Greetings in that Divine and Most Precious Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
And then he passed on to the city of Rome, and he preached therein and performed many signs and wonders, and he conquered Simon, the magician, who had resisted him, and he cast him down from his rule over the souls of men. And at this miracle many men believed, and the concubines of ‘Akrepos, the legate of the city, believed through him, and preserved [their] purity, and many women withdrew from their husbands. And because of this the people took counsel to kill him, and the wife of Altabius, a friend of the king, sent a message to Saint Peter advising him to go forth from the city of Rome, and the believing brethren likewise told him to do this, and he went forth from the city alone, and he disguised himself so that no one might know him. And he found our Lord coming into the city in the form in which he had first known Him, and he bowed low before Him, and said unto Him, “Whither goest thou, [my] Lord?” And He said unto him, “To Rome, that I may be crucified.” And Saint Peter said unto Him, “Lord, wilt Thou be crucified a second time?” And Saint Peter remembered that He had said unto him, “When thou art grown up, another shall gird thee and take thee whither thou wouldst not go.” And straightway he returned to the city, and told the brethren everything, which had taken place between our Lord Christ [and himself], and they were very sad. And when the Emperor Nero heard the report of him, he seized him and commanded the soldiers to crucify him. And Peter begged and entreated that they would crucify him head downwards, saying, “My Lord Jesus Christ was crucified standing upright, and it is meet for me to be crucified head downwards.” And when they crucified him he spoke unto the believers the word of life, and he strengthened them in the True Faith, and after this he delivered up his soul into the hand of God. Salutation to thee, O Peter.
Ethiopian Synaxarium
Blessings on this day of our fathers Peter and Paul!!
At our parish we had the rare occasion of celebrating the Divine Liturgy this day. The past few years we have not, and so its been kind of weird, the that Apostles' Fast has been the only lengthy fasting period which has ended anti-climatically without the celebration of a Divine Liturgy such as with Lent of the Prophet's Fast before Christmas. Just one day you are fasting, and the next morning eating meat. Its just a weird transition. However, this year we were blessed to celebrate the Liturgy and it was beautiful!
stay blessed,
habte selassie
