The Death of St. #Peter and St. P#aul
Dear members of John's Repentance spiritual service, today we comemorate the death of St. Peter and St. Paul. Accordingly, we have prepared a lesson for you to read and participate in the blessings, so we entrust you to read and apply the learnings to your life.
St. Peter, the chief of the apostles, was a simple fisherman hailing from Bete Saida. It was on the day after His baptism that our Lord encountered him and chose him to be His disciple. Prior to that, Peter's brother, Andrew, had been the first to join Jesus. Peter displayed exceptional faith, recognizing Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, when others were unsure of His identity. Jesus, in turn, praised Peter, declaring him the recipient of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Empowered by the comforting grace of the Holy Spirit, St. Peter fearlessly ventured into the world, confronting the metaphorical wolves of this world through his preaching. Alongside innumerable miracles performed by his hands, Peter penned three invaluable epistles and collaborated with St. Mark in the translation and writing of the Gospel. His journey eventually led him to the city of Rome, where a significant event unfolded.
In the great playground of Rome, where nobles congregated, St. Peter addressed the people, and astonishingly, four stone pillars present there resounded with a thunderous "Amen." This miraculous occurrence left those who witnessed it in awe and inspired great reverence. Furthermore, a man who had been tormented by a demon for seventy years experienced liberation upon hearing the word proclaimed by those stones. Stirred by this supernatural intervention, a nobleman named Kewstos and his wife, Acrosia, embraced the teachings of St. Peter regarding renunciation of worldly possessions and compassionate care for the poor.
Impressed by their example, they distributed their wealth among the needy, reserving only their daily sustenance. Subsequently, Kewstos received a summons from the king, which caused anxiety due to their depleted funds. Acrosia, however, encouraged him to proceed, assuring him of God's providence. True to her words, Kewstos embarked on the journey and encountered numerous blessings along the way. The king received him with joy and honor, proving the divine favor that accompanies faithful commitment.
Tragedy struck Kewstos and Acrosia's household upon their return, as their two children were found lifeless, having consumed poisoned water. Concealing this devastating news from her husband, Acrosia resorted to various excuses. Yet, through the intercession of St. Peter and the power of his teachings, a heavenly voice proclaimed that the children would be granted new life due to their acceptance of Peter's words. As promised, the resurrected children became fervent adherents to the teachings of St. Peter. One of them, named Clement, revealed extraordinary visions granted to St. Peter after the Lord's ascension.
In these visions, St. Peter beheld the glorious presence of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. A cloud, resembling an arrow, bore a luminous tent wherein the Holy Virgin sat, surrounded by angels and archangels brandishing flaming spears and swords. St. Peter received divine revelations, understanding the Virgin Mary as the vine and her womb as the pure hall that bore the Lamb of God. The secrets and mysteries unveiled in these visions were impossible for St. Clement to have known otherwise, attesting to their divine authenticity.
About the #Holy #Trinity
Beloved members of John's Repentance service, today is the yearly feast the Holy Trinity. It is a very celebted day in our Church and so we send you this writing so that you may read and partake form the Holy Trinity's blessings.
The Holy Trinity - a profound mystery, one that confounds the human mind and yet, stands as a beacon of divine revelation. The Trinity, the triune God, is a singular essence manifested in three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This, however, should not be confined within the human concept of numbers. The unity is not merely numerical, but a unity of divine essence, an unity of character. The three, then, surpasses the boundaries of numerics to suggest a unique trinity, a unique interconnectedness and interdependence.
God is beyond the comprehension of human mind, beyond the law of numbers. Thus, it is imperative that God Himself reveals the mystery of the Holy Trinity to His creation. The grand revelation - the incarnation of God - stands as a testament to this mystery. It is through the Son of God, Christ, becoming flesh that the eternal Fatherhood and Sonship become recognizable. It is during the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist that the world comes to acknowledge Christ as the eternal Son of God the Father.
The teachings of Christ post His baptism unraveled the divine nature of God the Father. These teachings, in combination with the moral life led by Christ, exhibited the coequality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son. This divine revelation, in the body of Christ, was then passed on to the church, His body on earth. Christ informed us about God the Father, and the church, in her liturgical prayers, affirms this revelation.
The Holy Spirit, a purifying and glorifying life, is the life of the Father and the Son. He is the God who lives within the Father and the Son. During the baptism of Christ, He descended in the form of a dove, teaching us to be baptized in the Holy Spirit as per the Gospel of Matthew (28:19).
The apostle St. John begins his Gospel by affirming the eternal existence of the Word, indicating its unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit - the divine Trinity. He asserts that the Word was first, suggesting the preeminence of the Word, thereby allowing the fathers of the church to interpret the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament. As such, the Old Testament is understood as foretelling the New Testament - the incarnation of the Son, who revealed to us His Father, and the Trinity.
When Christ queried His disciples about His identity, Saint Peter responded, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16). Christ then affirms that this knowledge comes from His Father, and blessed Peter for his testimony. This affirmation from Peter not only confirmed the identity of Christ, but also subtly illuminated the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Peter's words imply that Christ is the living Son of God, sustained by the life of the Holy Spirit - thereby acknowledging the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The essence of this revelation goes further to highlight the mystery of the Incarnation. Christ, who came in the flesh, was the awaited Messiah as prophesied by the prophets. Thus, St. Peter, through divine revelation, testified to the mystery of the Trinity and the Incarnation in one breath.
This revelation of the unity and trinity of God is evident in His creation and His salvation of the world. The Old Testament foretells God's plan for the salvation of the world, and the Gospel of John reveals the Trinity's involvement in the creation and salvation of the world. It is the same Trinity, who created the world from non-existence, that also saves the world with their unified power when it falls due to wrongdoing. Thus, we come to understand the divine interaction between the Creator and the creation as revealed in the Scriptures. The Trinity's nature, revealed in the eternal life, is also manifest in the salvation of this world.
(Corninies) š