Homily Two on the Holy Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul (St. Luke of Simferopol)

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on June 29/July 12, 1952)

The Holy Church honors the memory of the holy foremost apostles Peter and Paul as highly as any other of the holy apostles, although they are all great before God.

What does this mean? This means that God Himself placed them above the other apostles. The Lord Himself glorified the Holy Apostle Peter so much as no other apostle, for you heard in the current Gospel reading that our Lord Jesus Christ once asked His disciples who His people thought He was. And the disciples answered Him: “Some call you John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matt. 16:14). “And who do you think I am?” our Lord Jesus Christ asked. And then the Apostle Peter answered Him on behalf of everyone: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Then Jesus answered and said to him: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonas, because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” God Himself revealed to him that the Lord Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Homily Two for the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)

 By Archimandrite George Kapsanis

We celebrated with spiritual joy the memory of the two foremost Apostles of our Christ, the holy glorious and all-praised Peter and Paul. Their contribution to the Church of Christ, to humanity, is so great that one must have a Chrysostomic mouth in order to be able to praise them worthily.

You are aware, after all, that Saint Chrysostom also wrote famous discourses praising Saint Paul the Apostle, for whom he had and nurtured the greatest admiration, and whose disciple and follower and perfect imitator was this holy Father of our Church.

Homily on the Feast of the Holy Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 

 By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

"Pray to God for us, holy and foremost apostles Peter and Paul, as we diligently resort to you, quick helpers and intercessors for our souls."

We all have a habit on our name day to mainly pray to the Saint whose name we bear: the one named with the name of the Apostle Peter prays to him, with the name of Saint Nicholas prays to Saint Nicholas. Why such a habit? Because this Saint, whose name we bear, is our special helper, our special intercessor. After all, the fathers give the name of a famous Saint precisely so that this Saint would especially help us, so that they would especially pray for us, so that they would be our guardian angel in life. That is why we call him our Angel, and his day is called the day of our Angel.

Reflection on the Ninth Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophan the Recluse)

 By St. Theophan the Recluse

9th Sunday of Matthew

(Matt. 14:22-34)

The holy apostle Peter, with the Lord’s permission, gets down from the ship and walks on the water; then he yields to the movement of fear and begins to drown. The fact that he decided upon such an unusual act, hoping in the Lord, is nothing deserving reprimand—otherwise the Lord would not have allowed him to do this. The reprimand comes because he did not sustain the original state of his soul. He was filled with inspired hope in the Lord’s ability to do anything, and this gave him the boldness to entrust himself to the waves. Several steps were already made along this new path—it was necessary only to stand more firmly in hope, gazing at the Lord Who is near, and at the experience of walking in His strength. Instead, he gave himself over to human thoughts: “The wind is strong, the waves are great, the water is not firm;” and this shook loose and weakened his firmness of faith and hope. Because of this he broke away from the Lord’s hands, and, left to the operation of nature’s laws, began to drown. The Lord rebuked him: "O ye of little faith! Why did you doubt?" showing that in this lay the entire reason for the misfortune. 

 

Behold a lesson for all who undertake something, great or small, with the aim of pleasing the Lord! Keep your first state of faith and hope, from which a great virtue is born—patience in doing good, which serves as the basis for a God-pleasing life. As long as these dispositions are maintained, inspiration for laboring on the path begun does not go away; and obstacles, no matter how great they may be, are not noticed. When these dispositions weaken, the soul is filled with human reasoning about human methods of preserving one’s life and conducting the affairs which one has begun. But since this reasoning always turns out to be powerless, fear of how one should be enters the soul; from this comes wavering—wondering whether or not to continue—and in the end comes a complete return. You must do it this way; if you begin, keep it up—chase away troubling thoughts, and be bold in the Lord, Who is nearby.

 

 

The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul as Pillars of the Church (St. John Chrysostom)

 By St. John Chrysostom

Where the Cherubim sing the glory, where the Seraphim are flying, there shall we see Paul, with Peter, and as a chief and leader of the choir of the Saints, and shall enjoy his generous love. For if when here he loved men so, that when he had the choice of departing and being with Christ, he chose to be here, much more will he there display a warmer affection.

I love Rome even for this, although indeed one has other grounds for praising it, both for its greatness, and its antiquity, and its beauty, and its populousness, and for its power, and its wealth, and for its successes in war. But I let all this pass, and esteem it blessed on this account, that both in his lifetime he wrote to them, and loved them so, and talked with them while he was with us, and brought his life to a close there.

Homily One for the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)

 By Archimandrite George Kapsanis,
Former Abbot of Gregoriou Monastery on Mount Athos

(Delivered in 1988)

We thank the Holy God who found us worthy to celebrate today the memory of the holy, glorious and all-praised foremost Apostles Peter and Paul, the two great pillars of the Church of God.

The more one approaches in the Church these holy Apostles of Christ, two most bright figures, the more one is in awe and wonder. Their work as human beings is inexplicable. Only a great love for God and for the incarnate Christ justifies their sacrifices and hardships and the sufferings they gladly suffered, and finally the death they faced.

Homily on the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin (1807-1869)    

Pray to God for us, the Holy and Foremost of the Apostles Peter and Paul, as we zealously hasten to you, quick helpers and intercessors for our souls.

We all have the custom on the day of our name day to mainly pray to the Saint whose name we bear: the one named with the name of the Apostle Peter prays to him, with the name of Saint Nicholas prays to Saint Nicholas. Why such a custom? Because this Saint, whose name we bear, is our special helper, our special intercessor. After all, the spiritual fathers give the name of a famous Saint so that this Saint would especially help us, would pray especially for us, would be our Guardian Angel in life. That is why we call them our Angel, and their day is called the day of our Angel.

Saint Abundius the Sacristan (+ 564)

St. Abundius the Sacristan (Feast Day - April 14)

We are informed about Saint Abundius from the Dialogues (Bk. 3, Ch. 25) of Saint Gregory the Great, where after mentioning a miracle of a certain Theodore who was the sacristan of the Church of Saint Peter in Rome, he goes on to mention another miraculous incident of another sacristan of the same church named Abundius. He writes:     

"Not very many years ago, as old men say, there was another keeper of the same church, called Abundius, a man of great humility, who served God so faithfully, that the Holy Apostle Peter did by miracle declare what opinion he had of his virtue.

On the Feast of the Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul (Elder Philotheos Zervakos)

By Elder Philotheos Zervakos

I am in awe and wonder, how the Holy Apostles that we celebrate today, achieved such great and extraordinary miracles! How can one not be in wonder and in awe?

Consider, my brethren, what was the Apostle Peter before? A fisherman. He knew nothing more than fishing, catching fish with a net on Lake Gennesaret. And suddenly you see him preaching to the whole universe. His words were so graceful and sweet that in one of his speeches three thousand and sometimes five thousand believed, whom he then baptized.

Holy Apostles Peter and Paul: Epistle and Gospel Reading

Holy Glorious and All-Praised Foremost of the Apostles, Peter and Paul

June 29

Matins Gospel Reading

Gospel According to John 21:14-25

English

At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead, and he said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go." (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, "Follow me." Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" So, the word went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die; but Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?" This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Chains of the Apostle Peter Resource Page

Veneration of the Chains of Saint Peter (Feast Day - January 16)

Verses

We venerate your honorable bonds O Peter,
Release me from the long bonds of my accusations.
On the sixteenth I venerate the bonds of Peter.

 

Synaxarion for the Veneration of the Honorable Chain of the Apostle Peter

  

Veneration of the Chains of the Apostle Peter: Epistle and Gospel Reading

 

The Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Apostle Peter

  

January: Day 16: Teaching 1: Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Peter

 

The Prison Cell of the Apostle Peter in Jerusalem

 

The Distribution of the Relic of the Chain of the Apostle Peter by Pope Gregory the Great

 

Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of the Apostle Peter Next to Hagia Sophia in Constantinople

  

Monastery of the Veneration of the Chains of the Apostle Peter at Meteora

 

Apostles Peter and Paul Resource Page

 

The Prison Cell of the Apostle Peter in Jerusalem

In the Old City of Jerusalem, near the Holy Monastery of the Praetorium, where the Prison of Christ is located, and after the stone-paved path towards the north-east side there is the Holy Monastery of Saint Nicodemus. This monastery is built over the ruins of Simon the Pharisee’s house. Christ was hosted in that house and spoke with Nicodemus who was a secret disciple of His. Nicodemus together with Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate to give them the body of Christ for burial after the crucifixion. In the basement under the church of this monastery is the Prison of Saint Peter from which he was miraculously freed by an angel. The Holy Monastery is more known as the Monastery of the Fakis (Lentils), because it was used as a place to cook lentils for the workers who were building the Church of the Resurrection. In fact, the big cauldron, the cauldron of Saint Helen, is still kept there.

The Distribution of the Relic of the Chain of the Apostle Peter by Pope Gregory the Great

Such was the veneration for the relics of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, deposited at Rome, that the popes themselves dared not presume to approach, touch, separate, or give away part of the precious remains of their bodies. This was out of fear, since the belief in Rome was that if you presume to touch the bodies of the Saints, punishment will follow, and they were shocked that the Greeks often touched the bodies of the saints. Pope Gregory the Great explains this fully in Registrum Epistolarum, Bk. 4, Epist. 30, which is a letter to Empress Constantina, who requested the head of Saint Paul or another part of his body be brought to Constantinople for a church being erected in his honor, and to which he replied that this could not be done, for the bodies of Peter and Paul gleamed with miracles and terrors, and there were stories of people dying when they approached them. Instead, he offered her the following:

Monastery of the Veneration of the Chains of the Apostle Peter at Meteora

Alysos, which is Greek for "Chains," is a giant rock that lies north of Kalambaka, southwest of the Holy Trinity Monastery and is divided northwest by a canyon ten meters deep from the rock of Agios Modestos (commonly known as Modi).

The total height of the rock is 620m. On the east side it is three hundred feet high from the base, and on the northwest side eighty. The ascent took place from the northwest side of the lower rock, with a ladder of one hundred and more steps. The entire surface of the rock accounts for fifteen acres. There was built the Holy Monastery of the Veneration of the Chains of the Apostle Peter, which the Orthodox Church celebrates on January 16th. Today it is called by the locals "Altsos" and there are few ruins.

Veneration of the Chains of the Apostle Peter: Epistle and Gospel Reading

Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Apostle Peter

January 16

 Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Mode Plagal 4.
Psalm 18.4,1
Their voice has gone out into all the earth.
Verse: The heavens declare the glory of God.

Acts of the Apostles 12:1-11

English

About that time, Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword; and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the Church. The very night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison; and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Wrap your mantle around you and follow me." And he went out and followed him; he did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened to them of its own accord, and they went out and passed on through one street; and immediately the angel left him. And Peter came to himself, and said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."

Homily One on the Day of the Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul (St. John of Kronstadt)

By St. John of Kronstadt

We magnify you, o holy foremost apostles Peter and Paul,

who have enlightened the whole world with your teachings

and brought all the ends of it to Christ.

The Lord worthily exalted the names of the holy Apostles throughout the universe: for they were the disciples and fellow laborers with Christ God, the ones who enlightened the entire world with their teachings, the world that was in darkness and in the shadow of death, they brought countless souls from the worship of idols to the knowledge of true God and from dishonor to righteous life, they lived on earth in a heavenly manner, like bodiless angels, having disdained all earthly things as corruptible and temporary, vain and sinful; they worked innumerable miracles, undertook unbelievably great labors, and finally gave their souls for the faith in their Lord. These, in general terms, are the merits of the holy Apostles, and especially of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

Passion of the Apostles (A Hymn of St. Ambrose of Milan)

By St. Ambrose of Milan

Blest day by suff’ring sanctified:

Christ’s chosen high apostles died.

Today St. Peter wins renown.

Today St. Paul accepts the crown.

Together, equally, they bled:

Together: the victorious dead.

They followed God and sacrificed

And now their faith is crowned by Christ.

St. Peter holds the highest place,

Yet Paul is not the less by grace.

An equal faith was giv’n to Paul:

The chosen vessel of God’s call.

St. Peter, downward crucified—

To honor God in how he died—

Securely tied, he sees unfold

The death his Shepherd once foretold.

On such foundations Rome may claim

The highest service of God’s name.

His noble blood has dignified

The city where this prophet died.

Let all the world, then, run to Rome.

Let families of nations come!

The head of nations teaches there

Beside the nations’ teacher's chair.

O Lord, we ask that we may be

In their exalted company,

And with our princes sing Your praise

Forever, to unending days.

Source

What Peter Should Have Said When He Denied Christ and Wept Bitterly (St. Maximos the Greek)

Discourse 44: An Account as to What Peter Should Have Said 
When He Denied Christ and "Wept Bitterly"

By St. Maximos the Greek

Woe is me! Woe is me! Woe, woe! With what rivers of tears will I purify my dishonor, wretch that I am? With what heavy sighs will I cleanse my injustice? Indeed, woe is me, for I denied Christ three times, woe is me! I was afraid of the insignificant servant girl and forgot all the gifts that I received from Him, He who is the light and life of all, my Creator, the Creator of Life and Lord, who came to save us and gave His life over to death for me. Woe is me! What unexpected thing happened to me? How great was the disbelief and ingratitude I showed towards You, O Savior, and I proved to be much worse than Your traitor! I was made worthy by You of much greater honor than all the rest of Your disciples, that You entrusted me even with the keys of the heavenly kingdom, and I was recognized by You, my Savior, as their leader and chief, and how will I now weep and what shall I say? Woe is me, the wretch! With what excuses will I beseech You to receive mercy from the strict Judge?

Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of the Apostle Peter Next to Hagia Sophia in Constantinople

On this day [25th of April] we commemorate the Consecration of the revered Apostoleion, namely the Church of the Holy Glorious and All-praised Leader of the Apostles Peter, located next to the holiest Great Church [of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople].

For three centuries the Chains of Holy Apostle Peter were kept in Jerusalem, and those afflicted with illness and approached them with faith received healing and release from their bondage. Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem presented the Chains to Eudocia, wife of the emperor Theodosius the Younger, and she in turn transferred them from Jerusalem to Constantinople in either the year 437 or 439.

Synaxarion for the Veneration of the Honorable Chain of the Apostle Peter

On the sixteenth of this month, the veneration of the honorable Chain of the Holy and Glorious Apostle Peter is celebrated.

Verses

We venerate your honorable bonds O Peter,
Release me from the long bonds of my accusations.
On the sixteenth I venerate the bonds of Peter.

On this day is venerated the honorable Chain, with which the Foremost Peter was bound for Christ by orders of the tetrarch Herod, as the Apostle Luke records in the twelfth chapter of Acts. From his apostolic and all-sacred body, this Chain received sanctifying and wonderworking grace, to sanctify those who venerate it with faith, and to release those bound by all types of evils and illness.