Saints Peter and Paul

Saints Peter and Paul: 1900th Anniversary of Martyrdom Scott 447-448 (1967) June 29 marks the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, one of the major feasts of the Roman Catholic Church. This feast has been celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church from its earliest days, and commemorates their martyrdom in Rome, in approximately the year 67 during the Neronian persecutions. The feast is also celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Church on 29 June. Due to the significance of these two saints as well as its commemoration, these comments will be more extensive than the usual commentaries. In a sermon in the year 395, St. Augustine of Hippo said of Sts. Peter and Paul: “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. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.” Peter (Simon) and his brother Andrew were fishermen at Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee and were among the earliest of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus gave his name Petrus in the memorable passage in Matthew 16:18-19: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Although he fled when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, along with other Apostles, Peter emerges as the leader of the disciples in Acts at the Ascension and later at the Council at Jerusalem (49/50), after which he went to Antioch and then to Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire. Peter was martyred during the persecution of Emperor Nero in approximately 67. Two vignettes stand out, one of which is that Peter, deciding to leave Rome during the persecutions, met Jesus on the way into Rome where he said, “Quo Vadis, Domine,” (Where are you going, Lord?). “To be crucified, again” replied Jesus. (It may be unlikely that Peter spoke Latin). Peter thereupon turned back to Rome to meet his fate. The spot is memorialized at the Church of Quo Vadis, in a footstep frozen in time located in a tiny church on the Apian Way as it leads a half-mile further to the Catacombs of San Callixtus. The second is the story that Peter demanded to be crucified upside down, in deference to the crucifixion of Jesus. The location was near the obelisk at the Circus of Nero, the obelisk that also stood from the 4th century onwards next to Old St. Peter’s Basilica and now stands in the approximate center of St. Peter’s Square, witnessing 1,700 years of Christian history. St. Peter’s tomb was nearby in an area of mixed pre-Christian and Christian tombs, where a marker stood from the mid-second century onwards for pilgrims who visited Rome to see the monuments of early Christians and may be seen today during the Scavi Tour of the Vatican Necropolis. Saul (Paul) was a persecutor of Christians, an educated Jew (by the teacher of the law, Gamaliel), and a Roman Citizen. He was present at the martyrdom of Stephen and was on the road to Damascus when he was unhorsed by a blinding light. The voice of Jesus said to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul was taken (blind) to Damascus where he gradually recovered his sight and as taught about Jesus and his mission, fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament. Like Peter, Saul’s name was also changed, to Paul. He was present with Peter and the Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem, and where it was decided that Gentiles could become Christians without following all Jewish practices. Map of St Paul's Final Journey From Caesarea to Rome Scott 304 (1961) Paul is best known for his three missionary journeys described in Acts. He and his companions visited synagogues but also spoke to Gentiles and any who would listen, which is why he is known as the Apostle to the Gentiles. The first journey (46-47) was to Cyprus and to Southern Asia Minor (Acts 13-14). The second journey (49-51) was to the churches visited previously and then into Europe, visiting Macedonia, Thessalonica, also visiting Athens, Corinth, and then Ephesus on the Anatolian mainland (Acts 15:36 – 19:22). The third journey (52-57) was to revisit communities in Anatolia and then to Ephesus, Troas, back to Greece (Berea and Thessalonica, and Corinth) before returning to Jerusalem (Acts 18:23 to 20:7-12). Paul was eventually arrested and, as a Roman Citizen, demanded to be tried in Rome. He sailed to Rome with other prisoners. The vessel was sunk in a storm off Malta, where the group recovered (and where Paul converted his caretakers as the first Maltese Christians). He arrived in Rome and was imprisoned, although he had access to ascribe to continue to write letters to the churches previously visited, such as the Book of Romans. There were plans to visit Spain, but it is uncertain if he completed that journey. Paul was tried and convicted of preaching about Jesus Christ. He was beheaded, it is thought, approximately the same time Peter was crucified. He is buried in a sarcophagus at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, like St. Peter’s Basilica, constructed in the early 4th century at the direction of Emperor Constantine. Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 21 are letters and Paul’s letters total 13. There are many books written about St. Paul. An accounting of Paul’s missionary travels is the lengthy, but excellent book by Paul Holzner, Paul of Tarsus (published in the 1940s and reissued in 2002) which literally covers each step of his journeys (as well as those who traveled with him) from the beginning to his martyrdom in Rome. In Sermon 82, St. Leo I (440-461) commented: “On the commemoration of all the saints it is right for us to rejoice in this heavenly band, fashioned by God as models of patience and support for our faith; but we must glory and exult even more in the eminence of these two forebears, whom the grace of God raised to so high a summit among all the members of the Church, and established like two eyes that bring light to the body whose head is Christ. As to their merits and virtues, which no words can describe, we should not think of any difference or distinction between them; their calling was the same, their labors were similar, theirs was a common death.” References: Crossroads Initiative, "Peter and Paul, Twin Martyrs" Catholic Community, "Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul" What Christians Want to Know, "What Were Paul's Missionary Journeys" David Farmer, Oxford Dictionary of Popes Henryk Sienkiewicz, Quo Vadis (1896) Quo Vadis (1951), Movie James C. Hamilton, Vatican Notes, Volume 65, Number 374, pp.40-45, 2017, Ss. Peter & Paul, 1900th Anniversary Retrospective