The Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter And Paul at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
On Wednesday, June 29 / July 12, 2023, the feast of the Holy Glorious and Chiefs of the Apostles Peter and Paul was celebrated by the Patriarchate.
On this feast, the Church honours the Apostle Peter, remembering that he heard the call of the Lord at the Sea of Tiberias and followed Him after his brother Andrew and confessed Him saying: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16,16) and denied Him, but he repented and proclaimed Him to the gathered multitudes on the day of Pentecost and in Judea, Antioch and finally in Rome, where he died by death on the cross.
The Church also honours the apostle Paul, a former persecutor, but enlightened on his march to Damascus and called to the apostolic office and preaching Christ and labouring for all others through Christ and being able to say: ” I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20) and wrote his 14 letters and ascended to the third heaven.
The feast of the honour of the two Chiefs of the Apostles was celebrated in the Holy Church in Capernaum by the sea, founded by the late Patriarch Damianos of Jerusalem in 1931.
The Divine Liturgy was officiated by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem., along with their Eminences, the Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth, and the Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Archimandrite Sillas and Priests from the Galilee district, Archdeacon Mark and Hierodeacon Dositheos. The chanting was delivered by His Eminence Archbishop Aristovoulos of Madaba with the choir of Beer Sheva in Greek, Russian, Arabic and Romanian, and by the Acre Byzantine choir, without Fr Philotheos. The service was attended by many faithful Christians, Greeks, Russians from Galilee and others.
His Beatitude delivered the following Sermon to this congregation:
“Let us all praise with sacred hymns Peter and Paul the men of God, the foremost of the Apostles and the bright lights of the whole world; the preachers of the holy Faith, the trumpets of theology, revealers of divine decrees, the pillars of the august Church and the destroyers of error” (Matins, Exaposteilarion), the hymnographer of the Church proclaims.
Beloved brethren in Christ,
Reverend Christians and Pilgrims
The most sacred grace of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul has gathered us all in this holy place of the biblical seaside town of Capernaum to celebrate their commemoration…
This news were originally published on the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem official website, Click here to read more.
