SAINT PETER AND SAINT PAUL
Proper of Memorials: 

Peter was orginally from the town of Bethsaida on the shores of the Lake of Tiberias in the region of Galilee. In Aramaic, his name was Simon, son of John and the Lord gave him the name Peter, which means rock. He was married and worked with his brother Andrew as a fisherman at Capernaum. Almost nothing is known about his family life. Peter and Andrew were disciples of John the Baptizer and, when called by Christ, they became his followers.

Peter had a fiery temperment and was, at times, somewhat hot-headed. Yet he loved Jesus and followed him with all his spirit. At Ceasarea Philippi the Lord handed the care of the Church over to Peter and confirmed Peter's primacy after the resurrection. After the ascension Peter exercised his authority over the Church through his preaching and teaching in Antioch, Corinth and Rome. Peter wrote two epistles and the gospel of Mark preserves much of his teaching. He suffered and died in Rome where he was imprisoned and eventually crucified upside down on the Vatican Hill on the twenty-ninth day of June in the year 67. The Emperor Constantine constructed a church over his tomb.

The Apostle Paul was born at Tarsus in Cilicia around the year 7. He called himself "Saul" and says concerning himself that he was "circumised on the eighth day, being of the stock of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew origins; in legal observance I was a Pharisee, and so zealous that I persecuted the church... But those things I used to consider gain I have now reappraised as loss in the light of Christ" (Philippians 3:5-7). He acquired knowledge of both the Greek and Hebrew cultures and studied theology in Jerusalem under the great Rabbi Gemaliel. He assisted in the persecution of Christians and was present at the death of Stephen. He was converted when the Lord appeared to preach the gospel to the gentiles. He traveled throughout the Mediterranean and some claim that he went as far as Spain. He was arrested and brought before the Jewish and Roman authorities. Because he was a Roman citizen he appealed his case to Rome where he was beheaded. The letters of Paul are an incomparable standing of Christ.

To the Lord, who chose Peter to be chief of the apostles and Paul to be the apostle to the nations, be glory and praise for ever! May their prayers be with us. Amen.