My Name Sake...St Peter

St Peter Simon Peter or Cephas

The first Pope, Prince of the Apostles, and founder, with St. Paul, of The See of Rome.

Feast Day 29^th of June

Simon was born in Bethsaida in 1 BC a son to Jonah and brother to Andrew, (Jesus first Disciple) who introduced Peter to The Messiah, and like his brother was a Fisherman on Lake Genesareth.

When Simon met Jesus he was living with his wife and Mother in Law who Jesus Healed after the Sermon on The Mount and The Miracle of The curing the son of the centurion

29 And immediately going out of the synagogue they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 And Simon's wife's mother lay in a fit of a fever: and forthwith they tell him of her. 31 And coming to her, he lifted her up, taking her by the hand; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

(Mark1:29-30)

On meeting with Jesus, Peter accompanied him throughout Galilee attending The Wedding in Cana and therefore one of The Disciples who witnessed Jesus’ first miracle

Eventually becoming one of Christ’s Disciples

16 And passing by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother, casting nets into the sea for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them: Come after me; and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18 And immediately leaving their nets, they followed him.

(Mark 1: 16-18)

Simon Peter and His role as a Disciple within The Gospels.

"little faith"

²⁹   Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Matthew 14:29-31

²³Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Matthew 16

Jesus calls Simon Peter and according to some theologians names him as head of The Church

¹⁵He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

¹⁶And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

¹⁷And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

¹⁸And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

¹⁹And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

²⁰Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

Matthew 16:15-20

It may be interesting to note at this point two foods for thought

1)      The Eastern Orthodox Church see this passage of Scripture as Peter's position as representative of the Apostles. The word used for "rock" refers to "a small detachment of the massive ledge” not to a massive boulder. Thus, Orthodox Sacred Tradition understands Jesus' words as referring to the Apostolic Faith.

2)      The Name Simon means to listen...the name Peter means Rock...I have to wonder whether it was something to do with Peter’s personality that Jesus called Peter The Rock...was it a joke because he was a little bit stubborn from time to time...who knows???

Peter also played a prominent part in The events that would lead up to Jesus’ eventual trial, execution and resurrection

Again in The Gospels, and at The Last Supper, Peter initally refused to allow Jesus to wash his feet but when Jesus responded:

 "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me", Peter replied: "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head".

John 13:9

When Jesus was arrested one of his companions cut off the ear of a servant of the High Priest.^[18] The Gospel of John names Peter as the swordsman and Malchus as the victim.

During the Last Supper, Jesus stated that Peter would deny him three times before the following cockcrow.

Peter’s first denial when a female servant of the high priest spots Simon Peter, saying that he had been with Jesus

Peter’s second denial was when he had gone out to the gateway, away from the firelight, where a servant told the bystanders he was a follower of Jesus.

The Third denial came when Peter's Galilean accent was taken as proof that he was indeed a disciple of Jesus.

And apart from The Women and John Jesus Beloved Disciple, Peter is the only Disciple to check for himself and witness the empty tomb,

Peter’s Role within the early church

Luke the author of The Acts of The Apostles places Peter as an extremely important figure within the early Christian community, Peter delivered open-air sermon during Pentecost.

According to the same book, Peter also took the lead in selecting a replacement for Judas Iscariot.

About halfway through, the Acts of the Apostles turns its attention away from Peter and to the activities of Paul, and the Bible is fairly silent on what occurred to Peter afterwards.

his later work and mission took him to work to establishing the church of Antioch and preaching to scattered communities of believers. Eventually Peter went to Rome.

With The Western Catholic Tradition, Peter is said to have founded the church in Rome (and although they didnt really seem to get on for in an incident in Antioch Paul rebuked Peter for treating Gentile converts as inferior to Jewish Christian. And at the council of Jerusalem (c. 50), where Peter was successful in opposing the Christian Pharisees who insisted on circumcision and the rest of the Mosaic law) alongside with St Paul

And it is claimed that he held the Sacerdotal Chair for 25 years.

As with his brother, at the hand of Nero, Peter is said to have been put to death by Crucifixon.

St Peter’s Role Today

Many People of Faith visit and pray before the Tomb of St. Peter

Peter’s as with all The Apostle’s legacy for the Church is stemmed from The Great Commission to The Disciples,

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Matthew 28:18-20

The Great Commission is the end of a Gospel and yet the beginning of faith in action for all Christians. As Christian’s we all have a responsibility to show love to our neighbour, help the poor and heal the sick. As with St Peter and St Andrew (Jesus’ first disciple brother of Peter) and founders of The Roman and Eastern Catholic Church we build a life of Faith within our hearts proclaiming the Good News of Christ, where we may all be able to witness for a better life working and ministering both lay and ordained within that which is called the Kingdom of God

The Apostle Philip

St Philip

The 5^th Disciple of Christ

Feast Day

The Roman Church 3^rd of May

Anglican Church 1^st of May

The Eastern Orthodox Church November 14^th

Philip was also born in Bethsaida, and was probably a friend to Andrew and Peter

Not much is known about Philip’s early life, only that when Andrew and Peter introduced Philip to Jesus he was a married man with several daughters, one of whom was married. However on seeing The Messiah he left his family behind and followed him

Philip was the Apostle approached by the Hellenistic Jews from Bethsaida to introduce them to Jesus. Just before the Passion,

Philip was portrayed as the Disciple who at the last supper asked Jesus about The Father

Which gave Jesus the chance to preach to his disciples about the unity between The Father and The Son.

He also introduced The Disciple Nathaniel (Bartholomew) to Jesus

Beyond his listing among the Apostles awaiting the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. According to tradition he preached in Greece and was crucified upside down at Hierapolis under Emperor Domitian.

Freedom of Religon

A message to all independent and free thinking believers - we have a moral and constitutional right to exercise our faith, a spiritual birthright that hasn't been destroyed in this country, some people need to be reminded!

http://www.abouthumanrights.co.uk/religious-freedom--right-believe-what-you-want.html

St Andrew First Disciple of Christ

St Andrew

Feast Day 30^th of November

First Disciple of Christ

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah." And he brought him to Jesus. (John 1:40-42)

Being Christ’s first disciple, Andrew’s Feast Day is centred around Advent Sunday, making him the first Saint to be celebrated in The Christian Calendar every year

Patron Saint of Scotland and Russia and fishermen.  

I find it quite amazing that the 1^st Apostle’s life I have the opportunity of sharing with you has played a very significant role within my life.

The First Church that I ever attended as a baby in arms was dedicated to St Andrew (pictured Below)

The first Hospital I ever worked in was St Andrew’s Hospital in Northampton (Pictured below) Which incidentally was built on the former site of St Andrew’s Priory in Northampton

So who was this guy who played so much a part of my life?

Andrew a Greek Name which means Manly, and popular within The Jewish Community between the second and third Century BC, was a born in Bethsaida Galilee (Which simply means Place of Fishing)

Between 5AD-10AD, son of Jona and Joanna, brother of Simon Peter and Jona. He would have been educated at synagogue school, and studied The Hebrew Scriptures, Astrology and Arithmetic.

Eventually Andrew became a fisherman, alongside his Business Partner Zebedee his Brother Simon Peter and Zebedee’s sons James and John

He was originally a disciple of John The Baptist who’s testimony on seeing Jesus ‘Behold The Lamb of God’ lead Andrew and John The Evangelist to become Christ’s first disciple.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John The Baptist had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

John 1:40-42

It was also Andrew who brought the boy to Jesus instituting the Miracle of The feeding of the 5000

One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him:  "There is a boy here that has five barley loaves and two fishes. But what are these among so many?"

 John 6:8-9

He is considered to be the founder of The See of The Byzantine Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople regard Andrew as Their Patron Saint (His Brother Peter was the founder of The See of The Roman Catholic Church)

His preaching Ministry took him to Asia Minor and along the Black Sea to Volga and Kiev.

Andrew was Martyred during the reign of Nero by Crucifixion in Patras Greece. Like his brother Andrew chose not to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus, so he was tied to his Cross by rope, not nailed, and left to hang there for several days, where he continued to preach until he eventually died on 30^th of November AD60.