“Who can separate me from Christ’s love?” ( Romans 8:35)
Priest Habtamu Teshome
July 11, 2023
The light of the world who spoke this word is Saint Paul. It is a verse that explains that if one loves God with absolute faith, even if he is hungry, thirsty, imprisoned, beaten, imprisoned or killed, nothing can separate him from the love of God. Hamele 5 (July 12) is commemorated in memory of Saint Paul and Saint Peter who were martyred by the Roman King Nero for their religion. Every year on the 5th of this month, Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s holiday is celebrated on the same day. The histories of these Saints are also briefly described in order. “Who can separate me from Christ’s love?” (Romans 8:35)
Saint Peter is from the family of Reuben, who traded with his father, and Simon, who traded with his mother. He was born in Bethsaida, Galilee. His mother and father called him ‘Simon’. Our Lord, our God and our Savior Jesus called him ‘Peter’; It means rock (foundation). The Apostle Saint Peter and his brother Andrew were fishing in a village called Gennesaret on the Sea of Galilee. Saint Peter was employed as a fisherman, and our Lord called him to be an apostle in order to bring people back to the Christian life by casting people with the gospel net (Luke 5:10; Mark 1:16).
The Apostle Saint Peter was born in Bethesda on the Sea of Galilee. From the age of five he grew up in the city of Capernaum. When he was a teenager, he started fishing in the Sea of Galilee with his brother Andrew. When Saint Peter was called to be an apostle, he was living by fishing. When Saint Peter was called to be an apostle, he abandoned his net and canoe and his father and followed his Lord.
Saint Peter was appointed as the chief of the apostles. From the time he was called to ministry, he preached the gospel in Asia, Rome, Samaria, Belda, Joppa, Antioch, Galatia and other countries. Because of his preaching, he received various sufferings. His creed in the power of Christ, he raised Tabitha from the dead in the name of Christ. This is one of his wonderful miracles (Acts 9:36). Because of the abundance of grace given, the sick were healed by its shadow (Acts 5:15). In addition to the teachings he taught orally, the apostle wrote two epistles recorded in the Bible under his name (1st and 2nd Peter).
The Martyrdom of Saint Peter
During the earthly ministry of Saint Peter, the king of Rome, who was an enemy of Christians, marched to Achaia and returned to Rome with joy to please his nobles. In order to honor the idols, he announced the death sentence on Saint Peter and other Christians. When Saint Peter was teaching in Rome, he changed his armor so that the Roman nobles would not kill him, and when he left Rome, our Lord carrying a cross was revealed to him.
Our Lord said, “I am going to Rome to be crucified again.” “You will upload again When he said, “It’s time when you’re afraid.”
At that time, “Young man When you were there, you would gird your loins and go where you liked. When you judge, you raise your hand. Someone else will arm you. He will take you where you don’t like him” (John 21:18). He remembered that it was referring to his death. He returned to Rome and continued his sermon. Because Saint Peter was not a Roman citizen, he was sentenced to flogging, imprisonment and death. According to their custom, when they were going to hang Saint Peter after whipping him, they said to the soldiers, “Don’t stand as a king of honor like my Lord Jesus Christ, hang me and crucify me.”
While on the cross, he gave his life to God after commanding his followers to be steadfast in their religion. And his disciple, named Michael, anointed his body with perfume, wrapped it in white silk, and buried it with honor in the place called the Vatican today.
Saint Paul’s ancient name was called Saul. Saint Paul, the apostle, entered the Gamaleya school at the age of 15 and learned Jewish law and order. He became a member of the Jewish Council at the age of 30. /1Cor.1.17; Acts.22.3/. He learned the Torah and the books of the prophets from Gamaliel, a scholar of the Torah. Being zealous for his orthodox faith, he opposed Christians at every opportunity. At the age of 32, when he heard that there were many Christians in the city of Damascus, which is two hundred and twenty-three kilometers north of Jerusalem; He obtained a letter of permission from the authorities to persecute the Christians.
Because he was zealous for the Torah, he persecuted all the followers of Christ. When St. Stephen was stoned and died as a martyr, Saint Paul was the guardian of the murderers’ clothes (Acts 7:58; 22:20). When he went to Damascus to persecute Christians, he was called to be an apostle from the road (Acts 9:1-31; 22:1-21). From the time he was called to be an apostle, he traveled all over the world preaching the gospel and convinced many in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. When he preached, he pretended to be an idol worshiper, a sick person, a needy person, a heathen and a Jew, and he taught many people and prepared them for the kingdom of God (1st Cor. 9:19-23). Arabia, Antioch, Ilwarikon, Lycaonia, Syria, Greece and Lystra are some of the countries where he taught.
Because of preaching the gospel, he suffered a lot from Jews and pagans. Saint Paul performed many wonders and miracles with the grace given by God. The sick were healed by the washing of his clothes (Acts 19:11). Apart from what the apostle taught orally, there are 14 messages recorded in the Bible under his name.
Martyrdom of Saint Paul
When he was about to perform his service, Roman King Nero Caesar realized that the increasing number of Christians was due to being attracted by the teaching of Saint Paul. Instead, he was angry that even the people of the palace were attracted to Saint Paul and brought Saint Paul to the court.
Saint Paul, holding the cross with the chain in his right hand, was not afraid of the king and the soldiers, and he testified to the son’s hip of God and the divine authority of Jesus Christ. The king just sentenced him to die in anger. As mentioned above, when the Romans sentenced the person to death, if the person to be punished was a citizen of another country, they would punish him and kill him in addition to the sentence. But because Saint Paul was a Roman citizen, they decided to put him to death with a sword without flogging. When they took him to the place where he was going to be killed, he did not show any fear in his speech and comments. In fact, he was happy like a soldier who had won a war and returned home. He would beg for forgiveness for those he killed.
In front of the killers and his followers, he was hastening to receive the crown of righteousness that God would give him while teaching him that the reward of Christianity is the Kingdom of God (2nd Cor. 4:6-18). When the soldiers were taking him to kill him, he accepted the robe of a girl belonging to King Nero, saying, “I will return it to you today.” He said, “I have fought the good fight; I finished my run. I have kept my religion. In the future, a crown of righteousness has been prepared for me,” as he himself said in his message (2 Tim. 4:7-8), he covered his face with a young man’s cloak and cut his head with a sword and performed his service as a martyr.
If the disciples put his head to his neck, he would be safe as before and buried him with honor. When the swordsman returned to the king to tell him that he had killed Saint Paul, the girl who had given him her cloak said, “Where is Paul?” He said to her, “He fell with his head cut off and covered with your cloak.” Behold, Peter and Paul passed by me. And they are dressed in royal clothes. And they made crowns on their heads adorned with pearls. They also gave me my cloak. This one is here. Look at her” he gave them. And she showed them to those who were with him.
They saw and were amazed. Therefore, they believed in our Lord Jesus Christ. Saints Peter and Saint Paul are called “light of the world” because they highlighted the dark world with their evangelism service. The services of the saints, their deaths and miracles are widely written in the book Synaxarium, Chronicles of Apostol’s and Hagiography of Apostles. We also briefly presented their stories to commemorate their holiday.
So dear brethren, let us preserve the teachings of the Church that the holy apostles kept for us, to live steadfastly in Christian manners.
Let the prayers of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul help us to inherit the kingdom of God., Amen!
Source:
- Hagiography of Apostles, Chronicles of Apostles;
- Book of Synaxarium, July 12;