Amen.

1957

HOMILY ON THE FEAST DAY OF THE HOLY CHIEF APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL

Who gave the Apostles Peter and Paul the name of chief executives, who exalted them with this name above all the other apostles? Is it not the Church of Christ, which has the power to number the righteous among the saints, to give them the names of great monks and saints, great martyrs, and even great universal teachers and hierarchs?

No, I say, it was not from the Holy Church, but from Jesus Christ Himself that they received the name of chief executives and were exalted above all the other apostles. They received their great name from the Omniscient Son of God, Who knows all human hearts. Listen to the amazing Gospel story about the conversation of Jesus Christ with His apostles: "... Jesus asked His disciples, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" And they said, Some for John the Baptist, and some for Elijah, and some for Jeremiah, or for one of the prophets. He said to them, "And who do you say that I am?" And Simon Peter answered, saying, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed art thou, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed these things unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven; and I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:1319).

Should not the Apostle, who received such great promises from the Son of God Himself, who was made the cornerstone of the Church of Christ, who was appointed the gatekeeper of the Kingdom of Heaven, rightly be called the supreme one?

Even more amazing is the Divine omniscience that our Lord Jesus Christ manifested in relation to another great Apostle – Paul, the second supreme Apostle, whom many call the second, after Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity.

I think that all of you know the story of the miraculous appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to the cruel enemy and persecutor of Christians, Saul, who was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus. He blinded him with His divine light and shook his soul with the question: "Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute Me? He said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is difficult for you to go against the" (Acts 2:11). 9, 45). And the Lord commanded him to go to Damascus, having His companions as guides, and He Himself appeared in a vision to the Apostle Ananias, who lived in Damascus, and commanded him to go to the address indicated to the blind Saul, to restore his sight and to baptize him.

Ananias is amazed, for he has heard from many how much evil this man has done to the saints in Jerusalem.

We are also amazed, together with Ananias, at the answer of the Lord Jesus Christ: "Go, for he is my chosen vessel, to declare my name before the nations and kings and the children of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake" (Acts 9:1516).

The name of Saul, the cruel enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ and the persecutor of all who believed in Him, was widely known beyond the borders of Jerusalem and in Damascus and inspired fear, and the Divine omniscience of the Lord Jesus foresaw in him that great disciple of Christ, who would write in the Epistle to the Galatians the amazing words about himself: "I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2, 1920).

With His divine gaze, He clearly saw in Saul's heart a treasure of boundless faith, full of fearlessness, patience, and mighty faith.