St Peter and St Paul 		June 29
Apostles, Martyrs
Both St Peter and St Paul are commemorated individually on separate days: Peter on account of his confession of Jesus as the Messiah (see 22 February), and Paul on account of his conversion (see 25 January). But they are commemorated together on 29 June because of their martyrdom in Rome during the Neronian persecution about 64 CE.
Both of them in different ways had expended themselves in the mission of the church, which they saw extend from Jerusalem to most of the major cities around the Mediterranean by the middle of the first century. While many others were also involved in the preaching of the gospel, it is Peter and Paul who dominate the Acts of the Apostles. Both of them were eventually in Rome. Paul was there as a prisoner of the Roman authorities. We know nothing of Peter’s work in Rome, but, at the end of Acts, Luke notes that Paul “lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:30,31).
According to tradition, both Peter and Paul perished in the localized persecution of Christians in Rome under the emperor Nero, who found the Church a convenient scapegoat for problems in the city. Christians were different in life-style and commitment, and became useful objects on which public scorn could be heaped. There is a probable reference to the fact of Peter’s martyrdom at the end of John’s Gospel. Tradition maintains that he was crucified, but head downwards, and that Paul was executed by the sword, being a Roman citizen.
Because of the prominence of these figures in the early church, the places identified as the location of their respective burials may well be correct. These places soon became shrines and were visited by other Christians. In the fourth century the emperor Constantine erected basilicas on the sites of these shrines: St Peter’s in the Vatican, and St Paul’s outside the walls of Rome. In the sixteenth century the Constantinian basilica in the Vatican was demolished and the present St Peter’s built. The Constantinian basilica of St Paul’s outside the Walls was modified in various periods and was all but destroyed by fire in 1823. The present building is a reconstruction along traditional lines.
For Liturgical Use
Both St Peter and St Paul are commemorated individually on separate days, Peter on account of his confession of Jesus as the Messiah on 22 February, and Paul on account of his conversion on 25 January. They are commemorated together on 29 June because of their martyrdom in Rome during the Neronian persecution about 64 CE. The basilicas in Rome of St Peter’s in the Vatican and St Paul’s outside the Walls stand on the traditional sites of their respective burials.
Sentence, Prayers and Readings as in A New Zealand Prayer Book - He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa, page 654-655