As the "Chronicle of Church Events" narrates, in the 31st summer from the birth of Christ, the Savior chose twelve most worthy men among the most solid adherents of the new faith. Including Peter, whom he made his apostle. At that time, this word meant: "a messenger who is to carry out a certain commission." The church honors the memory of St. Peter on 12 July.
In the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul speaks of the division of the apostolic labors, namely, that he was entrusted with the gospel of the word of God primarily among the uncircumcised, that is, the Gentiles, and the Apostle Peter among the circumcised, that is, the Jews, which was much more difficult, for it was easier to convert than to persuade. However, in the future, this distinction was not strictly observed by the apostles Peter and Paul.
Even before the beginning of the sufferings of the Cross, Jesus Christ repeatedly spoke to his disciples about the forthcoming sending of another teacher - the Holy Spirit. Resurrected on the third day, he appeared to the apostles for 40 days and repeated this. And before ascending to heaven, he commanded the holy fathers not to leave Jerusalem until they were clothed with Divine power.
The apostles fulfilled the commandment of Christ by spending time in prayer. One day early in the morning, they gathered together for prayer. The Virgin Mary was with them. At nine o'clock, a noise was heard from the sky, as if from a strong wind. He filled the whole house with a roar, where the apostles were. And then tongues of fire appeared to them and touched each of them: this was a sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit. And the apostles suddenly seemed to be transformed: their souls were enlightened, all the words of the Lord were remembered by them with complete clarity and presented in a new, true meaning. They gained vigor, courage and readiness to preach the holy faith, and if necessary, lay down their lives for it.
At the same time, to help in the preaching of the Christian faith, the apostles received extraordinary abilities that they did not previously have, in particular the gift of tongues. And this gift, sent down from above, was not slow to manifest.
The Jewish holiday of Pentecost fell on that day. Therefore, Jews and proselytes from different countries gathered in Jerusalem, that is, pagans converted to the Jewish faith. Many heard a thunderous roar from the house where the apostles were, and out of curiosity crowded around it. Suddenly, several people came out, in whom it was easy to recognize Christians by their clothes, and began to preach in different languages, as if they had gathered from all over the world.
“They have drunk sweet wine and are weaving,” they began to laugh at them in the crowd.
Then the apostle Peter stepped forward:
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“Men of the Jews and all who are in Jerusalem, listen to my words,” he called and continued: “The one in whom we have believed has given us this. You, evil and foolish, killed Jesus. But his tomb is empty, because Jesus Christ is the Messiah and our Savior. God raised him up and lifted him up to heaven. He is now our Lord.
Peter's sermon was imbued with such unusual power that many listeners were moved by their hearts and asked him:
- What do we do?
“Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,” the apostle replied.
And many of those who were in Jerusalem that day were baptized, and their number reached three thousand.
Soon after the feast of Pentecost, the apostles Peter and John came to the Jerusalem temple.
A beggar was constantly sitting near its gate, who from birth had not been supported by his legs. He extended his hand to the apostles, begging for alms.
- I have no silver and gold. But what I have, I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk,”Peter said to him and, taking him by his right hand, raised him to his feet. And then a miracle happened: an unknown force suddenly filled the knees, muscles and feet of the cripple, and he went. Not believing himself, the beggar walked up and down, then fell on his knees and prayed, thanking the Lord, and again walked and galloped like a boy.
Meanwhile, word of the miracle performed by the apostle spread throughout the city. Many people came running to the temple. And then Peter delivered a second sermon on the risen Lord and converted five thousand more people to his faith. This was the beginning of the Christian church among the Jews and proselytes in Jerusalem.
The great success of the Christian preacher aroused the vicious envy of the Pharisees, which means “the chosen ones,” who zealously defended the ancient Jewish laws, often invented by themselves. And it was ordered to take the apostles Peter and John into custody, in order to then secretly kill them. But the respected teacher of the law Gamaliel stopped the planned murder, publicly declaring: “The whole city knows yesterday's cripple, who was motionless like a stone by the road, and now runs and jumps. If this is a miracle from a person, then it will collapse by itself. If from God, then you cannot destroy it. Therefore, beware lest you turn out to be enemies of God."
After that, the Jewish leaders confined themselves to ordering to beat the apostles with whips to the bone and strictly forbade them to tell people about Jesus Christ and thus confuse them.
Peter and John themselves rejoiced that they had to suffer for the name of Jesus and, together with the other apostles, preach the word of God both in the temple and in their homes.
As the legend tells, through the Apostle Peter, the Lord clearly showed that he is able not only to be the embodiment of universal love, but can also punish for deception.
The first Christians were connected with each other with such love, as if one thing was beating in their chests.
heart and there was one soul. Many sold their estates, and the money received for them was given to the apostles for distribution to the needy.
Someone Ananias and his wife Saphira also wanted to be reputed to be converted and in this way gain eternal salvation. Ananias sold his land and house, but on the advice of his wife he hid half of the money. With the other half, he came to Peter, laid out the money and stood proud in front of the apostle.
- Woe to you, Ananias! - said the apostle, barely glancing at the silver. - Why did you allow Satan to put the thought of lying to me in your heart? But you did not lie to Peter, but to God!
As soon as the apostle Peter said this, Ananias immediately fell down dead.
Three hours later, his wife Saphira, who knew nothing about the death of her husband, also appeared before the apostle. He wanted to test her. He showed the money Ananias brought.
- Tell me, Saphira, did you sell the land and the house for so much?
And she answered:
- Yes.
Meanwhile, the people who were burying Ananias returned.
- Look, - said Peter. - Those who buried your husband have returned. Now it's your turn.
At the same moment, Saphira fell lifeless at the feet of the apostle.
Those who heard about this incident were touched by a great fear, and henceforth there were no longer those who wanted to deceive and deceit to stick to those who believed in Christ.
Meanwhile, the apostles who were in Jerusalem performed great miracles. Many sick and possessed people were healed by the power of God through these holy fathers. Therefore, the number of believers in the Lord grew every day. Rumor attributed a particularly benevolent gift of healing to the Apostle Peter.
The sick were carried out into the street right on their beds, so that at least the shadow of Peter passing by would overshadow them. After that, they all spoke with one voice that they felt God's grace.
When the Apostle Peter founded a Christian church among Jerusalem Jews and pagans, at the insistence of the Pharisees, the Jewish king Herod Agrippa came out against him, ordering to seize him and imprison him in order to execute the rebellious preacher at the end of the Passover celebration.
The apostle was imprisoned in the most secure room of the prison. Sixteen soldiers were assigned to guard him. At night, bright fires were lit in the prison yard so that no one could slip unnoticed.
Meanwhile, all the believers fervently prayed to the Lord for him, and on the eve of his execution they gathered for common prayer in the house of a certain Mary, the mother of Peter's disciple Mark, who later became a famous evangelist. And God heard their prayers.
That night, bound in chains, Peter slept between two soldiers, while the rest of the guards stood at the door of the dungeon. Suddenly everything was flooded with blinding light, and an angel of God arose in the dungeon, awakening Peter. At the command of the angel, the apostle stood up, and the chains fell from his hands. After that, the prisoner got dressed, put on his shoes and walked invisible, accompanied by the messenger of God, through all the doors of the prison. He himself saw the guards standing everywhere. But that all this was not a dream, Peter became convinced only when an angel led him to Mary's house and disappeared, ordering him to speak again in the church the next morning and not be afraid of anything.
The Apostle Peter did exactly what he said. As soon as the sun rose over the walls of Jerusalem, he was already standing in the temple and preaching the word of God to the people, who listened with reverent awe to the wonderworker, who was freed from prison in an unknown way.
Meanwhile, the Jewish judges and Pharisees were at a loss: the prison guards, as expected, were in place, the locks on the solid doors were intact, but the prisoner did not just disappear, but appeared in the temple and, as if nothing had happened, confused the people, speaking about Christ.
Soon after this new miracle, terrible times began in Jerusalem: the Jewish guards began to brutally persecute those who believed in Jesus. To escape prison and death, they all had to flee the city.
The time has come for Peter himself to go on a journey to encourage and support the exiles who have scattered throughout many lands. The Lord did not leave the apostle during his wanderings. By the power of the Holy Spirit in the city of Joppa on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, he performed a great miracle by resurrecting the Christian Serna, who had died of illness.
It happened like this. Hearing that the Apostle Peter was nearby, her relatives called him. They did not at all expect a miracle of resurrection, but simply wanted the first of the apostles to pray over the deceased. But all those present, and there were dozens of them, spoke in one voice how kind and just Serna was, how everyone, young and old, loved her. And then Peter felt the surge of the power that the Holy Spirit was giving him. The apostle ordered everyone to come out and, after praying, said: "Get up, Serna!"
And life returned to her. After that, the number of Christians in Joppa increased many times over.
The Apostle Peter preached in many regions of Asia Minor - Ponte, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia; visited Egypt, where he ordained his disciple Mark as the first bishop of the church in Alexandria; visited Syracuse on the east coast of Sicily. And in 67 he arrived in pagan Rome, where at that time there were many Jewish Christians who fled from Jerusalem.
Not long before that, a certain sorcerer appeared there, but simply a sorcerer named Simon. With his sorcery, he managed to amaze many rich and noble pagan Romans so much that they even put a statue of a sorcerer on the banks of the Tiber River with the inscription "To Simon the God." The appearance of a rival in the person of the miracle worker-apostle was a real blow for Simon, and therefore he was looking for a way to humiliate and debunk the Christian preacher.
When a son of a rich widow died, the sorcerer challenged Peter to a kind of duel, offering to try to revive the deceased. Peter agreed. A lot of people gathered to watch this unprecedented sight. Simon used all the magic tricks he knew, but the young man remained motionless. The sorcerer said that the gods took his second self to themselves forever and he would never rise again.
Then Peter, standing at a distance, began to pray. When his passionate prayer was heard, the deceased young man got up. In front of everyone, he knelt before the apostle and told what he had seen
I heard the Lord Jesus Christ tell the angels to return the mother's son.
The disgraced sorcerer tried to escape, but the angry people seized the deceiver and already wanted to stone him, but the apostle did not allow reprisals: the disgraced sorcerer was simply kicked out of the city. Meanwhile, Emperor Nero, known for his cruelty, patronized him. Only flight could save the Apostle Peter from his wrath. With great difficulty, the Roman Christians persuaded him to leave the city. But when he approached the city gates at night, he saw Jesus carrying the cross.
- Where are you, Lord, going? - asked Peter, amazed.
- To Rome, for the time has come for my second crucifixion.
Peter took this vision for admonition from above and gave himself over to his persecutors. At his own request, he was crucified upside down on the cross, because he did not consider himself worthy to die as Jesus Christ died.
Anatoly MERKULOV