Yesterday, the Church commemorated the Solemnity of Sts. Peter & Paul
Ora pro nobis
The Feast of SS Peter and Paul is an annual celebration in the Christian calendar of the lives and deaths of the two great saints: Peter and Paul. Commemorating the lives of important Christian saints and martyrs, and especially one of the Twelve Apostles or somebody who knew Jesus personally, has been an important aspect of Christian life ever since the first century CE. The joint feast day of SS Peter and Paul is of particular importance because of the enormous influence that these two men had on the development of the early Church.
St Peter, originally called Simon or Simeon, is often viewed as the leader of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospels, Simon and his brother Andrew were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee before being called by Jesus to be his disciples. Jesus gave Simon the name ‘Cephas’ meaning ‘rock’, which in Greek is ‘Πέτρος’ or ‘Petrus’, hence the English name ‘Peter’. As one of the Twelve Apostles, Peter witnessed many of Jesus’ teachings and actions. He is portrayed in the New Testament as a bold but flawed follower, who, despite promising never to betray Jesus, denies him three times before the crucifixion. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Peter journeyed far and wide to spread the news of the Gospel and appears to have been considered the leader of the Church. He founded the Church in Rome but was later put to death by the order of the Emperor Nero in about the year 65 CE. According to tradition, he was crucified upside-down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as Christ. In Roman Catholic tradition, Peter is perceived as the first Pope, due to his primacy amongst the other apostles; and his founding of the Church in Rome established it as the centre of the worldwide Church.
St Paul, originally known as Saul, had a very different background to St Peter. Saul was a devout Jew and Pharisee from the city of Tarsus who was a great persecutor of Christians in the first years of the Church. However, he received a dramatic conversion experience on the road to Damascus and was subsequently baptised as a Christian. Saul, thereafter usually known by his Greek name Paul, travelled across the known world preaching to Jews and Gentiles alike about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His influence on the early Church was incredible, and a significant proportion of the New Testament is composed of his writings (or writings attributed to him). According to tradition, Paul was executed in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Nero, probably in the year 68 CE. As a Roman citizen, he was executed by beheading rather than the more brutal method of crucifixion. Although he never met Jesus Christ physically, Paul’s influence on the evolution of Christianity cannot be overstated.
The Feast Day of SS Peter and Paul commemorates these two giants of the early Church, who shared much of their ministry together in Rome. The reason for the annual date of 29th June is unclear and may refer either to one or both of their martyrdoms, or the translation of their relics. In a sermon by St Augustine of Hippo in the fourth-century CE he states, “both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so, we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles’ blood.”
Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
