The Academy celebrated the memory of St. apostles Peter and Paul

God unites absolutely different people. If we look at Christ’s disciples, we will see how different are their lives. St. Peter was with Christ during His earthly life, while St. Paul joined His disciples after the Lord’s Ascension. The first one walked on waters to the Teacher, while the second ascended to Heaven and heard unspeakable verbs.

The Lord establishes unity in diversity. Christians experience the same love and the same faith. They could give their lives for the sake of the One Savior, because neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom.8:38-39). And now we praise the apostles and joyfully cry out: “Peter, stone of faith, Paul, praise of the universe, come from Rome and strengthen us!”

On July 11, the Bishop of Zvenigorod Kirill, Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, officiated an All-night Vigil at the Intercession Academic Church. At the evening service, the Rector performed the rite of consecrating the bread.

On July 12, Archimandrite Venedikt (Knyazev) celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the memory of the Chief Apostles Peter and Paul co-served by the academic clergy at the Intercession Academic Church.

Hierodeacon Arseniy (Salov) delivered a sermon, in which he spoke about the history of the holiday: 

Celebrating the memory of glorious apostles Peter and Paul, remembering their great deeds and labors, their honest suffering, let us try to acquire those high virtues that they showed to the world: simplicity, patience and humility before God and people, self-sacrifice and temperance, love for neighbor and mercy, purity and holiness.

At the end of the service, the academic clergy sang the glorification to St. apostles Peter and Paul. After that, Archimandrite Benedict addressed the worshipers with a pastoral word and congratulated everyone on the memory of Christ’s disciples. 

Background information: 

Chanting performed by the first academic choir under the conduct of E.V. Borovinsky.

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