St. Peter and Paul

On June 29, the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul is celebrated. According to the ancient tradition of the Church, they both died as martyrs in the same year and on the same day, both in Rome, although in different places.

St. Peter, although he was not called as the first of Christ’s apostles, is always named first in the apostles’ lists. He was the one who confessed Jesus as the Son of the living God, and to whom Jesus gave the keys of heaven to absolve sins. He was the one to whom Christ entrusted the care of His lambs after Christ’s resurrection from the dead. But he was also the one who denied Jesus three times after His arrest.

St. Peter is both a warning and an encouraging example for us: we must guard against self-confidence and remain firm in our faith in Christ. The name "Petrus" means Rock. Peter is not a Rock because of his own strength, but because of the power of Christ, in whom he believes and on whom he relies. Likewise, the only truly unshakable foundation of our faith and life is Christ Jesus.

The apostle Paul was not one of the twelve. Whether he had ever seen Jesus in the flesh before His resurrection is unknown – probably not. Paul, then called Saul, was a persecutor of Christians. When Christ appeared to him, his conversion became a turning point in the history of Christendom and the whole world. Half of the books of the New Testament come from Paul, and it was through him that the Good News about the crucified and risen Christ reached Europe. To a great extent we, who are of Gentile origin,  owe our faith and salvation to St. Paul.

The apostles Peter and Paul, like countless other Christians of the first centuries, gave their lives so that we could have the Christian faith and the hope of eternal life. As they lived and died in faith in Jesus Christ, so we too are called to believe in Him as our Savior and to bear witness to Him with our whole lives.