St. Peter's Day

On June 29, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the great apostles Peter and Paul, disciples of Christ. The most important circumstances of their lives are described in the book of Acts (New Testament), and we read about the apostle Peter in the Gospels. Peter was originally called Simon and was the son of a fisherman from Bethsaida of Galilee. His brother Andrew was the first disciple of Christ and brought Simon to Jesus. The Savior called him "Cephas" (Hebrew) or Peter (Greek), which means "stone." The name of the apostle Peter is constantly mentioned in the Gospels. He was one of Christ's favorite disciples. When Jesus was taken to court, only Peter and one of the disciples followed him. In the court of the high priest, however, overwhelmed with cowardice, he denied Christ three times. When the rooster crowed, he remembered the Savior's prophecy, "I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, till thou shalt deny thrice that thou knowest me" (Luke 22: 31-34), and he will repent bitterly. After the Resurrection, Christ first appeared before Peter to restore his apostolate. It is traditionally believed that Peter was a teacher of the Jews and Paul was a teacher of the Gentiles. Peter preached in Judea, Galilee, Samaria, Caesarea, Jerusalem, Syria, Antioch. He also reached Egypt. He traveled to Britain, Greece, was in Corinth. Around 67 he arrived in Rome. There Emperor Nero persecuted the Christians. Peter was imprisoned and sentenced to death on June 29. He was sentenced to death on the cross. However, Peter asked to be crucified upside down, not considering himself worthy of the same death as the Savior. The feast in honor of Saints Peter and Paul is also for protection from fire, fire, thunder and hail. In some parts, St. Paul's Day is celebrated separately on June 30 and is called St. Paul's Day (from the verb paliya). In the folk calendar, St. Peter's Day is preceded by St. Peter's Day, which begins with the first week after Pentecost. On this day the fast ends and he responds with a young Petrine chicken. The holiday coincides with the time of harvest and is worked on, usually in the first half of the day. Gatherings are held in some areas on St. Peter's Day. Ritual breads are kneaded and early Petrovka apples are eaten. In some places they are distributed as a memorial to dead children. In many villages on this day gatherings are held, sacrifices are made for the saints and a common table with songs and people is set. And here, as in most of our national calendar, within the Christian celebration of the first apostles, ritual actions of an atrophic character are inserted. Names of St. Peter's Day are: Peter, Petrana, Petya, Pavel, Pavlin, Pavlina, Polina, Penka, Pencho, Kamen.