July 2017 Letter
Dear brethren,
This month we celebrate the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul, and here we list a comparison between both apostles that was written by H.H. Pope Shenouda:
| St. Peter |
St. Paul |
| + Was assigned to serve the Jews (the circumcised). | + Was assigned to serve the gentiles (uncircumcised). |
| + Preached in Jerusalem, Antioch, Judea, Samaria, and “pilgrims of the Dispersion” (1 Pet 1: 1). | + Preached in Cyprus, Asia Minor, some cities in Greece, and reached to Rome to the west. |
| + Because he was concerned with preaching to the Jews, he used verses from the Old Testament and Psalms in his sermons and epistles. | + We don’t see this feature clear in his epistles, with the exception of his epistles to the Hebrews. |
| + Was one of the twelve disciples, and thus he saw Christ during the time of His incarnation till His ascension. | + Was not of the 12 disciples or 70 apostles, so he knew Christ later on and saw Him in visions. |
| + Was a simple fisherman. | + Was a philosopher. |
| + Raised a Christian disciple named Tabitha from death (Acts 9: 36-40). | + Raised a young man named Eutychus from death (Acts 20: 9-12). |
| + He did many miracles “that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them” (Acts 5: 15). | + Was written about him in the book of Acts: “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul. so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19: 11-12). |
| + Was married. | + Never married. |
| + But both were similar in that their lives ended by martyrdom in the year 67 AD, during the reigning of Emperor Nero. | |
May the blessing of St. Mary, the Holy Apostles and St. Mercurius and all the martyrs & saints be with us all.
Belleville, July 1, 2017
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