On June 29 each year, the Church remembers the Chief Apostles Peter and Paul. Contained herein are select, edited thoughts of St. Augustine concerning these two venerable disciples of Christ. Augustine was a fourth and fifth century Church Father, particularly influential in the Western Christian Tradition.
St. Peter and the Rock of Faith
Peter is widely known for his confession of faith, when he said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” In return, he was deemed worthy to hear from our Lord, “Blessed art thou, Simon ... I tell you, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church” (Mt.16:16-18). Historically and theologically much has been made about these statements. From an Orthodox perspective, “Thou art the Christ…thou art Peter, and upon this rock…” means essentially that “upon this rule of faith confessed by you, Peter, and by followers in centuries to come, upon this belief in Me, I will build My Church.”
The Rock, the Foundation upon which everything rests, from which everything derives its existence, this Rock ultimately is our Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul states, “Our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; they all drank the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock (he says) was Christ” (1 Cor.10: 1-4).
We indeed call the Church “Apostolic,” but the Apostles bore witness to their Master not to themselves, to their Lord Who was the Foundation of the Faith they so courageously preached.
Keys to the Kingdom
Among the Twelve Apostles, Peter – for his fiery devotion – was chosen to occupy a primary place among the disciples. He was to be, as it were, a representative for the early Church community. Our Lord said to him: “I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in the heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth: shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt.16:19).
This was said to one man, but it was the One Universal Church, that received the “keys” and the right “to bind and loose.” To see that this is true (Augustine says), we can look at the Gospel of John where Jesus says to all of the Apostles, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit, whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them: and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20: 22-23). And then also in the Gospel according to Matthew: “Whatsoever ye bind upon the earth, shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt.18:18).
It is therefore, the Church that binds and loosens, the Church that received the Keys to the Kingdom. It is within the Church that a person intimately approaches the Savior Who alone has power to free men from their sins, to loosen the chains of iniquity that bind a person, preventing him from living a Godly life.
Three-fold Denial and a Second Chance
St. Peter is also known for having denied Jesus three times prior to the Crucifixion. After the Resurrection however, our Lord offered him healing, a second chance by way of three identical questions: “Peter, lovest thou Me; lovest thou Me; lovest thou Me?” If you do (He said), then “feed My Sheep.”
Such a meaningful engagement. Peter, to whom Christ said, “bind and loose,” was himself bound by fear, resulting in a threefold denial of Jesus. To empower the Apostle in his upcoming ministry, the Lord loosens him from pain and guilt. He provided three opportunities for Peter to confess openly his love, just as he, thrice, had publicly turned his back on Christ.
Consistent with His mission, our Lord identified completely with His flock saying to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” not “Feed your sheep.” “The good shepherd (Christ said) gives his life for the sheep” (John 10:11), those entrusted to him by the Chief Shepherd Himself (1 Pet 5:4). The sheep belong to Christ not to any one man or group of men. The Apostle Peter, true to his calling, gave his life for the flock of Christ. He sealed his Apostleship by a martyr’s death, and is now glorified throughout all the world.
St. Paul and Personal Redemption
Paul, an enemy of the Church, known initially as Saul, was later called to be an Apostle. As we know from Scripture – Acts, chapter 9 – Paul received authority from the high priests to bring Christians up for trial and execution. He was on his way to fulfill his commission – on the Road to Damascus – when the Lord called to him from Heaven saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” In other words, why are you persecuting the Church, the Body, My very presence on earth?
When Saul cried out in fear, “Who are You, Lord?” He answered, “I am Jesus Whom you are persecuting.” At this point, Saul undergoes a miraculous conversion, and receives specific instructions. He is to go to the city, and there he meets Ananias who baptizes Paul and is told that Paul will be “God’s chosen vessel, to bear Christ’s Name before the Gentiles, before kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9: 11,15,18). Ananias is further informed that Paul will be shown what great things he must suffer for the sake of Christ.
Ministry and Sufferings
The Lord in fact, revealed Paul’s Apostolic Ministry as characterized by pain as well as joy. Paul himself testified of those things which he endured for the sake of Jesus.
In Second Corinthians he states, “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked…I was adrift at sea; (I went) on frequent journeys, (was) in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, in the wilderness, at sea, danger from false brethren; (I endured) toil and hardship, many a sleepless night, I went hungry and was in thirst, I often went without food, endured cold and exposure. And, apart from other things (he says), there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the Churches.”
As with St. Peter, Paul was martyred. Peter was crucified, Paul was beheaded. It is most appropriate that on a single day each year, June 29, the memory of both Apostles is celebrated. They suffered separately in life and in death. By faith however, and through the spirit of their sufferings they were the closest of brothers. In fact, we depict them on Icons as brothers, holding up the Church of Christ by their prayers. Together, their devotion to Christ was so great that we esteem them as leaders of the Apostolic Company. Peter and Paul are among the most prominent within that “cloud of witnesses” that we read about in Hebrews, that army of saints that surrounds us with their prayers, by their presence in our midst.
May we strive to follow in some small way the examples of Peter and Paul, remaining true to Christ Who strengthened them along their path of virtue, Who said to His disciples that, “Without Me you can do nothing.”