The Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul. The first-born apostles Peter and Paul

Among the earliest followers of Jesus Christ, who became the founders of His Universal Church, there are two apostles, called the First-Supreme. This is the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul. In earthly life, they were completely different people, not only in terms of their social status, but also in their way of thinking, and in their perception of the world. Their faith united in the resurrection of the Son of God, who opened the gates to Eternal Life.

Fisherman from Gennesaret Lake

About the holy apostle Peter we know that he comes from the city of Bethsaida, located in the north of Gennesaret Lake. His father Jonah came from the tribe of Naphtali. Before the meeting with Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter was called Simon. He lived in Capernaum with his wife and mother-in-law. Simon was a simple and modest fisherman. Together with his own brother Andrew, future apostle Andrew the First-Called, he worked hard for his bread, did not think about the secrets of the universe, and all his interests were reduced to the concerns of the current day.

At the very beginning of His earthly ministry, Jesus, calling to Himself for both brothers, gave Simon a new name - Peter, which in translation means "stone." The words that Jesus said about the fact that He will build a church on this "stone", inaccessible to hell, testify to the special role that He was predetermined for this man. And Peter from the very beginning selflessly believed his Teacher. In his simple and open mind there was no room for doubt. Leaving everything that connected him to his former life, he, without hesitation, followed Christ.

The Apostle Paul's Insight

The Apostle Paul seems to us quite different. He was born in the city of Tarsus, in the family of a Jew who had Roman citizenship, which legally provided him with a privileged position. Originally he bore the name of Saul and was a fanatical supporter of the Jewish Law. In Jerusalem, joining the Pharisees, he received a brilliant education under the leadership of one of the most famous at that time, the rabbis. This made him even more a zealot of Judaism and a persecutor of Christians.

But the Lord was pleased to enlighten his mind with the light of true faith. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul with all the heat of his heart began to preach in the synagogues the doctrine, which yesterday denounced as a false one and whose supporters accused of crimes against the Law. He was an educated man, and this gave his sermons a special power. Entering this new life for him, Saul began to be called Paul, which is deeply symbolic - a change of name meant a change in all life.

The martyrdom of the holy apostles

According to the Sacred Tradition, the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul, after their many years of service, perished at the hands of the Jews on the same day - July 12 (NC). He became the day of their memory. Annually this day is celebrated - the Day of Peter and Paul. Emperor Nero delivered the death of the apostle Peter after he became aware that Peter greatly increased the number of converts Christians by his sermon. The apostle was condemned to the crucifixion, like his great Teacher, but prayed the executioners to nail him to the cross upside down, because he found himself unworthy to repeat the death of Christ, crucified standing up.

The apostle Paul was a Roman citizen, and, according to the law, he could not be crucified, because such a penalty was considered shameful, and only fugitive slaves and those who belonged to the lowest strata of society were subjected to it. By order of the emperor, he was taken out of Rome and on the Ostia road beheaded with a sword blow. Tradition says that in the place where the head of the holy apostle fell, a miraculous spring was hammered from the earth.

In the period of early Christianity, the veneration of these saints followed directly their martyrdom, and the burial place was one of the greatest shrines. At the same time began to celebrate and the holiday - the Day of Peter and Paul. It is known that when in the IV century under the emperor Constantine the Great Christianity finally received official status and became the state religion, then in Rome and Constantinople churches were built in honor of these apostles.

The worship of Russians to the holy apostles

Since the first days of Christianity in Russia, the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul have become one of the most revered and beloved saints of Russia. The Baptist of Russia - Prince Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles, after returning from Korsun, brought to Kiev an icon with their image. Subsequently, it was donated to Novgorod, where it was kept for a long time in the St. Sophia Cathedral. Later it was lost, but even today, under the arches of this temple, one can see an ancient fresco of the 11th century, representing the holy apostle Peter.

The centuries-old tradition of veneration in Russia of the first-order apostles is evidenced by the wall paintings of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev dating back to the 11th-12th centuries. They also depict the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul. Two ancient Russian monasteries in honor of these saints were founded in the beginning of the XII century, one - in Novgorod on Siniča mountain, and the other - in Rostov. A century later the Peter and Paul Monastery appeared in Bryansk. During this period, many liturgical texts were written, including the akathist to Peter and Paul.

The popularity of the apostles Peter and Paul is also evidenced by the widespread distribution that their names have received among the Orthodox inhabitants of our country. Suffice it to recall the vast host of Old Russian saints. Among them, many are baptized, and some, when monastic tonsure or taking the Great Schema, were named after the first-class apostles. This list can be continued with the names of people who left their mark on Russian history, as well as those countless Peter and Paul, who lived their century on the vast expanses of Russia.

The Oldest Images of the First Apostles

Speaking about the development of iconography of these images, it should be noted that the holy apostles Peter and Paul were portrayed as the first Christians on the walls of the catacombs, where they performed their divine services. At that time, such wall paintings represented a certain danger for the adepts of the new faith, and for this reason they often resorted to the help of symbols. However, certain frescoes dating from this period are known, in which the apostles are given quite distinct, similar portrait characteristics, which allows researchers to admit their real similarity to historical prototypes. It should be noted that in literary monuments that have come down to us from those remote times, the same tendency is observed: some of them contain completely similar descriptions of the appearance of the apostles.

Apostles Peter and Paul in the Russian iconography

With the establishment of Orthodoxy, St.. Peter and Paul became those saints, whose image was surely included in the number of sacred images of each temple. As a rule, the basis of their compositions were the stories of the New Testament, but scenes from the Holy Tradition are also known. One of them is the widespread icon of Peter and Paul embracing, looking into each other's eyes. It shows the audience the moment of the meeting of the apostles in Rome shortly before the execution. Such a picture in the belt version has become widespread.

However, since the times of Ancient Rus, icons have become more famous since the apostles Peter and Paul are standing full-length, slightly converted to each other. One of them is the oldest surviving icon, which is kept today in St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod. This is the same icon, brought, according to legend, Prince Vladimir of Korsun, which was mentioned above.

The increase in the meaning of the apostolic images

Over time, the significance of the images of Saints Peter and Paul so increased that they became an integral part of the Deesis tier of each iconostasis. It became a tradition to put the image of the apostle Peter to the left of the central icon of Jesus Christ, immediately after the images of the Virgin and Archangel Michael, and the icon of the apostle Paul - right, directly behind the icon of John the Baptist and the image of the Archangel Gabriel. The most famous of these images are the creations of Andrei Rublev, preserved to the present day in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir.

From the end of the XVII century in the Russian iconography the influence of Western European schools intensified. This explains the emergence of topics related to the martyrdom of the apostles. In former times, their traditional attributes were: Peter has the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, and Paul's - a scroll - a symbol of wisdom. Now in the hands of the apostles we see the instruments of their martyrdom - Peter has a cross, and Paul has a sword. Even icons are known, in the background of which scenes of execution are depicted.

Over the years, the service of the church services dedicated to them was established. The texts of chants accompanying them mainly refer to the 7th-8th centuries. Their authorship is attributed to such pillars of the Christian church as the Patriarch of Constantinople Herman and St Andrew of Crete, whose penitential canon is read annually in the days of Lent. In addition to them, the names of St. John Damaskin and Kozma of Mayumsky are mentioned. The services are always performed by the Akathist to Peter and Paul, as well as solemn stichera.

The names of saints immortalized in architecture

The names of the holy apostles Peter and Paul are forever immortalized in the temple architecture. This applies equally to Russia and to the countries of the West. It is enough to recall the main Catholic church - St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. The creation of this largest historical Christian church was performed by the greatest artists and architects. Among them are the following: Michelangelo, Raphael, Bramante, Bernini and many others.

In Orthodox Russia, the tradition of erecting temples in honor of the first-ever apostles Peter and Paul goes back to the time of the holy Prince Vladimir. It is known that in the period of his reign, the first church of the Apostles Peter and Paul appeared on the Dnieper shores, and after it throughout the vast territory of Russia, in cities, villages and even quite deaf villages, temples dedicated to these two great ascetics were built.

Cathedral on the Neva

The Cathedral of the Apostles Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg occupies a special place among them. It is also called the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Erected by the architect D. Trizini in 1712-1733, he became the tomb of Russian tsars. The cathedral is located on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress, founded in 1703 by order of Peter I to protect the mouth of the Neva from a possible invasion by the Swedes.

At first a wooden church of the holy apostles Peter and Paul appeared. When, in 1712, the construction of a stone church began, it was conducted in such a way that the old building remained intact inside the newly erected walls, and the services in it did not cease all the time of work. The new cathedral, built in the style of the Petrine Baroque, has become one of the masterpieces of architecture that until now adorn the city on the Neva.

Temple in Sestroretsk

In 2009, the church of Peter and Paul, built in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, was solemnly consecrated. Sestroretsk is a small resort town near the Northern Capital. As early as the beginning of the 18th century, a wooden church was built here in honor of the first-class apostles. Over time, it was replaced by a stone temple, which became an outstanding achievement of architecture. However, in the years of God-fighting, it was destroyed, and only with the onset of democratic reforms began its restoration.

Rebuilt and consecrated, the church of Peter and Paul (Sestroretsk) is a memorial to Russian submariners. The fact is that it is built in the very place where, in ancient times, the Russian genius-nugget, peasant Yefim Nikonov, demonstrated to Tsar Peter I his invention - the first submarine. This is preserved in the memory of today's sailors, and a whole memorial of the heroes of the Russian submarine fleet has been created on the territory of the temple.

Temples of different cities and different faiths

One can not help recalling two more churches in St. Petersburg. One of them is the temple of the apostles Peter and Paul at the Medical Academy. It is located on Piskaryovsky Avenue. And the other one, which is located in the very center of the city on Gorokhovaya Street - it is the home church of the Herzen Pedagogical University. Both of them, created before the revolution, were closed in the Soviet period, and these days they have reopened their doors for the parishioners.

In many cities of the country there are now temples in honor of the holy apostles. Among them are Moscow, Smolensk, Sevastopol, Karaganda, Barnaul, Ufa and many others. In addition to Orthodox churches, the service of Peter and Paul is regularly performed in the cathedrals of other Christian denominations. Residents of the capital, for example, are familiar with the building of the Lutheran Cathedral of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, restored after the atheistic hardness in Starosadsky Lane. The majestic Catholic temple mentioned by the saints also stands in Veliky Novgorod. And this list can be continued for a long time.

Cities named after the apostles Peter and Paul

The memory of the holy apostles is also immortalized in the names of some cities. The most famous among them is St. Petersburg, bearing the name of its heavenly patron - the Apostle Peter. It was founded in 1703. The name of the holy apostles is also the city in the Far East - Petropavlovsk. Ostrog, which became his cradle, was founded by Cossacks in 1697. Over time, a settlement was formed around him, from which the city grew.

Another Petropavlovsk is located on the territory that currently belongs to Kazakhstan. Originally it was a military fortress, standing at the intersection of important trade routes. Over time, it lost its military significance and turned into a major populated point - the junction of the Trans-Siberian railway.

Distortion of apostolic images in modern culture

Since ancient times, the first-ever apostles Peter and Paul have become characters as apocrypha (rejected by the church, and not included in the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments), and folk folklore subjects. Traditionally, the Apostle Peter was represented in them as a key at the paradise gate or a companion of Jesus Christ, when He appeared to people. Apostle Paul corresponded to the image of a resident or guardian of paradise. He was often credited with protecting the fire and the sun.

This vulgar, interpretation of sacred images, typical of folk bottoms, has unfortunately spread today, it has taken root in many areas of contemporary culture. This is especially noticeable in movies and animation. For the reason that both apostles are traditionally portrayed together, and the day of their memory is celebrated simultaneously - on July 12, Peter and Paul were united into a single image. For example, in the public consciousness, both are considered patrons of fishermen, despite the fact that only the apostle Peter was engaged in this fishery. It is also unfair to identify both with the stone on which the building of the church was erected, since these words of Jesus refer only to the apostle Peter.