The two chief apostles of the Church are, to paraphrase one of the hymns of the day, the two wings upon which the Gospel of Christ is carried throughout the world. The complementarity of the chief apostles’ ministry is apparent in the very structure of the Book of Acts. The earliest part of the book is centered on St. Peter and the disciples who knew Christ in the days of his flesh. Then, St. Paul, after making his first appearance in the first verse of chapter 8, becomes the sole focus of the narrative from chapter 11 onward. There is no Church without Peter; there is also no Church without Paul. They are the two swords that, in the words of Our Lord, are “enough.” We should neither exaggerate nor downplay the Petrine or Pauline aspect of Christianity; we should exalt both, and hold them in balance and harmony.
Home / Work of the Church / Reflections in Christ / Metropolitan Tikhon /