Saint Peter the Disciple and Apostle

St. Peter
July 12 is the apostles feast when we celebrate the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul. On this occasion, we would like to learn few lessons from the life of St. Peter, because he in many ways represents humanity in its strength and weaknesses. In the bible, we learn that St. Peter was a fisherman living in Capernaum, located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. When our Lord Jesus Christ called upon St. Peter to follow Him, he did not hesitate. He, his brother St. Andrew, and St. James and St. John, who were all fishermen, followed the lord (Matthew 4:19-22).

St. Peter did not only open his heart to the Lord, he and St. Andrew opened their house in Capernaum to Him. On one occasion when the Lord came to their house, He found St. Peter’s mother-in-law sick and He healed her. In that evening, many sick people came to the house to be healed (Mark 1:29-34).

His devotion to the Lord was rewarded by being selected with St. John and St. James to be the Lord closest disciples. Those three disciples were the only disciples who witnessed the raising of Jairus’s daughter from the dead (Mark 5:37). They were the witnesses to the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 17:1-8), and they accompanied the Lord when He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37).

St. Peter have a strong, self-assertive personality, and his quick action lead not only to many of his finest moments but also to some of his saddest experiences. When the disciples were in a boat weathering a severe storm at night and our Lord came to them walking on the water, St. Peter was the only one who asked to be given the same power. But as he started walking on the water, he got scared and cried for help (Matthew 14:22-33). When many disciples turned away from our Lord Jesus Christ because they could not understand His teachings, and He asked the twelve “Do you also want to go away?” it was St. Peter who answered “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life …” (John 6:67-69). On another occasion, when our Lord asked the disciples “But who do you say that I am?” St. Peter answered “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” and he was praised by the Lord (Matthew 16:15-19). But later when our Lord started telling the disciples about his crucifixion, St. Peter opposed Him and our Lord rebuked him because he is not mindful of things of God (Matthew 16:21-23).

The events of the Holly Week left its mark on St. Peter. When they got together for the last supper and our Lord started washing their feats, he could not allow that to happen, until our Lord told him “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (John 13:3-11). Later, when St. Peter boasted that he is willing to die for Jesus, He warned him that he will deny Him three times (John 13:36-38). St. Peter joined the Lord in Gethsemane but he fall asleep, and when he wake up and saw the guards arresting his Master, he took a sword* and cut off a servant’s ear. Our Lord rebuked him saying “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52). Then he healed he servants ear (Luke 22:51). All the disciples fled except St. Peter and St. John who followed the Lord to the high priest’s courtyard (Matthew 26:56-58). However, at this point St. Peter became scared and when he was asked if he is a follower of Jesus, he denied that three times. Hearing the rooster crowed, He remembered our Lord’s warning, and he went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:69-75).

This was the saddest moment in St. Peter’s life, and the following days were probably unbearable. However, on Sunday St. Peter rejoiced with the disciples because our Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. St. Peter was still ashamed of his denial of the Lord, and he did not know how to make up for his biggest sin. Then came his meeting with the Lord at the Sea of Tiberias (also known as the Sea of Galilee). In this meeting, our Lord asked St. Peter three times “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” and He asked St. Peter to resume his apostolic duty of shepherding the believers. The Lord told St. Peter to follow him, predicting what death he would endure for his Master (John 21:15-19). From this time on, St. Peter became a new man, and after he was filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, he started his courageous mission to spread the good news about Jesus all over the world.

* Some non-Christians claim that the mention of the sword in this event (especially Luke 22:35-38) and the words of our Lord “… I did not come to bring peace but sword” (Matt 10:34) Indicate that Christianity is also a religion of sword. But looking carefully into the context of each case, we see that our Lord’s intention is not a literal sword but He used the sword allegorically. The strongest support of this argument is what our Lord did when St. Peter cut the servant’s ear, especially His rebuke to St. Peter when he said “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52).

Tradition (with a capital T) and tradition

Importance of Tradition

Capital T Tradition refers to the special rites of the Coptic orthodox Church. Part of Tradition is the liturgy, incense, doxologies, agpeya, icons, orders, sacraments, ….

July 12th – Feast of the Apostles and Lakkan prayers

Rite of the lakkan of the feast of the apostles

—For Lakkan readings of the Epiphany Feast see http://copticchurch.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/topic-9-prayer-of-the-laqqan-waters-in-the-coptic-orthodox-church/

Upon the conclusion of the Prime Raising of Incense, the congregation chants the hymn `K`cmarwout in front of the lakkan. This is followed by the Prayer of Thanksgiving, and after the priest recites the words nem ebolha peklaoc tyrf , meaning “and from all Your people”, he blesses the water and says nem `ebolha taikolem vi;ra;ai , meaning “and from this bowl”. At the end of the Prayer of Thanksgiving, the Verses of the Cymbals are chanted, followed by Doxa Patri… Ke nun… This is directly followed by Psalm 50, and then Doxaci `o :eoc `ymwn , where the eldest priest begins reading the prophecies. The prophecies passages are: Ex. 15:22 – 16:1; Ex. 30:17-30; Is. 1:16-26; Is. 35:1-10; Is. 43:16 – 44:6; Zach. 8:7-19, Zach. 14:8-11.

After the prophecies, the congregation responds with Tenouwst `mmok `w Pi`,rictoc , as the priest raises incense and prays the Pauline prayer, which is followed by the Pauline Epistle (Heb. 10:22-38). Then, the Trisagion is chanted. The priest prays the Litany of the Gospel, which is followed by the Psalm (7:50 and 10) and the Gospel (Jn. 5:1-18).

Then, the priest raises a cross with three lighted tapers, while praying the major V] nai nan . Using the cymbals, the congregation responds with Kuri`e `eleycon ten times in the melismatic tune. The priest then blesses the lakkan and the bowl three times with the sign of the Cross, as the congregation chants the Gospel Response and the first verse of the Doxology of the Apostles, which begins with the words Pisorp qen ni`apoctoloc , meaning “the first among the apostles…”

The priest prays the Seven Long Litanies, which include the litanies of: 1) the sick; 2) the travelers; 3) the waters; 4) the king or ruler; 5) the departed; 6) the oblations; and 7) the catechumens. The priest, while facing the East, prays certain requests, and with each request the congregation responds with Kuri`e `eleycon .

Then the priest carries a cross that is lighted with tapers, and the congregation cries out with the deacons with one voice saying Kuri`e `eleycon , one hundred times in a recitative tune. After this, the serving priests say the Three Long Litanies, which are of peace, the fathers, and the congregations; and then the Creed is fully recited. The Espasmos of the Apostles is chanted, then the deacon says, “Offer in this order…” and the congregation respond with the Hiten ni`precbi`a . The priest prays, “The love of God the Father, and the grace of His only-begotten Son, our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the communion and gifts of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” The priest makes the sign cross over the water for the first time, and the congregation responds with “And with your spirit.” Directly following this, the priest signs the water with the cross a second time, and chants, “Lift up your hearts,” to which the congregation responds with “They are with the Lord.” To conclude the blessing of the lakkan, the priest makes the sign of the cross over the water a third time and says, “Let us give thanks to the Lord,” and the congregation responds saying, “He is worthy and righteous.” The priest continues by praying the Liturgy of the Blessing of the Waters. While the priest says the words `Agioc three times, he does the sign of the cross three times over the water and continues the Liturgy. Later on, at the end of each petition, the priest does the signs cross over the water. The congregation responds with “Amen.”

The deacon then says, `Proceuxa;e , to which the congregation responds, Kuri`e `eleycon . The priest continues to pray the assigned prayers specific to the occasion, followed by the Lord’s Prayer. The priest then administers three Absolutions, followed by the deacon responses: Cw;ic `amyn @ ke tw `pneumati… Following this, the priest blesses the lakkan water and the bowl, three times with the sign of the cross. While doing so he says Eulogitoc Kurioc… and the congregation respond with “One is the Holy Father, one is the Holy Son, one is the Holy Spirit, Amen.”

The serving priest soaks the end of a towel with the water of the Holy Lakkan, and washes the feet of the priests, deacons, and the congregation. At the same time, the congregation chants Psalm 150. After the lakkan, the priest says a prayer of Thanksgiving, which is followed by the blessing. Then, the Divine Liturgy commences for the glory of the Holy Trinity, to whom is glory forever.

Source

Mikhail, Deacon Albair Gamal, The Essentials in the Deacon’s Service, (Shobra, Egypt: Shikolani, 2002), p. 798-810. Translated from Arabic by Bishoy K. R. Dawood, edited by Alexander A-Malek.

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