The life, exploits and suffering of the holy Supreme Apostle Paul. My heavenly patron: St. Paul of Thebes
Paul of Thebes (Greek) Παῦλος ὁ Θηβαῖος ), Pavel of Egypt, Pavel the Hermit, Pavel the Hermit- the first Orthodox monk and hermit who lived in the desert for 91 years and reposed in the 114th year of his life in 341 after the Nativity of Christ. His memory is celebrated by the Church on January 28 (January 15, old style).
Life of our Venerable Father Paul of Thebes
As presented by St. Demetrius of Rostov
When Reverend Anthony Venerable Anthony the Great- the first founder of monastic life. His memory is celebrated on January 17th. The cave in which he labored was located in southern Egypt, in a wild and uninhabited place of Thebaid, on the eastern bank of the river. Nile lived with his disciples in the Egyptian desert, it once occurred to him that there was no other monk who was as perfect as he, there was no one who would have settled before him in the desert and chosen such a solitary life. He himself later said that when he thought this way, he heard a voice in a vision that said:
- Anthony! There is one servant of God who came here before you and who is more perfect than you. If you want, you can find him in the distant desert; just go to him quickly before he goes to the Lord.
Hearing this and coming to his senses, the elder immediately took his staff and hurried into the desert, passionately wanting to quickly find the one about whom it was revealed to him. It was midday, and it became so hot that even the stones became hot from the heat of the sun; the elder was exhausted in body, but his spirit was cheerful, and he did not think of turning back from the path he had taken. Although he did not know where to go next, he remained firm and said:
“I believe that God will show me, as He promised, His servant.”
Walking through this harsh and inaccessible desert, the elder saw nothing but the tracks of animals; Having been on the road for the second day and spending the second night in prayer, he did not know where to go next. At dawn on the third day, he suddenly saw a she-wolf walking along the edge of the mountain and howling. Following her from afar, he approached cave Cave Rev. Paul, on Mount Kholzim, in a straight line from Mount Antonia, is no more than four miles away, but it is separated by such a high and steep wall that a walk around it takes a very long time, which is why Rev. Anthony and had to use it for the whole journey for about two days, in which the Holy Saint Paul lived. The elder was overjoyed at the sight of the cave, but its inhabitant, noticing Anthony’s approach, locked the door from the inside.
Paul of Thebes and St. Anthony: acquaintance
Approaching, the elder knocked, but there was no answer, and he continued to stand outside and knock unsuccessfully. Seeing that the doors were not opened for him, he fell to the ground in front of the entrance to the cave and prayed until the sixth hour, so that he would be honored to go inside and see the one whom he had found with such difficulty.
The saint said:
- Unlock it for me, servant of Christ, unlock it! After all, you know who I am, where I came from and why, for God revealed it to you. I myself know that I am not worthy to see your holy face, nevertheless, I will not leave here until I see you. Do not hide yourself, if God has revealed you to me: you accept animals, why do you reject man? I found you after a long search, and now I’m knocking for you to open the door for me. If you don’t open the door, then I will die on your threshold, and you will bury my corpse here.
He told him many other things in tears and reproached him for his severity. Then the saint of God answered him from inside the cave and said:
- Is it possible to ask with threats, or to reproach with tears? You're surprised that I don't open the door for you. This is because you boast that you came to die here.
With these words the Saint opened the door, and they hugged each other and kissed each other, calling each other by name, because God revealed to each of them the name of the other. When they sat down, the Monk Anthony said:
- Rejoice, Paul, chosen vessel and pillar of fire, inhabitant of this desert!
Saint Paul answered:
“It’s good that you have come, the sun who dedicates the entire universe, the mentor of those who are being saved, the mouth of God, who populated the desert and drove the devil out of it!” But why did you undertake such great work, coming to me, a sinful and insignificant person? Here you see before you a decrepit old man, randomly covered with gray hair, you see a man ready to turn into dust and decay. But love knows no obstacles, and you have come. Tell me, I ask you, how do people live now, what is the state of the world? Are there still idolaters, and at the same time, does persecution of believers continue?
- By your prayers,- Anthony answered, - the world is in prosperity, persecution has ceased, and the Church glorifies the True God. But since you mentioned persecution, I ask you, tell me, for God’s sake, about yourself and reveal why you left the world for this distant desert?
Pavel of Fiveysky tells the story of his stay in the desert
— I was bornYear of birth According to his life, Paul of Thebes is defined as follows. When Anthony came to Paul, he had already been in the desert for 91 years, into which he had retired for 22 years. Therefore, he was 113 years old. Anthony, born in the year 25, came to him at the age of 90. Therefore Rev. Paul was born around 228 V ThebaideThebaid- the region of the famous ancient Egyptian city of Thebes; by the same name, was called, after the name of the main city, and in general the whole of upper (southern) Egypt, — Saint Paul began his story, - and I had a sister; whom her parents married off during her lifetime. Being Orthodox themselves, they, having given me a secular education, also instructed me in the truths of the Orthodox faith. When they died, they divided their rich estate between us. After their death, my sister’s husband, out of covetousness, decided to appropriate the next part of my property for himself and intended to betray me, as a Christian, to be tortured by the wicked prince, so that, having destroyed me, thus taking possession of my inheritance. Was the king then DeciusDecius - Roman emperor, cruel persecutor of Christianity, reigned from 249-251.. He persecuted all Christians, and the whole Thebaid trembled in fear of the cruel torments he imagined. At that time, one Christian youth was taken by wicked persecutors. They tortured him for a long time in order to persuade him to renounce the faith of Christ, but in vain. Finally, they brought him into a flowering and fragrant garden and, laying him on his back on a luxurious bed, tied his arms and legs to it with soft ropes. When everyone left the garden, they let one young girl in with the young man so that she could seduce him into sin. The shameless girl hugged and kissed the young man, trying in every possible way to seduce him. What did the valiant sufferer do after having already endured so much torment? - Seeing himself in danger of carnal seduction, he bit off his tongue with his teeth and spat it out in the face of the harlot; With terrible pain, he overcame passion within himself, spit blood on the face and clothes of the harlot, but he himself, with the help of the grace of Christ, remained pure. Another young man, who remained firm in the Christian faith, after much torment, was stripped and, having smeared his whole body with honey, they stood him with his hands tied at the shoulders in the heat of the sun; They thought that, stung by bees, wasps and hornets, he would not endure it and would agree to make an idol sacrifice. But the courageous sufferer, although his whole body was bitten and covered with blood to such an extent that he lost even his human image, did not, however, renounce Christ. Seeing all this, as well as the ever-increasing anger of my sister’s husband, which neither my sister’s tears nor kinship could tame, I left everything to him and ran away into this desert. With God's help, I gradually reached this place. Having found this cave with a source of water inside it, I realized that the Lord Himself had assigned me a place to live here. I settled here and live by eating dates and making clothes for myself from the leaves.
St. Paul of Thebes accepts bread from the hands of a raven
As the Saint was telling this, a raven suddenly flew in, holding bread in its beak. Quietly placing the bread in front of them, he flew away and disappeared into the air. Seeing the amazement of Blessed Anthony, Saint Paul said:
“It was the Lord, the most merciful and philanthropic, who sent dinner to us, His servants.” For sixty years now I have been getting half a loaf of bread. But on the occasion of your coming, Christ the Lord doubled the gift and sent His soldiers whole bread.
Having taken this bread, the great saints of God began to ask each other to bless and break it, each placing the other above himself in honor. Saint Paul wanted to honor the Monk Anthony as a guest, while the Monk Anthony wanted to honor Saint Paul as the master of the house and the eldest in age. And for a long time they argued with each other with love. Finally, blessed Paul took the bread from one end, and put the other into the hands of the Monk Anthony: the bread itself immediately broke in the middle, and everyone received their half.
Sitting down at the source, Christ's servants ate and were satisfied. Then they drank from this spring, which had clean and very pleasant water. After performing the prayer of thanks, they sat down again and talked all night until the morning. As the day came, Saint Paul said to Abba Anthony:
“I have long known, my brother, that you live in this desert, and I would like, while living with you, to serve our Lord together.” But since the time has come for my death, which I always awaited with joy, wanting to “be resolved and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23), the Lord sent you to me so that you would bury my humble body and commit the earth to the ground.
Hearing this, Anthony exclaimed with tears:
“Don’t leave me, my father, alone, but take me with you!”
- You don't need to take care of yourself,- answered Saint Paul, - but about the good of your neighbor. If it would be good for you to be freed from the burden of the flesh and follow the Lamb to heaven, then the benefit of the other brethren requires that you still instruct and strengthen them. I ask you, go to your monastery as soon as possible and bring what was given to you Bishop AthanasiusHere, of course, St. Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria, who sincerely revered and loved the Egyptian ascetics, himself an ascetic who deeply respected St. Anthony the Greata robe to cover my body.
St. Paul did not ask for this because he needed the mantle. He did not care whether his corruptible body, which he had dressed for so long with date leaves, would be buried naked or covered in the ground. He only wanted his soul to be separated from his body in the silence of solitude, which is why he sent the Monk Anthony away from him to the monastery.
Anthony was very surprised by what he heard about Athanasius and the mantle. Seeing in Paul as if Christ Himself and honoring God abiding in him, he no longer dared to object to him. For a long time, silently and with tears, he kissed his eyes and hands, and then hastened to fulfill the order: against his desire, he went to the monastery, exhausted in body, but in spirit conquering the infirmities of his old age.
When Anthony approached his cell, two disciples met him and asked:
- Where have you been for so long, our father?
- Woe is me, my children,- Anthony answered, - woe to me, a sinner, an imaginary monk. I myself only call myself a monk, but I saw the one who in truth is Elijah, John in the desert. I truly saw Paul in heaven.
The disciples wanted to hear more about this and began to ask him to tell him. Anthony, covering his mouth with his hand, said:
— For every thing there is a time: a time to speak, and a time to remain silent (Eccl. 3:1-7).
And taking his robe with him, without resting at all, without even taking food with him for the road, he went out and again hastily set off into the desert in order to find Saint Paul still alive, for he was afraid that if he slowed down, he would die without him.
Pavel of Thebes was honored with a blessed death
The next day, at about three o'clock, while on his way, Abba Anthony saw in the air the ranks of Angels and the councils of the prophets and apostles, and in the midst of them - the soul of Saint Paul, which, shining more than the sun, was ascending into heaven. Saint Anthony, falling to the ground, sprinkled sand on his head and exclaimed with sobs:
- Why did you, Pavel, leave me? Why are you leaving without a last kiss? I didn’t know you for so long, and so soon, when I knew you, you leave me!
Subsequently, Blessed Anthony said that he then walked the rest of the way at such a speed as if he were flying on wings through the air, so that from fast walking he did not even feel the ground under his feet. Soon he reached the cave and, entering it, saw the saint kneeling with his arms outstretched and his face turned upward. Thinking that he was alive and praying, Anthony began to pray with him. An hour passed, and since neither words nor sighs of prayer were heard from Saint Paul, Blessed Anthony came closer to him and, seeing that he was already dead, realized that the body of the holy man, even after death, renders worship to God, before the Face Which is all alive. For a long time he cried and sobbed, kissing the holy body of the saint; then he wrapped him in the mantle he had brought with him and, according to Christian custom, began to sing the psalms used during burial. But he could not figure out how to perform the saint’s burial, since he did not bring a spade with him to dig the grave.
— Should we return to the monastery for a weapon? — he thought - But it's a three-day journey there. Should I stay here? But without a spade I can't do anything.
“I’d rather stay here and die as I should, breathing my last breath near Thy warrior, Christ!”
The body of St. Paul is buried by the lions of the desert
As he was thinking about this, suddenly two lions come from the depths of the desert, roaring and as if crying over the loss of the saint. Anthony was somewhat frightened at first, but then when he saw that meek animals, like lambs, were lying near the body of the saint and were roaring pitifully, as if they were crying, he was amazed at the meekness of these animals. They began to dig the ground with their claws and, having dug a hole of considerable depth, again fell to the body of the saint with a strong roar, as if bidding farewell to him. Then, approaching the Monk Anthony, they began to lick his hands and feet, as if asking for blessings and prayers. The monk, seeing that even the animals bow before God, glorified Christ and said:
“Lord, without Your will not a leaf from a tree or a bird falls to the ground; give, as You know, Your blessing to these animals.”
Then, pointing his hand to the desert, he ordered the animals to go there. When they disappeared, Abba Anthony buried the honorable body of the holy and venerable Father Paul, the first desert dweller, died 113 years old Rev. Pavel Fiveysky died in 341. His body, by the will of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos (1146-1180), was transferred to Constantinople and laid in the monastery of the Mother of God Periveleptus, then in 1240 it was transferred to Venice and, finally, to Hungary in Ofen. Part of his chapter is preserved in Rome.
The Monk Anthony spent the entire night following the burial over the saint’s grave in tears and prayer. When morning came, he went back to his monastery, taking with him the saint’s clothes woven from date leaves. Arriving at his monastery, he told his disciples about everything in detail, for their edification. The clothes of St. He cherished and honored Paul so much that he wore it only twice a year: on the feast of St. Easter and Pentecost.
Through the holy prayers of our venerable fathers Paul and Anthony, may Christ our Lord grant us the lot of His saints, to Whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be honor and glory forever. Reverend Father Paul of Thebes, pray to God for us! Amen.
Do you see a mistake in this article? Please select it and click Shift + Enter or to let me know about it.
When Saul was approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven shone around him (so suddenly, strongly and dazzlingly that he fell to the ground), and at the same instant he heard a voice saying to him: “Saul, Saul! Why are you chasing me?” Full of amazement, he asked: “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; it is difficult for you to go against the pricks.” Saul asked in awe and horror, “Lord, what do you have me do?” And the Lord said: “Get up and go into the city; and you will be told what you need to do” ().
The soldiers who walked with Saul were also terrified and, struck by the extraordinary light, stood in a daze: they heard a voice speaking to Saul, but saw no one.
At the command of the Lord, Saul rose from the ground and with his eyes open he saw no one: his physical eyes were blinded, but his spiritual eyes began to see.
Saul's guides and assistants led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus; There he stayed for three days, seeing nothing, and in a feeling of repentance, he did not eat or drink, and only incessantly prayed that the Lord would reveal His will to him.
In Damascus there was the holy Apostle Ananias, to whom the Lord, appearing in a vision, commanded to find Saul, who lived in the house of a certain man named Judas, and to enlighten his bodily eyes with a touch, and his spiritual ones with holy baptism.
The apostle answered: “Lord! I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he did to Thy saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the high priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him: “Go, for he is My chosen vessel, to proclaim 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."
Saint Ananias, setting out at the command of the Lord and finding Saul, laid his hands on him: and immediately, as if scales fell from his eyes, suddenly he received his sight and, getting up, received baptism and was filled with the Holy Spirit, consecrating him to the apostolic ministry, and was renamed from Saul to Paul, and immediately began preaching in the synagogues about Jesus, that He is the Son of God.
And everyone who heard was surprised (at this change in the thoughts of the persecutor of the Church of Christ) and said:
“Isn’t this the same one who persecuted in Jerusalem those who call on this name?” and did he come here for this purpose, to bind them and lead them to the high priests? ()
And Saul became more and more strengthened in faith and confused the Jews living in Damascus, proving to them that this is Christ (i.e., the promised Messiah). The Jews finally became angry with him, agreed to kill him, and kept watch at the city gates day and night so that he would not escape from them. The disciples of Christ, who were in Damascus with Ananias, learned about the meeting of the Jews who decided to kill Paul, took him and at night lowered him in a basket from the window of a house adjacent to the city wall. He, having left Damascus, did not immediately go to Jerusalem, but first went to Arabia, as he himself writes about this in his letter to the Galatians: “I did not then consult with flesh and blood, and did not go to Jerusalem to the Apostles who preceded me, but went to Arabia, and again returned to Damascus. Then, three years later, I went to Jerusalem to see Peter.” ().
Having come to Jerusalem, Saint Paul tried to join the disciples of the Lord, but they were afraid of this, not believing that he was already a disciple of the Lord. The Holy Apostle Barnabas, seeing him and being convinced of his conversion to Christ, rejoiced and, taking him by the hand, led him to the Apostles, and Paul told them how he saw the Lord on the way, and what the Lord said to him, and how he - Paul – in Damascus he preached boldly in the name of Jesus. And the holy Apostles were filled with joy and glorified the Lord Christ. Saint Paul, in Jerusalem, competed with the Jews and Hellenists about the name of the Lord Jesus and proved to them that Jesus is the Christ predicted by the prophets.
One day, while standing in church and praying, Paul unexpectedly and involuntarily went into a frenzy and saw the Lord. The Lord said to him: “Hurry up and leave Jerusalem quickly, because [here] they will not accept your testimony about Me.”. Paul said: "God! they know that I imprisoned those who believed in You and beat them in the synagogues, and when the blood of Stephen, Your witness, was shed, I stood there, approved of his murder and guarded the clothes of those who beat him.”. And the Lord said to him: “Go; I will send you far to the pagans"(). After this vision, Saint Paul, although he wanted to stay a few more days in Jerusalem, consoled by the meeting and conversation with the Apostles, but could not: the Jews, with whom he argued about Christ, became enraged and wanted to kill him. Having learned about this, the Jerusalem Christians escorted him to Caesarea and from there they sent him by sea to Tarsus (his homeland), where he stayed for some time, preaching the word of God to his compatriots.
Later, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Barnabas came here and took Paul with him to Syrian Antioch, knowing about his appointment to be the Apostle of the Gentiles; preaching here for a whole year in synagogues, they converted many to Christ and called them Christians. After a year had passed, both holy Apostles, Barnabas and Paul, returned to Jerusalem and told the holy Apostles what the grace of God had accomplished in Antioch, and they greatly rejoiced the Church of Christ in Jerusalem. At the same time, they brought abundant alms from willing donors in Antioch, in favor of the poor and wretched brethren living in Judea, since at that time, during the reign of Claudius, there was a great famine, predicted, by a special revelation of the Holy Spirit, by Saint Agave, one of the 70 Apostolov.
Having left Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul again came to Antioch. When they had spent some time here in fasting and prayer, in serving the Divine Liturgy and in preaching the Word of God, it pleased the Holy Spirit to send them to the pagans to preach. The Holy Spirit spoke to the elders in the Antioch assembly: “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”(). Then the presbyter, having fasted and prayed and laid his hands on them, sent them away.
At the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Paul came to Seleucia and from there sailed to the island of Cyprus (the homeland of the Apostle Barnabas). Here, having been in Salamis, they preached the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews and went through the entire island even to Paphos, where they found a certain Elimus (magician) false prophet of the Jews, named Barijesus, who was with the local proconsul Sergius Paulus, a wise man and, apparently, had influence on him. The proconsul, calling Barnabas and Saul, wished to hear the Word of God from them and listened to their sermons. And Elymas the sorcerer, resisting them, tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Saint Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and fixing his gaze on the sorcerer, said: “Oh, full of all deceit and all evil, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness! will you stop turning aside from the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you: you will be blind and will not see the sun until the time comes. And suddenly darkness and darkness fell upon him, and he, turning here and there, looked for a counselor.” ().
And suddenly darkness and darkness fell upon the sorcerer, and he, turning here and there, looked for a guide.
Then the proconsul, seeing what had happened, fully believed, marveling at the teaching of the Lord. Many people believed with him, and the congregation of the faithful increased.
Sailing from Paphos, Paul and those who were with him arrived in Perga, which is in Pamphylia, from Perga to Antioch in Pisidia. Here they preached about Christ, and when they had already led many to faith, the envious Jews incited the leading people in the city who were committed to paganism and, with their help, expelled the Apostles of the saints from the city and its environs.
The apostles, having shaken off the dust from their feet here, went to Iconium and, staying there for quite some time, boldly preached and led a great multitude of Jews and pagans to faith, not only by preaching, but also by signs and wonders that were performed by their hands; There they also converted the holy virgin Thekla and brought her to Christ. And the unbelieving Jews incited the pagans and their leaders to resist the Apostles and stone them. Having learned about this, the Apostles withdrew to the Lycaonian cities - Lystra and Derbe - and their surroundings.
While preaching the gospel in Lystra, they healed a certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb and had never walked; In the name of Christ they raised him to his feet, and he immediately stood up and began to walk. The people, seeing this miracle, raised their voices, saying in Lycaonian: "The gods in human form have come to us"(). And they called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermias, and bringing oxen and bringing wreaths, they wanted to offer sacrifices to the Apostles. But Barnabas and Paul (hearing about this) tore their clothes and, approaching the people, said loudly: “Men! what are you doing? And we are people like you."(). And they offered a word to them about the One God, who created heaven, and earth, and the sea, and everything that is in them, and sends rains and fruitful times from heaven, and fills the hearts of people with food and joy. And saying this, they barely convinced the people not to make sacrifices to them. While they were in Lystra and teaching, some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to leave the Apostles, boldly saying that they were not saying anything true, but were all lying, and they incited the gullible to even worse things, for St. Paul , as the main preacher, they stoned him and dragged him out of the city, considering him already dead.
He (with the help of the believers), getting up, entered the city again, and the next day withdrew with Barnabas to Derbe. Having preached the Gospel in this city and having acquired quite a number of disciples, they returned through Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples and begging them to continue in the faith. Having ordained them elders for each church, they prayed, observing fasting, and handed them over to the Lord in whom they believed.
Then, having passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia, and having preached the word of the Lord in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch in Syria, from where they were originally sent by the Holy Spirit to preach the word of the Lord to the pagans. And having arrived in Antioch, they gathered the faithful and told everyone what God had done with them, and how many pagan people had been brought to Christ.
After some time, a dispute arose between the believing Jews and Hellenists in Antioch regarding circumcision: some said that it was impossible to be saved without circumcision, others considered circumcision a difficult matter for themselves. Therefore, it turned out to be necessary for the Apostle Paul and Barnabas to go to Jerusalem to the elder Apostles and elders - to ask their opinions regarding circumcision and at the same time inform them that God had opened the door of faith to the pagans; With this latest news they greatly rejoiced all the brethren of Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, at a council meeting, the holy Apostles and elders completely abolished Old Testament circumcision, as unnecessary under the new grace, and only commanded to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from fornication, and not to offend one’s neighbor in any way, and with this decision they were released from Jerusalem to Antioch Paul and Barnabas, and with them Judas and Silas.
Having arrived in Antioch, the Apostles stayed there for quite some time and again went to the pagans, separated from each other: Judas returned to Jerusalem; Barnabas, taking with him Mark, his relative, headed to Cyprus; and Paul, having chosen Silas, went to Syria and Cilicia, and passing through the cities there, he established the faithful. Having come to Derbe and Lystra, he circumcised Timothy, his disciple, in Lystra, just to quench the murmur of the Judaizing Christians and took him with him. From there he went to Phrygia and the Galatian country, then he came to Mysia and thought about going to Bithynia, but this did not please the Holy Spirit. For when Paul was with his companions in Troas, he had the following vision at night: a certain man, who looked like a Macedonian, stood before him and begged him, saying: "Come to Macedonia and help us"(). From this vision, Paul realized that the Lord was calling him to preach in Macedonia. And sailing from Troas, he arrived on the island of Samothrace, the next day to Naples, from there to Philippi, the nearest city of Macedonia, which was a colony of the Romans. In Philippi, he first of all taught the faith of Christ and baptized the woman Lydia, who sold scarlet (crimson or red fabrics and clothes); she begged him to live with her disciples in her house.
One day, when Paul was walking with his disciples to the congregation for prayer, he was met by some servant girl possessed by an unclean spirit of divination, who with her divinations brought great income to her masters. Walking behind Paul and his companions, she shouted, saying: “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” ().
She repeated this for many days.
The commanders, tearing off the clothes of the Apostles, ordered them to be beaten with sticks, and after giving them many blows, they were thrown into prison. Here, about midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying, the prison shook, all its doors were opened, and the bonds were loosened. Seeing this, the prison guard believed in Christ, brought the Apostles to his house, there he washed their wounds, immediately was baptized himself with his entire household and offered them a meal. And the Apostles returned to prison again.
The next day, the city leaders came to their senses that they had cruelly punished innocent people, and sent ministers to prison with orders to release the Apostles to freedom - let them go wherever they want.
But Paul said to them: “We, Roman citizens, were publicly beaten and thrown into prison without trial, and now we are being secretly released? no, let them come and take us out themselves.” ().
And the messengers, returning, retold the words of Paul to the commanders; the commanders were afraid that the prisoners whom they had beaten turned out to be Roman citizens; and having come to them, they begged them to leave the prison and the city. Having left the prison, they first came to the house of Lydia, with whom they had previously lived, and brought joy to the faithful gathered there. Having said goodbye to them, they went to Amphipolis and Apollonia and from there to Thessaloniki.
In Thessaloniki, when they had already gained many with the gospel, the envious Jews, having gathered several worthless people, rushed to the house of Jason, where the Apostles of Christ were staying. And not finding the Apostles there, they seized Jason and some brothers and dragged them to the leaders of the city, slandering them as opponents of Caesar, who recognize another king - namely Jesus. And Jason was barely freed from this misfortune.
And the holy Apostles, having managed to hide from these hostile people, left Thessaloniki at night and came to Beria; but even there the evil envy of the Jews gave Saint Paul no rest; When the Thessalonica Jews learned that Paul had preached the Word of God in Beria, they came there too, stirring up and disturbing the people and inciting them against Paul. The holy Apostle was forced to leave there too, not out of personal fear of death, but at the insistence of the brethren, that he might save his life for the sake of the salvation of many, and the brethren let him go to the sea. The Apostle left his companions Silas and Timothy in Beria to confirm the converts in the faith, since he knew that the Jews were only looking for his head. He himself boarded the ship and sailed to Athens.
In Athens, Paul was troubled in spirit at the sight of the idols that filled that city, and grieved over the destruction of so many souls. He began to interpret in synagogues with the Jews and daily in the squares with the Greeks and their philosophers. The listeners brought him to the Areopagus (that was the name of the place where a public trial was held at the idol temple). They brought him there partly in order to hear something new from him in the former meeting, and partly also (as Saint Chrysostom thinks) in order to bring him to trial, torment and death, if they heard from him anything worthy of execution .
Saint Paul, having previously seen some kind of altar in the city, on which was written: “to an unknown god,” began his speech on this matter and began to preach to them the True God, hitherto unknown to them, saying: “This, whom you ignorantly revere, I preach to you.” ().
And he began to tell them about God, the Creator of the whole world, and about repentance, and about judgment, and about the resurrection of the dead.
Having heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of the listeners scoffed, while others wanted to hear about it even more. And Paul left their meeting not condemned, as innocent of anything: and the Word of God preached to him was not without benefit for winning souls: for some men, having joined him, believed in Christ; among them was Dionysius the Areopagite and a certain noble woman named Damar, and many others were baptized.
Leaving Athens, Paul came to Corinth and lived there with a certain Jew named Aquila; Silas and Timothy came here from Macedonia to him and preached together about Christ. Aquila and his wife Priscilla were tent makers by trade; Paul was familiar with this craft, and he worked with them, and with his labor he acquired food for himself and his companions, as he himself says about this in his letter to the Thessalonians: “They ate no one’s bread for nothing, but labored and labored night and day, so as not to burden any of you.”(). And again: “These hands have ministered to my needs and to those who were with me.” ().
And on every Sabbath he convinced the Jews in the synagogues, proving that Jesus is the Christ. But since they stubbornly resisted and slandered him, he shook out his clothes and said to them: “Your blood is on your heads; I am clean; From now on I am going to the pagans" ().
And when he decided to leave Corinth, the Lord appeared to him in a vision at night and said: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will harm you, for I have many people in this city.” ().
And Paul remained in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching the Word of God to the Jews and Greeks, and many believed and were baptized, and the ruler of the synagogue himself, Crispus, believed in the Lord with all his household and was baptized. And some of the Jews who did not believe attacked Paul in a whole crowd and brought him before the court before the proconsul Gallio (who was the brother of the philosopher Seneca), but he refused to judge Paul, saying: “If there was any offense or evil intent on his part , then I would have reason to listen to you and judge him; but in your dispute about doctrine and about your law, I don’t want to be a judge.”
And he drove them away from the judgment seat. After this, Saint Paul, having remained there for quite some days, said goodbye to the brethren and sailed to Syria with those who were with him. Aquila and Priscilla followed him, and on the way they all stopped in Ephesus. There, preaching the word of the Lord, the holy Apostle Paul performed many miracles, and not only were his hands miraculous, healing every ailment with one touch, but also his handkerchiefs and headbands, soaked in the sweat of his body, had the same miraculous power: for, being placed on the sick, they immediately healed them and drove out unclean spirits from people. Seeing this, some of the wandering Jewish exorcists dared to call on the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying: “We conjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches.” But the evil spirit answered them: “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”
And a man in whom there was an evil spirit rushed at them, and having overcome them, he received such power over them that he beat them and wounded them, so that they could barely escape naked from the hand of the demoniac. This became known to all the Jews and Greeks of Ephesus, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was glorified, and many believed in Him. And even of those who practiced sorcery, many, upon accepting the holy faith, collected their magic books, and having counted their prices, found that they cost 50 thousand drachmas, and they publicly burned all the books. So the word of the Lord grew and became powerful.
Paul was preparing to go to Jerusalem and said: “Having been there, I must see Rome” ().
But at this time there was a major rebellion in Ephesus from silversmiths who were making models of the Temple of Artemis. After the rebellion was tamed, Saint Paul, having stayed in Ephesus for 3 years, went to Macedonia, from there he came to Troas, where he stayed for seven days.
On the very first day of the week, when the faithful gathered to break bread, Paul had a long conversation with them, since he intended to leave them the next day, and continued it until midnight in an upper room illuminated by many lamps. Among the listeners, one young man, named Eutychus, sitting on the window, fell into a deep sleep and, staggering sleepily, fell down from the third floor (floor), and was raised unconscious. Saint Paul, descending, fell on him and embraced him, saying: “Do not worry, for his soul is in him.” ().
And again Paul went up into the upper room; They brought the young man alive and were greatly consoled. Paul talked for a long time, even until dawn, and after saying goodbye to the believers, he left from there.
One day a prophet named Agabus came here to Saint Paul, took Paul’s belt, tied his hands and feet, and said: “Thus says the Holy Spirit: The man whose belt is this will be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and delivered into the hands of the Gentiles.” ().
When the brethren heard this, they began to ask Paul with tears not to go to Jerusalem; but Paul answered and said to them: "What are you doing? Why are you crying and breaking my heart? I not only want to be a prisoner, but I am ready to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." ().
And the brothers fell silent, saying: “The will of the Lord be done!”
After this, the holy Apostle Paul went to Jerusalem with his disciples (among whom was Trophimus the Ephesian, who converted from the pagans to Christ) and was cordially received by Saint James and the entire assembly of the faithful.
And he began to tell them about his former zeal for the law of Moses, and how on the way to Damascus he was shone with heavenly light, and how he saw the Lord sending him to the pagans.
But the people, no longer wanting to listen to him, began to shout, turning to the commander of a thousand: “Destroy such a one from the earth! For he should not live!”
Shouting in this way, they threw their clothes and threw dust into the air, carried away by rage, and insisted on killing Paul. The commander of the thousand ordered him to be brought into the fortress and ordered to scourge him in order to extort from him: for what guilt were the people so angry with him? But when they tied Paul to the stake with straps, he said to the centurion standing with him:
– “Are you allowed to scourge a Roman citizen, and even without trial?” ()
Hearing this, the centurion came up and reported to the captain, saying:
- Look what you want to do! This man is a Roman citizen.
Then the captain approached Paul and asked:
- Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?
He said:
The commander of a thousand said embarrassedly:
– I acquired this citizenship for a lot of money.
And he immediately freed him from his shackles.
The next day the captain ordered the high priests and the entire Sanhedrin to come and placed Saint Paul before them.
Paul, looking towards the Sanhedrin, said:
- Men, brothers! I have lived with all my good conscience before God until this day ().
The high priest Ananias, at these words, ordered those standing before him to strike Paul on the mouth...
Then Paul said to him:
- God will beat you, you whitewashed wall! you sit to judge according to the law, and, contrary to the law, you order me to be beaten ().
Noticing that in the assembly one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul cried out, saying:
- Men, brothers! I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; I am being judged for the hope of the resurrection of the dead ().
When he said this, there was a quarrel between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided: for the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees admit both. There was a great cry. The Pharisees said:
“We don’t find anything bad in this man.”
The Sadducees argued the opposite, and the great strife continued.
The commander, fearing that the assembly would tear Paul to pieces, ordered the soldiers to take him from among them and take him to the fortress.
The next night the Lord appeared to Saint Paul and said:
- Be brave, Pavel; for as you testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must testify in Rome ().
As daylight came, some of the embittered Jews held a council and swore not to eat or drink until they killed Paul. And it turned out that there were more than forty souls who cast such a spell. Having learned about this, the commander sent Paul, with a large detachment of armed soldiers, to Caesarea, to the governor Philip.
Having heard about this, the high priest Ananias with the oldest members of the Sanhedrin went themselves to Caesarea and slandered the governor against Paul, blasphemed him before the governor and strongly sought his death, but they did not succeed in anything, for no guilt was found in him worthy of death. However, the governor, wanting to please the Jews, left Paul in bonds.
Two years have passed. Porcius Festus replaced Philip as ruler. The bishops asked him to send Paul to Jerusalem. And they started this with evil intent: on the road they hoped to kill the Apostle of Christ. And when Festus asked Paul if he wanted to go to Jerusalem for judgment, Paul answered: “I stand before the court of Caesar, where I should be judged. I did not offend the Jews in any way, as you well know. For if I am wrong and have done something worthy of death, then I do not refuse to die; and if there is nothing of what they accuse me of, then no one can hand me over to them. I demand the judgment of Caesar" ().
Then Festus, having talked with the advisers, answered Paul:
- You demanded the judgment of Caesar, and you will go to Caesar.
A few days later, King Agrippa came to Caesarea to congratulate Festus and, having learned about Paul, wished to see him. And when Paul, having presented himself to King Agrippa and the governor Festus, told them in detail about Christ the Lord and how he believed in Him, King Agrippa said to him:
“You’re not convincing me to become a Christian.”
Paul answered:
- I would pray to God that you, who knows how much, not only you, but everyone listening to me today, would become like me, except for these bonds ().
After these words, the king, the ruler and those who were with them stood up; stepping aside, they consulted among themselves and decided:
“This man has done nothing worthy of death or chains.”
Agrippa said to Festus:
“It would have been possible to free him if he had not demanded a trial from Caesar.”
Thus they decided to send Paul to Rome to Caesar and gave him and some other prisoners to the centurion of the royal regiment, named Julius; and he, having received the prisoners and Paul, put them on the ship, and they all set sail.
Their navigation was very unsafe due to contrary winds; when they sailed to the island of Crete and entered a place called “good landings,” Saint Paul, foreseeing the future, advised them to spend the winter there with the ship; but the centurion trusted the helmsman and the captain of the ship more than the words of Paul. When they sailed into the middle of the sea, a stormy wind rose against them, there was great excitement and such fog fell that for 14 whole days they did not see either the sun during the day or the stars at night, and did not even know what place they were in, because they were carried waves, and in despair they had not eaten all these days and were already expecting death. There were 276 people on the ship. Paul stood in their midst and consoled them, saying:
– “Men! you had to listen to me and not leave Crete, which would have avoided these difficulties and harm. Now I urge you to take heart, because not a single soul of you will perish, but only the ship. For the Angel of God, Whom I belong and Whom I serve, appeared to me that night and said: “Do not be afraid, Paul! you must appear before Caesar, and behold, God has given you all those who sail with you.” Therefore, be of good cheer, men, for I believe in God that it will be as I have been told.” ().
And Paul persuaded everyone to take food, saying:
– “This will serve to preserve your life; for none of you will lose a hair from his head.” ().
Having said this and taking the bread, he thanked God in front of everyone and, breaking it, began to eat. Then everyone took heart and also took food.
When day came, they saw land, but did not recognize which side it was, and they directed the ship towards the shore. Approaching it, the ship hit a spit and ran aground; the bow got stuck and remained motionless, and the stern was broken by the force of the waves. The soldiers conferred among themselves to kill all the prisoners so that someone would not swim out and run away; but the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from this intention and ordered those who knew how to swim to be the first to rush and go ashore; and looking at them, others began to swim, some on boards, others on whatever was available from the ship's things, and all came to land healthy and were saved from the sea.
Then they learned that this island was called Melit. Its inhabitants, foreigners, showed them considerable kindness, for, due to the former rain and cold, they lit a fire to warm up those who were wet at sea.
Meanwhile, Paul gathered a lot of brushwood and put it on the fire; At this time, the viper, coming out of the heat, hung on his hand. When the foreigners saw the snake hanging on his hand, they said to each other:
“That’s right, this man is a murderer when, having escaped from the sea, God’s judgment does not allow him to live.”
But Paul, having shaken the snake into the fire, suffered no harm. They expected that he would have inflammation, or that he would suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing that no trouble had happened to him, they changed their minds and said that he was God.
The ruler of that island, named Publius, took those rescued from the sea into his home and treated them in a friendly manner for three days. At this time his father was lying, suffering from a fever and pain in his stomach. Paul went in to him, prayed to the Lord, and laying his hands on the sick man, healed him. After this event, other sick people on the island came to the holy Apostle and were healed.
Three months later, all those who escaped from the sea with the Apostle sailed from here, already on another ship, and sailed to Syracuse, from there to Rigia, then to Puteoli and finally reached Rome. And when the brethren who were in Rome learned about Paul’s arrival, they went out to meet him even as far as Appian Square and three hotels. When Paul saw them, he was comforted in spirit and gave thanks to God.
In Rome, the centurion who accompanied the prisoners from Jerusalem handed them over to the military commander, and allowed Paul to live separately with the soldier guarding him.
And Paul lived in Rome for two whole years, and received everyone who came to him, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching about our Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness without restraint.
Hitherto about the life and works of Paul from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, written by Saint Luke; He himself talks about his other labors and sufferings in 2 Corinthians as follows (in comparison with others, he was): “more in labors, more in wounds, more in prisons and many times at the point of death. Five times the Jews gave me forty [strikes] minus one; three times I was beaten with sticks, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the depths [of the sea]; I [have been] traveling many times.” ().
Having measured the latitude and longitude of the earth by walking, and the sea by swimming, the Apostle Paul also experienced the height of heaven, being caught up to the third heaven. For the Lord, consoling His Apostle in the painful labors he endured for the sake of His holy name, showed him heavenly bliss, which the eye had never seen, and he heard there ineffable verbs that cannot be retold by a person.
How the holy Apostle accomplished other feats of his life and activity is narrated by Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, historian of church events.
After two years of captivity in Rome, Saint Paul was released as if innocent of anything, and preached the word of God first in Rome and then in other Western countries.
Church historiographers have different reports about the time of the suffering of the Holy Apostle Paul. Nicephorus Callistus, in the 2nd book of his history, in chapter 36, writes that Saint Paul suffered in the same year and on the same day as the Holy Apostle Peter, for the sorcerer Simon, whom he helped Peter defeat. Others say that a whole year after the death of Peter, Paul suffered on the same 29th day of the month of June, on which Saint Peter was crucified the year before. The reason for Paul's death is that he exhorted girls and women to a chaste, pure life through the preaching of Christ. However, there is no great disagreement in this news: for in the life of Saint Peter (according to Simeon Metaphrastes) it is said that Saint Peter did not suffer immediately after the death of Simon the Magus, but after several years, because of two concubines beloved by Nero, whom the Apostle Peter converted to Christ taught me to live chastely. And since Saint Paul lived in Rome and the surrounding countries at the same time as Peter, it could easily have been both, i.e. that Saint Paul helped Saint Peter and Simon the Magus during his first stay in Rome, and having come to Rome for the second time, again with Saint Peter he unanimously served the salvation of people, instructing men and women in a chaste, pure life. And thus the holy Apostles aroused the rage of the wicked and depraved king Nero, who, having condemned them both to death, executed Peter, as a foreigner, by crucifixion, and Paul, as a Roman citizen (who could not be put to a dishonorable death), by beheading, if not in the same year, then on the same day. When Pavlov's honest head was cut off, blood and milk flowed from the wound. The faithful, having taken his holy body, laid it in the same place with Saint Peter.
Thus died the chosen vessel of Christ, the teacher of the nations, the world preacher, the witness of heavenly heights and heavenly goodness, the object of wonder of angels and men, the great ascetic and sufferer, who endured the wounds of his Lord on his body, the holy Supreme Apostle Paul, and again, in addition to the body , ascended to the third heaven and appeared before the Trinity Light, together with his friend and collaborator, the holy Supreme Apostle Peter, having passed from the militant church to the triumphant church, with joyful thanksgiving, the voice and exclamation of those celebrating, and now they glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the one God in the Trinity, to whom honor, glory, worship and thanksgiving are sent from us sinners, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Troparion, tone 4:
Pray to the Mother Apostles, and the universal teacher, the ruler of all, to grant peace to the universe and great mercy to our souls.
Kontakion, voice 2:
Firm and divinely preached preachers, the top of your apostles, Lord, have you received your good things and peace into enjoyment; You have accepted illness and death more than any other fruitfulness, the only one who knows your heart.
Caesarea was the ancient name of many cities of the Roman Empire. Here we mean Caesarea in Palestine, built by Straton, in honor of Caesar Octavius Augustus, by the Mediterranean Sea, about 100 miles from Jerusalem, to the northwest, which was the seat of the Roman rulers of Judea; it was fortified and decorated by Herod, once with an excellent harbor; now it is a pile of ruins. In Palestine there was another Caesarea, at the foot of Mount Lebanon, built by the tetrarch Philip of Galilee in honor of Caesar Tiberius, and called Caesarea Philippi (in ancient times it was called Vansei).
The name “Christians” did not originate among the followers of the Lord, who usually called each other brothers, disciples, believers; it was first used outside the Church and most likely given to the followers of the Lord by the pagans of Antioch, who, meeting a very significant number of believers, ceased to consider them a Jewish sect and gave Christianity an independent meaning.
|
Life, exploits and suffering of the saint
The Holy Apostle Paul, before his apostleship called Saul, was a Jew by origin, from the tribe of Benjamin; He was born in Tarsus of Cilicia, from noble parents who formerly lived in Rome, then moved to Tarsus of Cilicia, with the honorary title of Roman citizens, therefore Paul was called a Roman citizen. He was a relative of the holy protomartyr Stephen and (probably together with him) was sent by his parents to Jerusalem to study the Law of Moses; there he was among the disciples of the famous teacher Gamaliel in Jerusalem. His fellow student and friend was Barnabas, who later became an Apostle of Christ. Saul thoroughly studied the law of his fathers, became a great adherent of it and joined the party of the Pharisees (strict zealots of everything domestic and outwardly pious). At that time, in Jerusalem and in surrounding cities and countries, the holy Apostles spread the gospel of Christ; Moreover, they often had long disputes with the Pharisees and Sadducees (who rejected tradition and did not believe in the immortality of the soul) and with all the scribes and teachers of the law, who constantly hated and persecuted the preachers of Christ. Saul also hated the holy Apostles, and did not even want to listen to that sermon about Christ, mocked Barnabas (who had already become an apostle of Christ), and blasphemed the Lord Christ. And when the holy First Martyr Stephen was stoned by the Jews, Saul not only did not regret the blood of his own, innocently shed, but also approved of the murder and guarded the clothes of the Jews who struck Stephen. After that, having asked for authority from the bishops and elders of the Jews, he tormented the church (the assembly of the faithful) with even greater fury, entering houses and seizing men and women, sending them to prison. Not satisfied with the persecution of the faithful in Jerusalem and continuing to breathe threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, he went to Damascus, with letters from the high priest to the synagogues, so that there he would bring whomever he found from among the believers in Christ, both men and women, to Jerusalem. This happened during the reign of Tiberius. |
|
"Conversion of Saul"
|
Having come to Jerusalem, Saint Paul tried to join the disciples of the Lord, but they were afraid of this, not believing that he was already a disciple of the Lord. The Holy Apostle Barnabas, seeing him and being convinced of his conversion to Christ, rejoiced and, taking him by the hand, led him to the Apostles, and Paul told them how he saw the Lord on the way, and what the Lord said to him, and how he - Paul - in Damascus he preached boldly in the name of Jesus. And the holy Apostles were filled with joy and glorified the Lord Christ. Saint Paul, in Jerusalem, competed with the Jews and Hellenists about the name of the Lord Jesus and proved to them that Jesus is the Christ predicted by the prophets. One day, while standing in church and praying, Paul unexpectedly and involuntarily went into a frenzy and saw the Lord. The Lord told him: “Hurry up and leave Jerusalem quickly, because your testimony about Me will not be accepted here.” Paul said: “Lord, they know that I imprisoned those who believed in You and beat them in the synagogues, and when the blood of Stephen, Your witness, was shed, I stood there, approved of his murder and guarded the clothes of those who beat him.” And the Lord said to him: “Go; I will send you far to the Gentiles” (Acts 22:18-20). After this vision, Saint Paul, although he wanted to stay a few more days in Jerusalem, consoled by the meeting and conversation with the Apostles, but could not: the Jews, with whom he argued about Christ, became enraged and wanted to kill him. Having learned about this, the Jerusalem Christians escorted him to Caesarea and from there they sent him by sea to Tarsus (his homeland), where he stayed for some time, preaching the word of God to his compatriots. |
Having left Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul again came to Antioch. When they had spent some time here in fasting and prayer, in serving the Divine Liturgy and in preaching the Word of God, it pleased the Holy Spirit to send them to the pagans to preach. The Holy Spirit said to the elders in the Antioch assembly: “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2). Then the presbyter, having fasted and prayed and laid his hands on them, sent them away. At the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Paul came to Seleucia and from there sailed to the island of Cyprus (the homeland of the Apostle Barnabas). Here, having been in Salamis, they preached the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews and went through the entire island even to Paphos, where they found a certain Elimus (magician) false prophet of the Jews, named Barijesus, who was with the local proconsul Sergius Paulus, a wise man and, apparently, had influence on him. The proconsul, calling Barnabas and Saul, wished to hear the Word of God from them and listened to their sermons. And Elymas the sorcerer, resisting them, tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Saint Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and fixing his gaze on the sorcerer, said: “O, full of all deceit and all evil, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness! Will you cease to seduce from the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you: you will be blind and will not see the sun until the time comes. And suddenly darkness and darkness fell upon him, and he turned hither and thither, looking for a guide" (Acts 13:10-11). And suddenly darkness and darkness fell upon the sorcerer, and he, turning here and there, looked for a guide. Then the proconsul, seeing what had happened, fully believed, marveling at the teaching of the Lord. Many people believed with him, and the congregation of the faithful increased. Sailing from Paphos, Paul and those who were with him arrived at Perga, which is in Pamphylia, from Perga to Antioch in Pisidia. Here they preached about Christ, and when they had already led many to faith, the envious Jews incited the leading people in the city who were committed to paganism and, with their help, expelled the Apostles of the saints from the city and its environs. The apostles, having shaken off the dust from their feet here, went to Iconium and, staying there for quite some time, boldly preached and led a great multitude of Jews and pagans to faith, not only by preaching, but also by signs and wonders that were performed by their hands; There they also converted the holy virgin Thekla and brought her to Christ. And the unbelieving Jews incited the pagans and their leaders to resist the Apostles and stone them. Having learned about this, the Apostles withdrew to the Lycaonian cities - Lystra and Derbe - and their surroundings.
| While preaching the gospel in Lystra, they healed a certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb and had never walked; In the name of Christ they raised him to his feet, and he immediately stood up and began to walk. The people, seeing this miracle, raised their voices, saying in Lycaonian: “The gods have come to us in human form” (Acts 14:11). And they called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermias, and bringing oxen and bringing wreaths, they wanted to offer sacrifices to the Apostles. But Barnabas and Paul (hearing about this) tore their clothes and, approaching the people, said in a loud voice: “Men, why are you doing this? And we are men like you” (Acts 14:15). And they offered a word to them about the One God, who created heaven, and earth, and the sea, and everything that is in them, and sends rains and fruitful times from heaven, and fills the hearts of people with food and joy. And saying this, they barely convinced the people not to make sacrifices to them. While they were in Lystra and teaching, some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to leave the Apostles, boldly saying that they were not saying anything true, but were all lying, and they incited the gullible to even worse things, for St. Paul , as the main preacher, they stoned him and dragged him out of the city, considering him already dead. He (with the help of the believers), getting up, entered the city again, and the next day withdrew with Barnabas and Derbe. Having preached the Gospel in this city and having acquired quite a number of disciples, they returned through Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples and begging them to continue in the faith. Having ordained them elders for each church, they prayed, observing fasting, and handed them over to the Lord in whom they believed. |
"The Apostle Paul in Lystra." |
Paul, indignant, turned to her and, rebuking the spirit in the name of Jesus Christ, drove him out of her. Then her masters, seeing that the hope of their income was lost, seized Paul and Silas and led them to the leaders of the city, saying: “These people, being Jews, are disturbing our city and preaching customs which we Romans ought neither to accept nor fulfill" (Acts 16:20-21). The commanders, tearing off the clothes of the Apostles, ordered them to be beaten with sticks, and after giving them many blows, they were thrown into prison. Here, about midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying, the prison shook, all its doors were opened, and the bonds were loosened. Seeing this, the prison guard believed in Christ, brought the Apostles to his house, there he washed their wounds, immediately was baptized himself with his entire household and offered them a meal. And the Apostles returned to prison again. The next day, the city leaders came to their senses that they had cruelly punished innocent people, and sent ministers to prison with orders to release the Apostles to freedom - let them go wherever they want. But Paul said to them: “We, Roman citizens, were publicly beaten and thrown into prison without trial, and now they are secretly releasing us? No, let them come and bring us out themselves” (Acts 16:37). And the messengers, returning, retold the words of Paul to the commanders; the commanders were afraid that the prisoners whom they had beaten turned out to be Roman citizens; and having come to them, they begged them to leave the prison and the city. Having left the prison, they first came to the house of Lydia, with whom they had previously lived, and brought joy to the faithful gathered there. Having said goodbye to them, we went to Amphipolis and Apollonia and from there to Thessaloniki. In Thessaloniki, when they had already gained many with the gospel, the envious Jews, having gathered several worthless people, rushed to the house of Jason, where the Apostles of Christ were staying. And not finding the Apostles there, they seized Jason and some brothers and dragged them to the leaders of the city, slandering them as opponents of Caesar, who recognize another king - namely Jesus. And Jason was barely freed from this misfortune. And the holy Apostles, having managed to hide from these hostile people, left Thessaloniki at night and came to Beria; but even there the evil envy of the Jews gave Saint Paul no rest; When the Thessalonica Jews learned that Paul had preached the Word of God in Beria, they came there too, stirring up and disturbing the people and inciting them against Paul. The holy Apostle was forced to leave there too, not out of personal fear of death, but at the insistence of the brethren, that he might save his life for the sake of the salvation of many, and the brethren let him go to the sea. The Apostle left his companions Silas and Timothy in Beria to confirm the converts in the faith, since he knew that the Jews were only looking for his head. He himself boarded the ship and sailed to Athens.
|
"Saint Paul Preaching in Athens" |
In Athens, Paul was troubled in spirit at the sight of the idols that filled that city, and grieved over the destruction of so many souls. He began to interpret in synagogues with the Jews and daily in the squares with the Greeks and their philosophers. The listeners brought him to the Areopagus (that was the name of the place where a public trial was held at the idol temple). They brought him there partly in order to hear something new from him in the former meeting, and partly also (as Saint Chrysostom thinks) in order to bring him to trial, torment and death, if they heard from him anything worthy of execution . Saint Paul, having previously seen some kind of altar in the city, on which was written: “to an unknown god,” began his speech on this matter and began to preach to them the True God, hitherto unknown to them, saying: “This one whom you without knowing, honor what I preach to you" (Acts 17:23). And he began to tell them about God, the Creator of the whole world, and about repentance, and about judgment, and about the resurrection of the dead. |
| And a man in whom there was an evil spirit rushed at them, and having overcome them, he received such power over them that he beat them and wounded them, so that they could barely escape naked from the hand of the demoniac. This became known to all the Jews and Greeks of Ephesus, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was glorified, and many believed in Him. And even of those who practiced sorcery, many, upon accepting the holy faith, collected their magic books, and having counted their prices, they found that they cost 50 thousand drachmas, and they publicly burned all the books. So the word of the Lord grew and became powerful. Paul was preparing to go to Jerusalem and said: “Having been there, I must see Rome” (Acts 19:21). But at this time there was a major rebellion in Ephesus from silversmiths who were making models of the Temple of Artemis. After the rebellion was tamed, Saint Paul, having stayed in Ephesus for 3 years, went to Macedonia, from there he came to Troas, where he stayed for seven days. On the very first day of the week, when the faithful gathered to break bread, Paul had a long conversation with them, since he intended to leave them the next day, and continued it until midnight in an upper room illuminated by many lamps. Among the listeners, one young man, named Eutychus, sitting on the window, fell into a deep sleep and, staggering sleepily, fell down from the third floor (floor), and was raised unconscious. Saint Paul, descending, fell on him and embraced him, saying: “Do not be alarmed, for his soul is in him” (Acts 20:10). |
"Saint Paul's Sermon at Ephesus" |
Hearing this, the centurion came up and reported to the captain, saying:
- Look what you want to do! This man is a Roman citizen.
Then the captain approached Paul and asked:
- Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?
He said:
- Yes.
The commander of a thousand said embarrassedly:
- I acquired this citizenship for a lot of money.
And he immediately freed him from his shackles.
The next day the captain ordered the high priests and the entire Sanhedrin to come and placed Saint Paul before them.
Paul, looking towards the Sanhedrin, said:
- Men, brothers! I have lived with all my good conscience before God until this day (Acts 23:1).
At these words the high priest Ananias ordered those standing before him to strike Paul on the mouth...
Then Paul said to him:
- God will beat you, you whitewashed wall! You sit to judge according to the law, and, contrary to the law, you order me to be beaten (Acts 23:3).
Noticing that in the assembly one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul cried out, saying:
- Men, brothers! I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; I am being judged for hoping for the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6). When he said this, there was a quarrel between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided: for the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees admit both. There was a great cry. The Pharisees said:
“We don’t find anything bad in this man.”
The Sadducees argued the opposite, and the great strife continued.
The commander, fearing that the assembly would tear Paul to pieces, ordered the soldiers to take him from among them and take him to the fortress.
The next night the Lord appeared to Saint Paul and said:
- Go for it, Pavel; for as you testified of Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome (Acts 23:11). As daylight came, some of the embittered Jews held a council and swore not to eat or drink until they killed Paul. And it turned out that there were more than forty souls who cast such a spell. Having learned about this, the commander sent Paul, with a large detachment of armed soldiers, to Caesarea, to the governor Philip. Having heard about this, the high priest Ananias with the oldest members of the Sanhedrin went themselves to Caesarea and slandered the governor against Paul, blasphemed him before the governor and strongly sought his death, but they did not succeed in anything, for no guilt was found in him worthy of death. However, the governor, wanting to please the Jews, left Paul in bonds. Two years have passed. Porcius Festus replaced Philip as ruler. The bishops asked him to send Paul to Jerusalem. And they started this with evil intent: on the road they hoped to kill the Apostle of Christ. And when Festus asked Paul if he wanted to go to Jerusalem to be judged, Paul answered: “I stand before the judgment of Caesar, where I should be judged. I have not offended the Jews in any way, as you well know. For if I am wrong and I have done something worthy of death, then I do not refuse to die; but if there is nothing of which these accuse me, then no one can hand me over to them. I demand the judgment of Caesar" (Acts 25:10-11).
Then Festus, having talked with the advisers, answered Paul:
- You demanded the judgment of Caesar, and you will go to Caesar.
|
"The Apostle Paul explains the dogmas of faith in the presence of King Agrippa, his sister Berenice and the proconsul Festus"
|
A few days later, King Agrippa came to Caesarea to congratulate Festus and, having learned about Paul, wished to see him. And when Paul, having presented himself to King Agrippa and the governor Festus, told them in detail about Christ the Lord and how he believed in Him, King Agrippa said to him: -You're not convincing me to become a Christian. Pavle answered: - I would pray to God that, who knows how much, not only you, but also everyone who listens to me today, would become like me, except for these bonds (Acts 26:29). After these words, the king, the ruler and those who were with them stood up; stepping aside, they consulted among themselves and decided: “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.” Agrippa said to Festus: - It would have been possible to free him if he had not demanded a trial from Caesar. Thus they decided to send Paul to Rome to Caesar and gave him and some other prisoners to the centurion of the royal regiment, named Julius; and he, having received the prisoners and Paul, put them on the ship, and they all set sail. |
- “This will serve to preserve your life, for not a hair of your head will be lost” (Acts 27:36).
Having said this and taking the bread, he thanked God in front of everyone and, breaking it, began to eat. Then everyone took heart and also took food. When day came, they saw land, but did not recognize which side it was, and they directed the ship towards the shore. Approaching it, the ship hit a spit and ran aground; the bow got stuck and remained motionless, and the stern was broken by the force of the waves. The soldiers conferred among themselves to kill all the prisoners so that someone would not swim out and run away; but the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from this intention and ordered those who knew how to swim to be the first to rush and go ashore; and looking at them, others began to swim, some on boards, others on whatever was available from the ship's things, and all came to land healthy and were saved from the sea. Then they learned that this island was called Melitus. Its inhabitants, foreigners, showed them considerable kindness, for, due to the former rain and cold, they lit a fire to warm up those who were wet at sea. Meanwhile, Paul gathered a lot of brushwood and put it on the fire; At this time, the viper, coming out of the heat, hung on his hand. When the foreigners saw the snake hanging on his hand, they said to each other: - It’s true that this man is a murderer when, having escaped from the sea, God’s judgment does not allow him to live. But Paul, having shaken the snake into the fire, suffered no harm. They expected that he would have inflammation, or that he would suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing that no trouble had happened to him, they changed their minds and said that he was God. The ruler of that island, named Publius, took those rescued from the sea into his home and treated them in a friendly manner for three days. At this time his father was lying, suffering from a fever and pain in his stomach. Paul went in to him, prayed to the Lord, and laying his hands on the sick man, healed him. After this event, other sick people on the island came to the holy Apostle and were healed. Three months later, all those who had escaped from the sea with the Apostle sailed from here, on another ship, and sailed to Syracuse, from there to Rigia, then to Puteoli and finally reached Rome. And when the brethren who were in Rome learned about Paul’s arrival, they went out to meet him even as far as Appian Square and three hotels. When Paul saw them, he was comforted in spirit and gave thanks to God. In Rome, the centurion who accompanied the prisoners from Jerusalem handed them over to the military commander, and allowed Paul to live separately with the soldier guarding him. And Paul lived in Rome for two whole years, and received everyone who came to him, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching about our Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness without restraint.
| Hitherto about the life and works of Paul from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, written by Saint Luke; He himself talks about his other labors and sufferings in 2 Corinthians in the following way (in comparison with others, he was): “more in labor, more in wounds, more in prisons and many times at death. From the Jews five times was given to me there were forty blows minus one; three times I was beaten with sticks, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the depths of the sea; I traveled many times" (2 Cor. 11:23-26). Having measured the latitude and longitude of the earth by walking, and the sea by swimming, the Apostle Paul also experienced the height of heaven, being caught up to the third heaven. For the Lord, consoling His Apostle in the painful labors he endured for the sake of His holy name, showed him heavenly bliss, which the eye had never seen, and he heard there ineffable verbs that cannot be retold by man. And the holy Apostle accomplished other feats of his life and activity , narrated by Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, historian of church events. After two years of captivity in Rome, Saint Paul was released as if innocent of anything, and preached the word of God first in Rome and then in other Western countries. And Saint Simeon Metaphrastus writes that after the Roman bonds the Apostle worked for several more years in the gospel of Christ: leaving Rome, he traveled through Spain, Gaul and all of Italy, enlightening the pagans with the light of faith and turning them to Christ from the deception of idols. |
"Apostle Paul in Prison"
|
|
"The Death of the Apostle Paul" Ricci Sebastiano. 1700-1710 |
When Pavlov's honest head was cut off, blood and milk flowed from the wound. The faithful, having taken his holy body, laid it in the same place with Saint Peter. Thus died the chosen vessel of Christ, the teacher of the nations, the world preacher, the witness of heavenly heights and heavenly goodness, the object of wonder of angels and men, the great ascetic and sufferer, who endured the wounds of his Lord on his body, the holy Supreme Apostle Paul, and again, in addition to the body , ascended to the third heaven and appeared before the Trinity Light, together with his friend and collaborator, the holy Supreme Apostle Peter, having passed from the militant church to the triumphant church, with joyful thanksgiving, the voice and exclamation of those celebrating, and now they glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the one God in the Trinity, to whom honor, glory, worship and thanksgiving are sent from us sinners, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. |
Name: Apostle Paul (Saul)
Age: 60 years
Date of death:'67
Activity: christian saint
Family status: wasn't married
Apostle Paul: biography
During the journey, Paul and Barnabas founded Christian communities in the cities of Iconium and Antioch of Pisidia, Athens and Corinth, Thessaloniki and Veria and other settlements. In the city of Lystra, the apostles healed a lame man. The inhabitants, having seen the miracle, proclaimed Paul and Barnabas gods and intended to make sacrifices to them, but the apostles managed to avoid the temptation to become equal to the Lord.
On the contrary, the saints convinced the people that they were just mere mortals. At the same time, Paul received a faithful disciple, Timothy, and the Evangelist Luke joined them in Troas. The saint toured the Balkan Peninsula and Cyprus with sermons, where he converted proconsul Sergius to the faith.
The legend tells that the proconsul served the goddess Venus, but, being an intelligent man, became interested in the teachings that his guest professed. However, the local Jew Variisus, close to Sergius and considered a wizard, prevented this in every possible way. Paul stopped the sorcerer by showing a miracle - Variesus became blind. The amazed proconsul was baptized. From that moment on, in his travel notes, Luke called the apostle Paul.
It is assumed that the Christian convert offered protection to the apostle, which implied taking the name of the patron. However, he was of the opinion that Saul began to be called Paul after he was baptized by Saint Ananias. Evidence of this is the Jewish tradition of marking significant events in life by changing the name.
As follows from Holy Scripture, the Apostle Paul said that he was “entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, as Peter was to the circumcised.” In other words, Peter, a native of Galilee who had difficulty learning foreign languages, preached among the Jews. Paul was faced with the task of bringing the Word of God to other nations living in the Mediterranean region and beyond.
The Apostle Paul writes the Epistle to the Corinthians In his Second Letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul described his ministry as one against the attacks of the Jews. Unlike the other apostles, St. Paul's previous experience allowed him to freely navigate the interpretation of the Torah, and therefore his sermons sounded more convincing and brighter, since he foresaw in advance what objections the Pharisees would raise. With a degree of probability, it is argued that Paul has a high self-esteem as a person who understands Christian issues better than others, who knows “how it should be done.”
When preaching among ordinary people, the apostle often used comparisons, believing that it was easier to convey his thoughts. Thus, sports competitions were held in Corinth, the winner of which received a laurel wreath.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul compared receiving God's reward to a sports field on which is an incorruptible wreath—the crown of eternal life. But only those who pacify their desires and pride, who make efforts and live in self-discipline, like a winner in sports, will receive the reward.
“Strait is the gate that leads to life, and few find it...many are called, but few are chosen.”
St. Paul taught that man has three components—body, spirit, and soul. The body of any person is a temple in which a piece of the Holy Spirit lives. The human spirit is its immaterial part, in contact with the Highest Principle, a symbolic reflection of the Spirit of God. The soul is the main principle of life, encompassing the human mind, abilities and heart. At the same time, mind is not the usual understanding of intellect or reason, but also a manner, a tendency to think, a feeling, an opinion.
Paul used the terms “heart” and “conscience.” The first, in the understanding of the apostle, seems to be the center of a person’s inner life, where spiritual experiences are stored. Conscience acts as an internal judge and law, a moral measure of human actions.
Addressing the listeners of his sermons, the saint called on his fellow believers to leave the old store of knowledge and live according to new laws: not to prioritize personal concerns, to love sincerely, not to take revenge on those who persecute the faith, and to “turn away from evil.”
Death
According to legend, during Paul’s next trip to Jerusalem, the Jewish community set out to kill the apostle. The power of Rome saved the saint from reprisals, but Paul was imprisoned, where he spent two years. The local procurator did not act, and Paul petitioned Caesar for release.
According to the requirements of the judicial system, the Roman citizen was escorted to the Eternal City, where he lived for some time in relative freedom, but under surveillance. During this time, the apostle visited Malta, Ephesus, Macedonia, wrote Epistles to the Philippians, Palestinian Jews, Timothy and Titus, whom he ordained bishops.
Paul then returned to Rome and preached at court, for which he was again imprisoned. After 9 months of imprisonment, the apostle’s head was cut off. The monastery of Abbazia delle Tre Fontane is believed to stand on the site of the saint's execution. And at the burial site, the disciples of St. Paul left a sign, and two hundred years later, Emperor Constantine erected the papal cathedral of San Paolo fuori le Mura on this site.
The Christian Church has established the day of the holy supreme apostles Peter and Paul. In Orthodoxy, the holiday is celebrated on July 12, among Catholics - on June 29. On this day you should not do household chores - you should return from a church service to an already cleaned house. In prayers, Saints Paul and Peter are usually mentioned together; in front of the icon of Saint Paul, it is customary to ask for mental and physical healing, for the granting of strength in a charitable work and the conversion of those of little faith to Christ.
Memory
- 1080 – Capitular Church of Saints Peter and Paul (Prague)
- 1410 –
- 1587-1592 – , “Apostles Peter and Paul”
- 1619 – , “St. Paul”
- 1629 – , “The Apostle Paul in Prison”
- 1708 – St. Paul's Cathedral, London
- 1840 – St. Paul's Cathedral (Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura, Rome)
- 1845 – Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (Moscow)
- 1875 – “The Apostle Paul explains the dogmas of faith to King Agrippa”
- 1887 – St. Paul's Church (Riga)
The Holy Apostle Peter - the elder brother of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called - before his apostolic activity, was a fisherman, had a wife and two children and was called Simon. He was simple, unlearned, poor and God-fearing, as St. John Chrysostom says about him. “You are Simon, son of Jonah; you will be called Cephas, which means “stone” (Peter),” the Lord said so when Andrew brought his brother Peter to Him (John 1:42). And although Peter was immediately inflamed with ardent love for the Lord, the Savior did not immediately call him to apostolic service, but only when his faith and determination became stronger. Soon the Lord Himself visited Peter’s house and with the touch of his hand healed his mother-in-law from a fever (Mark 1:29-31). Of His three chosen disciples, the Lord deigned Saint Peter to be a witness of His Divine glory at Tabor (Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:28-36), His Divine power at the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:41-56) , His Divine prayer vigil in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37-41). The Apostle Peter was so ardently devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ in his ministry that the Lord more often than others allowed him to reveal his human weaknesses, thereby edifying other disciples who had forgotten the words: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ). So, for example, Saint Peter was the only one of the disciples who, having recognized the Lord Jesus Christ walking on the sea, went to meet Him on the water, but, suddenly doubting the Divine help of his Teacher, began to drown, but was saved by the Lord, who reproached him for his lack of faith (Matt. 14:28-31). The Holy Apostle Peter was the only one of the disciples who, when asked by the Lord who they revere Him for, immediately answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). The Apostle Peter was the only one who defended the Lord from those who came to betray the Teacher to suffering and death. He was also the only disciple who, when tempted, denied Christ three times. However, the Lord, having accepted the tearful repentance of His disciple, deigned him to be the first of the apostles to behold the Risen Himself (Luke 24:34). Saint Peter finally erased his threefold renunciation with his threefold confession of love for the Savior (John 21:15-17). The Lord Jesus Christ restored him to apostolic dignity, entrusting him with feeding His verbal sheep.
After the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, who breathed into them the Divine power to live holy and preach, act and rule in the Church, the love of the Apostle Peter for the Lord increased so much that it was not slow to manifest itself in his ardent confession, in miracles performed in the name of Christ, in his joy to endure any sorrows, persecutions and deprivations, in his readiness to accept death on the cross for the Teacher. Persecuted by the Sanhedrin, the Apostle Peter fearlessly and with great boldness preached the Risen Christ in the face of those who crucified Him and forbade preaching about Him (Acts 4:13-20; 5:27-32). The power of the word of the Apostle Peter was so powerful that his short sermon converted thousands of people to Christ (Acts 2:41; 4:4). His confession of faith in Christ was accompanied by miraculous signs. At his word, those convicted of crime gave up the ghost (Acts 5:5-10), and the dead were resurrected (Acts 9:40), the lame began to walk (Acts 3:1-8), the paralytic were healed (Acts 9:32 -34), the sick received grace-filled help even from touching his shadow (Acts 5:15).
Saint Peter was an apostle primarily for the Jews, although during his apostolic labors he also brought pagans to the faith, for which he was persecuted and subjected to repeated imprisonment. During his third stay in prison, he was miraculously released from it by the Angel of the Lord, who opened the prison doors for him, removed the shackles and led him past the sleeping guards (Acts 12: 7-10).
Saint Peter preached the gospel in Samaria and Judea, Galilee and Caesarea, Syria and Antioch, Phenicia and Cappadocia, Galatia and Pontus, Bithynia and Troy, Babylon and Rome, Britain and Greece. In Caesarea in Palestine, Saint Peter was the first of Christ’s disciples to open the doors of faith to the pagans, baptizing the Roman centurion Cornelius and his relatives (Acts 10). Throughout his preaching journey, the holy Apostle Peter ordained the most faithful of his disciples as bishops and presbyters, taught the people the wisdom of God, healed the sick, and cast out unclean spirits from the possessed. In Rome, the last place of his stay, the Apostle Peter, with the holy gospel, multiplied the number of Christians and strengthened them in the faith, defeated enemies and exposed deceivers. According to many testimonies and legends, while in Rome, the holy apostle exposed Simon the Magus, who pretended to be Christ, and converted two concubines of Emperor Nero to the faith of Christ.
There are two known Council Epistles of the Apostle Peter, dating back to the years 63 and 67, respectively. The Apostle exhorts newly converted Christians not to be embarrassed by slander, threats and persecution, calls not to deviate in any way from the purity of Christian life to please the pagans; denounces false prophets and false teachers who abolish all moral principles in view of a falsely understood Christian freedom and deny the Divine Essence of the Savior.
In Rome, the Apostle Peter was foreshadowed by the Lord Himself about his imminent death (2 Peter 1:14). By order of Emperor Nero, who longed to take revenge on the apostle for the death of his friend Simon the Magus and for the conversion of his beloved wives to Christ, the holy Apostle Peter was crucified in the year 67, presumably on June 29. Before his martyrdom, considering himself unworthy to accept the same execution as his beloved Teacher suffered, the Apostle Peter asked his tormentors to crucify him head down, wanting to bow his head to the Lord even during death.
The Holy Apostle Paul came from the tribe of Benjamin, and before his apostolic ministry he was called Saul. He was born in the Cilician city of Tarsus from noble parents and had the rights of Roman citizenship. Saul was brought up with due strictness in the law of his fathers and belonged to the sect of the Pharisees. To continue his education, his parents sent him to Jerusalem to the famous teacher Gamaliel, who was a member of the Sanhedrin. Despite the toleration of his teacher, who subsequently accepted holy baptism (August 2), Saul was a devout Jew who kindled in himself hatred of Christians. He approved the murder of Archdeacon Stephen (+34; commemorated December 27), who, according to some testimonies, was his relative, and even guarded the clothes of those who stoned the holy martyr (Acts 8:3). He forced people to reproach the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 26:11) and even asked the Sanhedrin for permission to persecute Christians wherever they appeared and bring them bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:1-2). One day, it was in the year 34, on the way to Damascus, where Saul was sent with an order from the high priests to hand over the Christians who were hiding there from persecution to torment, the Divine Light, surpassing the radiance of the sun, suddenly shone upon Saul. All the soldiers accompanying him fell to the ground, and he heard a voice saying to him: “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? It’s hard for you to go against the pricks.” Saul asked: "Who are you, Lord?" The voice answered: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But arise and stand on your feet; for for this purpose I have appeared to you, to make you a minister and a witness of what you have seen and what I will reveal to you, when I deliver you from the people of the Jews and from the pagans, to whom I am now sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and through faith in Me receive forgiveness of sins and a lot with those who are sanctified" (Acts 26:13-18). Saul's companions heard the voice, but could not understand the words. Saul was blinded by the shining Divine Light; he saw nothing until his spiritual eyes finally began to see.
In Damascus, he spent three days in fasting and prayer, without eating or drinking. In this city lived one of the 70 disciples of Christ, the holy Apostle Ananias (October 1). The Lord, in a vision, revealed to him everything that had happened to Paul and commanded him to go to the poor blind man, so that, by laying his hands on him, he would restore his sight (Acts 9:10-12). The Apostle Ananias fulfilled the command, and immediately scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he received his sight. Having received holy baptism, Saul was named Paul and became, in the words of St. John Chrysostom, from a wolf to a lamb, from thorns to grapes, from tares to wheat, from an enemy to a friend, from a blasphemer to a theologian. The Holy Apostle Paul began to fervently preach in the synagogues of Damascus that Christ is truly the Son of God. The Jews, who knew him as a persecutor of Christians, now became inflamed with anger and hatred towards him and decided to kill him. However, Christians saved the Apostle Paul: helping him escape from pursuit, they lowered him in a basket from the window of a house adjacent to the city wall.
In the vision that the Apostle Ananias was granted, the Lord called the Apostle Paul “a chosen vessel” called to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ “before the nations and kings and children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Having received instructions from the Lord about the gospel, the Apostle Paul began to preach the faith of Christ among the Jews and especially among the pagans, traveling from country to country and sending out his messages (14 in number), which he wrote on the way and which are still, according to St. John Chrysostom, protect the Universal Church like a wall built of adamant.
Enlightening the nations with the teachings of Christ, the Apostle Paul undertook long journeys. In addition to his repeated stays in Palestine, he visited Phoenicia, Syria, Cappadocia, Galatia, Lycaonia, Pamphylia, Caria, Lycia, Phrygia, Mysia, Lydia, Macedonia, Italy, the islands of Cyprus, Lesbos, Samothrace, Samos, preaching about Christ. Patmos, Rhodes, Melite, Sicily and other lands. The power of his preaching was so great that the Jews could not oppose anything to the power of Paul’s teaching (Acts 9:22); the pagans themselves asked him to preach the word of God and the whole city gathered to listen to him (Acts 13:42-44). The gospel of the Apostle Paul quickly spread everywhere and disarmed everyone (Acts 13:49; 14:1; 17:4, 12; 18:8). His sermons reached the hearts of not only ordinary people, but also learned and noble people (Acts 13:12; 17:34; 18:8). The power of the word of the Apostle Paul was accompanied by miracles: his word healed the sick (Acts 14:10; 16:18), struck a magician blind (Acts 13:11), raised the dead (Acts 20:9-12); even the things of the holy apostle were miraculous - by touching them miraculous healings were performed, and evil spirits left the possessed (Acts 19:12). For his good deeds and fiery preaching, the Lord honored His faithful disciple with admiration to the third heaven. By the own admission of the holy Apostle Paul, he “was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is impossible for a man to utter” (2 Cor. 12:2-4).
In his incessant labors, the Apostle Paul endured innumerable sorrows. In one of his Epistles, he admits that he has been in prison more than once and has been close to death many times. “From the Jews,” he writes, “five times I was given forty blows minus one; three times I was beaten with sticks, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the depths of the sea. Many times I was in danger in the sea. rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from fellow tribesmen, in dangers from pagans, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brethren, in labor and exhaustion, often in vigils, in famine and in thirst, often in fasting, in cold and nakedness (2 Cor. 11:24-27).
The holy Apostle Paul endured all his needs and sorrows with great humility and tears of gratitude (Acts 20:19), for at any time he was ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 21:13). Despite the constant persecution that the Apostle Paul endured, he also experienced great respect for himself from his contemporaries. The pagans, seeing his miracles, gave him great honor (Acts 28:10); the inhabitants of Lystra recognized him as a god for the miraculous healing of a lame man (Acts 14:11-18); the name Pavlov was used by the Jews in spells (Acts 19:13). The believers guarded the Apostle Paul with the greatest zeal (Acts 9, 25, 30; 19, 30; 21, 12); bidding farewell to him, Christians prayed for him with tears and, kissing him, saw him off (Acts 20:37-38); some Corinthian Christians called themselves Paul's (1 Cor. 1:12).
According to some legends, the Apostle Paul helped the Apostle Peter defeat Simon the Magus and convert the two beloved wives of Emperor Nero to Christianity, for which he was condemned to death. Other sources indicate that the reason for the execution of the Apostle Paul was the fact that he converted the chief imperial cupbearer to Christianity. According to some sources, the day of the death of the Apostle Paul coincides with the day of the death of the Apostle Peter, according to others, it occurred exactly one year after the crucifixion of the Apostle Peter. As a Roman citizen, the Apostle Paul was beheaded by the sword.
The veneration of the holy apostles Peter and Paul began immediately after their execution. The place of their burial was sacred to the early Christians. In the 4th century, Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine the Great (+337; commemorated May 21) erected churches in honor of the holy supreme apostles in Rome and Constantinople. Their joint celebration - on June 29 - was so widespread that the famous church writer of the 4th century, St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (+397; commemorated on December 7), wrote: "...their celebration cannot be hidden in any part of the world." Saint John Chrysostom, in a conversation on the day of remembrance of the apostles Peter and Paul, said: “What is greater than Peter! What is equal to Paul in deed and word! They surpassed all nature, earthly and heavenly. Bound by body, they became superior to the angels... Peter is the leader of the apostles, Paul - teacher of the universe and partaker of the heavenly powers. Peter - the bridle of the lawless Jews, Paul - the caller of the pagans; and consider the highest wisdom of the Lord. Who chose Peter from the fishermen, Paul from the tabernacles. Peter - the beginning of Orthodoxy, the great clergyman of the Church, the necessary adviser of Christians, the treasury gifts above, the chosen apostle of the Lord; Paul - the great preacher of Truth, the glory of the universe, soaring on high, the spiritual lyre, the organ of the Lord, the vigilant helmsman of Christ's Church."
Celebrating on this day the memory of the supreme apostles, the Orthodox Church glorifies the spiritual firmness of Saint Peter and the mind of Saint Paul, glorifies in them the image of the conversion of those who sin and those who are corrected: in the Apostle Peter - the image of one who rejected the Lord and repented, in the Apostle Paul - the image of one who resisted the preaching of the Lord and then believer.
In the Russian Church, the veneration of the apostles Peter and Paul began after the Baptism of Rus'. According to church tradition, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir (+1015; commemorated July 15) brought from Korsun an icon of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, which was subsequently presented as a gift to the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral. In the same cathedral, frescoes from the 11th century depicting the Apostle Peter are still preserved. In the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral, wall paintings depicting the apostles Peter and Paul date back to the 11th-12th centuries. The first monastery in honor of the holy apostles Peter and Paul was erected in Novgorod on Sinichaya Mountain in 1185. Around the same time, the construction of the Petrovsky Monastery in Rostovo began. The Peter and Paul Monastery existed in the 13th century in Bryansk.
The names of the apostles Peter and Paul, received at holy baptism, are especially common in Russia. Many saints of Ancient Rus' bore these names. The great-grandson of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the holy noble prince Yaropolk of Vladimir-Volynsky, in holy baptism bore the name Peter (+1086; commemorated November 22). This holy prince erected a temple in Kyiv in the name of the holy Apostle Peter (11th century). On August 28, the Russian Church celebrates the memory of St. Paul the Obedient of Kiev-Pechersk (+XIII); June 30 of St. Peter, Tsarevich of Horde and Rostov (+1290); January 10 - St. Paul of Komel, Obnorsky (+1429); December 21 - St. Peter, Wonderworker of Moscow and All Russia (+1326).
