Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
Encyclopedia
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome
of the apostles Saint Peter
and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient origin, the date selected being the anniversary either of their death or of the translation
of their relics.
, it is celebrated as a solemnity
. In the General Roman Calendar of 1962
, it is a first-class feast. It is a holy day of obligation
in the universal Church.
In England and Wales the feast is observed as a holy day of obligation
while in the United States and Canada, it is not. In Malta
it is a public holiday and in Maltese
known as L-Imnarja.
This is the day of the liturgical year
on which those newly created metropolitan
archbishop
s receive the primary symbol of their office, the pallium
, from the pope
.
(which began on the Monday following All Saints' Sunday, i.e., the second Monday after Pentecost
). It is considered a day of recommended attendance, whereon one should attend the All-Night Vigil
(or at least Vespers
) on the eve, and the Divine Liturgy
on the morning of the feast (there are, however, no "Days of Obligation" in the Eastern Church). For those who follow the traditional Julian Calendar
, 29 June
falls on the Gregorian Calendar
date of 12 July.
In the Russian Orthodox tradition, Macarius of Unzha
's Miracle of the Moose
is said to have occurred during the Apostles' Fast and the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul that followed it.
, has been of importance to the modern ecumenical movement as an occasion on which the pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople
have officiated at services designed to bring their two churches closer to intercommunion. This was especially the case during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II
, as reflected in his encyclical
Ut Unum Sint
.
s do not venerate saints per se, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul has traditionally been a day of celebration for them. Since 1895, it has acquired a new significance as a commemoration of the Burning of the Arms, the Doukhobors' destruction of their weapons, as a symbol of their refusal to participate in government-sponsored killing. It is celebrated now by their descendants as simply "Peters Day", sometimes referred to as the Doukhobor Peace Day.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
of the apostles Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient origin, the date selected being the anniversary either of their death or of the translation
Translation (relics)
In Christianity, the translation of relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality to another ; usually only the movement of the remains of the saint's body would be treated so formally, with secondary relics such as items of clothing treated with less ceremony...
of their relics.
In the Roman Catholic Church
In the Roman Catholic calendar of saintsRoman Catholic calendar of saints
The General Roman Calendar indicates the days of the year to which are assigned the liturgical celebrations of saints and of the mysteries of the Lord that are to be observed wherever the Roman Rite is used...
, it is celebrated as a solemnity
Solemnity
A Solemnity of the Roman Catholic Church is a principal holy day in the liturgical calendar, usually commemorating an event in the life of Jesus, his mother Mary, or other important saints. The observance begins with the vigil on the evening before the actual date of the feast...
. In the General Roman Calendar of 1962
General Roman Calendar of 1962
This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as it was in 1962, following the reforms that Pope John XXIII introduced with his motu proprio Rubricarum instructum of 23 July 1960...
, it is a first-class feast. It is a holy day of obligation
Holy Day of Obligation
In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
in the universal Church.
In England and Wales the feast is observed as a holy day of obligation
Holy Day of Obligation
In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
while in the United States and Canada, it is not. In Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
it is a public holiday and in Maltese
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
known as L-Imnarja.
This is the day of the liturgical year
Liturgical year
The liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear in...
on which those newly created metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
s receive the primary symbol of their office, the pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
, from the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
.
In Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches
For Eastern Orthodox and some Eastern Catholic Christians this feast also marks the end of the Apostles' FastApostles' Fast
The Apostles' Fast, also called the Fast of the Holy Apostles, the Fast of Peter and Paul, or sometimes St. Peter's Fast, is a fast observed by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians...
(which began on the Monday following All Saints' Sunday, i.e., the second Monday after Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
). It is considered a day of recommended attendance, whereon one should attend the All-Night Vigil
All-Night Vigil
The All-Night Vigil , Opus 37, is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff,written and premiered in 1915. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. It has been praised as Rachmaninoff's finest achievement and "the greatest musical...
(or at least Vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
) on the eve, and the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
on the morning of the feast (there are, however, no "Days of Obligation" in the Eastern Church). For those who follow the traditional Julian Calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
, 29 June
June 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
June 28 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - June 30All fixed commemorations below celebrated on July 12 by Old Calendarists-Saints:*The holy, glorious, and all-praised leaders of the Apostles, Peter and Paul...
falls on the Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
date of 12 July.
In the Russian Orthodox tradition, Macarius of Unzha
Macarius of Unzha
Venerable Macarius of the Yellow Water Lake and the Unzha, the Miracle Worker is a Saint of Russian Orthodox Church.He is credited with the founding of four monasteries in the Middle and Upper Volga regions of Russia....
's Miracle of the Moose
Miracle of the Moose
Venerable Macarius' Miracle of the Moose is a miracle associated with the name ofVenerable Macarius of the Yellow Water Lake and the Unzha ,a Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church...
is said to have occurred during the Apostles' Fast and the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul that followed it.
Ecumenical importance
In recent decades, this feast, along with that of Saint AndrewSaint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
, has been of importance to the modern ecumenical movement as an occasion on which the pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
have officiated at services designed to bring their two churches closer to intercommunion. This was especially the case during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, as reflected in his encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
Ut Unum Sint
Ut Unum Sint
Ut Unum Sint is the incipit of an encyclical by Pope John Paul II of May 25, 1995. Encyclicals are referred to by their "incipit" or first few words...
.
Among Doukhobors
Although the DoukhoborDoukhobor
The Doukhobors or Dukhobors , earlierDukhobortsy are a group of Russian origin.The Doukhobors were one of the sects - later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, social movement, or simply a "way of life" - known generically as Spiritual Christianity. The origin of the Doukhobors is...
s do not venerate saints per se, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul has traditionally been a day of celebration for them. Since 1895, it has acquired a new significance as a commemoration of the Burning of the Arms, the Doukhobors' destruction of their weapons, as a symbol of their refusal to participate in government-sponsored killing. It is celebrated now by their descendants as simply "Peters Day", sometimes referred to as the Doukhobor Peace Day.
External links
- The Holy Glorious and All-Praised Leader of the Apostles, Peter & Paul IconIconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
and Synaxarion of the Feast (Orthodox)