixion, and even within the city, and so he was beheaded with a sword on the Ostian road. At first, they were led together, and where the Apostles were separated before execution, later there was a temple erected. Their last farewell is expressed in the inscription above the main entrance to the church, “At this place, Peter the Apostle and Paul the Apostle parted parted with each other from this life.” Before the martyrdom Paul said to Peter, “Peace be with you, the foundation of the Church, and the shepherd of all the sheep of Christ.” Peter answered him, “Go into the world, preacher of goodness and leader of the righteous on the path to salvation.”

So, according to the verdict of the court, Saint Paul was beheaded on June 29, the day, as was also mentioned above, when Peter the Apostle was also crucified.

On the place of his burial, the disciples left a memorial sign that allowed Emperor Constantine to find this place and build a church of San Paolo Fuori le Mura (Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura) – the basilica of the Apostle Paul the Apostle. It was built outside the city walls, where even today you can pray at the recently restored shrine with relics, and then explore the cathedral with its bright malachite altars – the contribution of Emperor Nicholas I for the rest of the soul of his murdered august parent Paul. Not far from the Basilica of Saint Paul, there is a monastery and the Church of Saint Paul of Three Fountains. Legend accounts for the three springs with the assertion that, when severed from Paul’s body, his head bounced and struck the earth in three different places, from which fountains sprang up. These still flow and are located in the sanctuary. The very heads of Saints Peter and Paul, as the most valuable relics, were first kept in the house church of the Roman popes on the Lateran Hill – therefore the church was called “The Holy of Holies”. However, then, for the convenience of the pilgrims, they were transferred to the Lateran Basilica of Saint John the Baptist, in a special ark, where they are worshiped to this day. However, the pilgrims are somewhat dejected that this ark was lifted to a height of 10 meters…

Whether Paul the Apostle was a celibate or a widower is not clearly stated in the New Testament. Paul himself wrote, “To celibates and to widows I say: it is good for them to remain like me… “- and these words of Paul give the right to traditions to interpret them as confirmation of his virginity.

What did Saint Paul look like, one of the greatest teachers of the Christian faith? – The apocryphal early Christian text “Acts of Paul and Thecla”, dating from the 2nd century, describes Paul as “a stunted man, bald, with crooked legs, with a decent male posture, with a unibrow above a slightly protruding nose, and full of mercy.. “. If you ask any woman, if he was handsome, she will certainly answer in the affirmative… And it is not surprising if he was kind, smart, active and eloquent!

The Orthodox celebrate the memory of Saints Peter and Paul on 12 July (29 June, old style), Catholics – on 29 June 29. Saint Peter’s Feast Day – this is what the people call this day, and it is also called “breaking the fast“, since the day before, on 11 July, Peter’s fast ends, which once again emphasizes its importance in the annual liturgical cycle. Saint Peter’s Feast Day is celebrated for two or three days.

The celebration of Saint Peter’s Feast Day reflects not so much Christian legends about the Apostles Peter and Paul as ancient myths associated with The Sun worship. Together with the holidays of Agrafena Kupalnitsa and Ivan Kupala, Saint Peter’s Feast Day constitutes a single festive cycle, marking the full flowering of natural forces.

There are a number of traditions and rituals associated with this holiday:

• this is the day of the end of the “Kupala celebrations” and farewell to spring. Summer in some places was counted from Saint Peter’s Feast Day. It is the “top” of summer, hot days are coming;
• on this day, people converge on three springs to wash themselves with “Peter’s water”, which was accompanied by treats with sweet wine, songs, dances and games;
• Saint Peter’s Feast Day was an important milestone in the agricultural work of the Eastern Slavs – along with haymaking, peasants were already preparing for the sowing of winter crops. On this day, the harvesting of winter bread began, which was begun from the edge; and bread was baked from a new crop; today – this is also a day of the first weeding and haymaking;
• it’s time to bark linden-trees in strips, because later the bark will dry up;
• on this folk holiday, fishermen pray to Saint Peter for success in fishing;
• it is time when summer weddings start. Before Saint Peter’s Feast Day, girls had to try to attract young men and get married, but if the efforts were in vain, they had to wait until the next year’s wedding time;
• on Saint Peter’s Feast Day, people arrange fairs with auctions, folk festivals with dances and songs. There was a custom on this day to arrange parties with dancing and rocking on a swing. Sometimes, guessing games were started: young men walked among the girls, covering their faces with scarves, and girls were supposed to guess who was under the scarf… If a girl was lucky to guess – it was a prediction of her imminent wedding;
• on this day, it is customary to meet with relatives;
• godparents are supposed to visit their godchildren.

There are also a number of signs and beliefs associated with this holiday:

• rain on 12 July means the mowing will be wet;
• rain falling three times this day is a sign of a rich harvest, twice – a good one, once – not bad;
• by the cuckoo’s call at this time, people determine when to wait for winter. If it fell silent on 4–5 July, then frost will come on 19–20 November. If it continues until 12 July, then winter will come in the last days of November. It was believed that the cuckoo calls until Saint Peter’s Feast Day, and on this day it “chokes on a barley ear” – it stops when the barley is eared or, as they say, “chokes on cheese”, “on mandryka” (cheesecake), which were baked for the holiday. There is even an apocryphal story recorded, according to which the cuckoo calls until Saint Peter’s Feast Day, because when Peter the Apostle stole the horse, and Christ called the crow and the cuckoo as witnesses and asked if Peter bought the horse or stole it, the cuckoo answered ‘cuck-coo-bought, cuck-coo-bought’, and the crow – ‘carried off, carried off!’ Therefore, Christ allowed the crow to call all year round (for telling the truth), and the cuckoo to call only until Saint Peter’s Feast Day (for lying);
• if you wash yourself in three springs on this day, you can improve your health and gain well-being, and river or lake water washes away the sin of adultery;

Moreover, there are not only signs, but also sayings:

• On Peter’s day the sun plays.
• Peter starts summer, Ilya ends it.
• It is needed as on Peter’s day – mittens.
• Since Peter’s day summer is fine, mowing is fun.
• A bad pig will chill on Peter’s day; noble blood will freeze even on the day.
• Peter-Paul turned the heat up.
• Peter-Paul made a day an hour shorter, and Ilya the Prophet dragged away two.

Before the icons, people pray to the Apostles Peter and Paul for the most part about matters related to faith, because they were active distributors and preachers of Christianity. Prayer to Saints Peter and Paul can be performed to each Saint separately and to two at once (but if to turn to someone alone, it is quite okay; moreover, it is even better, since it is possible to more adequately differentiate prayers depending on the goal):

• if someone close to you has deviated from the faith and gone astray (in a metaphorical sense), you should seek help to unite with another person on the basis of a common faith;
• about being healed of fever.

If the emphasis is put on the image of Saint Peter and the prayer is meant to this Apostle, then he is often addressed with requests to reinforce faith; fishermen also turn to him, whom the Saint patronizes.

Saint Paul on the icon serves as an image to which people turn in order to receive blessings and help in their studies. No wonder, since Paul was a well-educated person and is tacitly considered an assistant in various matters related to study and education.

Saints Peter and Paul represent two very different approaches to discipleship. Peter had to learn little by little, making many mistakes along the way, but he always experienced the compassionate forgiveness and encouragement of Jesus. Paul, on the contrary, came to the Faith immediately and he never backed away from his zeal for Christ after that. Saint Peter and Saint Paul showed the whole world that the main thing in life is loyalty to Faith and Love, which is loyalty to the triune Godhead – the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

Many of us can see both of these great Apostles and their faithfulness in ourselves. Like Peter, we sometimes fail, but we continue to persevere in understanding the world and achieving our goals. Like Paul, we can find the flame of true Faith in ourselves, carefully maintaining it always and everywhere, no matter how difficult it might be sometimes.