The Feast Day of Sts. Peter and Paul

On Monday, June 29, the Anglican Church, as well as many other liturgical church denominations celebrate the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. This feast is not to be confused with other feast days that commemorate the activities in the lives of either saint. This particular feast is grounded in the martyrdom suffered by the two most important apostles in the life of the modern church. This specific commemoration is especially important in the Roman Catholic Church, since both Peter and Paul are the Patron Saints of the City of Rome.

Without both of these saints, it is difficult to imagine the subsequent spread of Christianity that took place after their death. Peter’s witness was particularly important to the Christian movement within the Jewish religion, while Paul was instrumental in spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews).

Peter was regarded as the first leader of the early church. The Gospels seem to suggest that he was often the spokesman for the disciples and may have held a special position of authority over them. Along with James the Just and John the Evangelist, Peter is portrayed as one of the chief pillars of the church. He also was present at key events in the life of Jesus. It was Peter who was instrumental in holding the disciples together after Jesus was crucified. After James was placed in charge of the Church at Jerusalem, Peter began the missionary phase of his life and eventually became the Bishop of Rome.

Paul, on the other hand, was probably regarded as the chief persecutor of the new Christian Church. Formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, his name is mentioned at the end of the Book of Acts, Chapter 7 during the stoning of the Deacon Stephen as the young man who, at his feet, the witnesses to the stoning laid their coats. Saul was converted to Christianity when he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, where he was planning to conduct the persecution of many more Christians.

While Peter was the leader of the Jewish Christians, it was Paul who acted as one of the prime missionaries to the Gentiles, possibly because many of the Christian Jews who had previously encountered him as a persecutor did not trust him or his motives. Thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are attributed to Paul’s authorship, and his writings contribute greatly to today’s accepted Christian theology.

Christian tradition suggests that both Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome around AD 65 under the orders of Emperor Nero. Eusebius of Caesarea suggested that Peter was crucified upside down. It is suggested that St. Peter’s Basilica was built over the place where Peter died, and in 2013, bone fragments from the First Century were discovered there.

According to legend, Paul was beheaded, and his body is said to have been buried outside the walls of Rome. In 2002, a tomb was found outside the Basilica of Saint Paul that appears to be authentically his.

These two Saints, together, probably did more to spread the Christian religion than any other two individuals. Their efforts to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and their willingness to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their Lord should be examples for all Christians to follow. They devoted their very lives to their calling. May we try and do so, as well.