San Beda College Alabang THEO3: The Church, Sacraments, Prof. Carlo Enrico C.

Tinio,
CAS—Religious Studies Dept. and its Mission S.T.B., M.A.PaM.,M.A.L.

Lesson 4
THE PILLARS OF THE CHURCH: PETER AND PAUL

June 29 is the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles and two great pillars of the
Christian Church. In Acts of the Apostles, we read about these great saints of the Christian
Church. The first twelve chapters of Acts focus on Peter and chapters 13-28 focus on Paul.
Acts of the Apostles was written by St. Luke the Evangelist, as the second part of his great
work written to Theophilus. His Gospel is part one.

Let’s take a look at these two pillars of the Church one by one and then we will examine how
they are similar in their teachings and actions in Acts.

St. Peter was a Galilean fisherman with Sts. James and John on Lake
Gennesaret (also known as the Sea of Galilee and Sea of Tiberius).
The defining moment for Peter is in Matthew 16:16-20. Jesus asks,
who do you say that I am? Peter responds, “You are the Christ.”
Jesus then changes his name from Simon to Cephas, which translates
into “rock” (Aramaic) and Petros (Greek).

There are three major themes in Matthew 16:18-19:

First, as rock, Peter is now the foundation of the Church. He is the rock on which the Church
would be built upon and stands for centuries. Karl Adam in his book, The Spirit of
Catholicism says, “Peter’s confession assures Him that Simon will be an imperishable “rock”
for His Church. He is certain of the imperishableness of the Church. It will never perish, since

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San Beda College Alabang THEO3: The Church, Sacraments, Prof. Carlo Enrico C. Tinio,
CAS—Religious Studies Dept. and its Mission S.T.B., M.A.PaM.,M.A.L.

it will always be a Church founded on a rock. There will always be a living Peter, whose faith
will confirm his brethren. It lies at the basis of His words that His Church will never be
without that strong foundation which He gave it at Caesarea Philipp, because its
continuance depends upon this foundation.”

Second, he is given the keys to the kingdom of God. He is now the leader and Christ’s
representative on earth. St. Peter is the New Prime Minister for the New Davidic Kingdom. In
the Davidic Kingdom in the Old Testament, the king appointed one man from his viceroys to
be the primary individual in charge of the others. Essentially, this man was the Prime
Minister of the kingdom. When the king was not present in the kingdom, the Prime Minister
would stand in for him. The Prime Minister would hold keys of the kingdom around his neck
for protection. St. Peter now becomes the Vicar of Christ. This is still a term that we use to
describe the Pope today. The vicar is one who stands “in the person of” and possesses the
authority of the king. In the case of St. Peter and Jesus Christ, Peter is given the keys to the
kingdom and now possesses the authority of Jesus Christ on earth.

Thirdly, St. Peter is given authority to make decisions for the Church – to bind and to loose.
The Primacy of Peter is the authority of Christ given to St. Peter and his successors, the
popes. The Pope that sits in the Chair of St. Peter has full, supreme, and universal authority
over the entire Church. The Papacy is the Church’s highest moral and doctrinal authority. The
Holy Father has final word on matters of faith and morals and speaks with infallibility on
such matters. Pope Benedict XVI says, “Let us pray that the Primacy of Peter, entrusted to
poor human beings, will always be exercised in this original sense as the Lord desired, and
that its true meaning will therefore always be recognized by the brethren who are not yet in
full communion with us” (The Apostles).

Saint Peter died a martyrs’ death by crucifixion in the year 64 A.D.

under the Roman Emperor, Nero. He requested that he be flipped
upside down on the cross since he did not think he was worthy to die
the same way that Jesus died. His remains are buried under the main
altar of the basilica that bears his name in Rome on the Vatican hill.

St. Paul, also known as Saul was born around 5 A.D. in the seaport of
Tarsus, which is now in modern day Turkey. As did many men of the
time, he had two names. Saul was his Jewish name and Paul was his
Roman name. Many men of the time had two names for they would use their Roman name
when doing business as merchants or fisherman in the Roman Empire and their Hebrew
name when they were with family or in synagogue.

At first, St. Paul, as a Pharisee, was a persecutor of the Early Church Christians and was
present at the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian Church. On the
road to Damascus, he saw a vision of Jesus asking him, “Why do you persecute me?” After
recovering his sight, he was baptized as a Christian (Read Acts 9). Pope Benedict XVI says,
“He realized that a new approach in his life was absolutely essential…Paul, therefore, no

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San Beda College Alabang THEO3: The Church, Sacraments, Prof. Carlo Enrico C. Tinio,
CAS—Religious Studies Dept. and its Mission S.T.B., M.A.PaM.,M.A.L.

longer lives for himself, for his own justice. He lives for Christ and with Christ: in giving of
himself, he is no longer seeking and building himself up” (The Apostles).

After his conversion, Paul was unique and qualified to bring the Gospel
to the Gentiles. He is known as the “Apostle to the Gentiles.” As a child
and young man in Tarsus, St. Paul received an excellent classical (Greek)
education and in Jerusalem, under Rabbi Gamaliel, Paul received the
best Jewish education. As a trade, he learned tent making. This helped
him later on in life and supported his three missionary trips through
Greece and Asia Minor.

When bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles, he was gifted first, because of his classical
education; St. Paul had the great ability to speak to Romans and Greeks in ways they could
understand. Second, he was well trained in philosophy and logic, which assisted in him in
explaining the Christian doctrine more effectively. Third, his knowledge of the Old
Testament Scriptures was vast and this aided him when counter arguing points brought up
by the Jewish leaders and elders. Lastly, his Roman citizenship, which he received at birth
since his parents were freed under Mark Anthony, protected him from those who wanted to
kill him.

Saint Paul died a martyrs’ death by being beheaded in the year 64 A.D.
under the Roman Emperor, Nero. Since he was a Roman citizen,
beheading was the main execution of death. Crucifixion was only for
slaves and criminals that were not Roman citizens. He was beheaded
along the Via Ostiense at Tre Fontane, outside the walls of Rome. It is
believed that his remains are buried in the basilica that bears his name.

Some will argue that Saints Peter and Paul were at odds with one another and did not get
along. However, if you carefully read Acts of the Apostles, you will find that’s hardly the
case. Saints Peter and Paul preached the same Gospel message. St. Luke is saying that Peter
and Paul are tight. Both of these men through the power of the Holy Spirit raised people
from the dead. The apostles are not divided in their preaching. We see a clear continuity of
doctrine between Saints Peter and Paul. The only thing that differs is the theme of
redemptive suffering is different in Paul than in Peter. In Acts 14:22; St. Paul says that
through tribulations we will enter the kingdom of God. The tribulations will be a means to
our salvation. We walk in holiness through the cross.

As we continue in this Fortnight for Freedom, let us ask for the intercession of Saints Peter
and Paul. These two great pillars whom so willingly offered their lives for Jesus Christ and his
Church.

Source: https://tomperna.org/2012/06/29/saints-peter-and-paul-apostles-and-pillars-of-the-
christian-church/