Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

{{Short description|Annual liturgical feast on June 29}} {{distinguish|Dedication of Saints Peter and Paul|Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul}} {{redirect|Saints Peter and Paul|the 3rd-century martyrs|Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise}} {{use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} {{EngvarB|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox holiday | holiday_name = Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul | type = Christian | image = Saint Peter and Saint Paul mg 0036-2.jpg | imagesize = | caption = A painting of Saints Peter and Paul | official_name =  | nickname = | observedby = Christianity (in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Church of England, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodox Churches, and Spiritual Christianity) | litcolor = Red | longtype = | significance = | begins = | ends = | date = 29 June | duration = 1 day | frequency = Annual | scheduling = same day each year | celebrations = Christian liturgies: Mass (in the Latin Catholic Church, Lutheranism, and the Church of England) Divine Liturgy (in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, and the Oriental Orthodox Churches) | observances = | relatedto = }}

The '''Feast of Saints Peter and Paul''' or '''Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul''' is a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christian origin, the date selected being the anniversary of either their death or the translation of their relics.<ref>{{Catholic |wstitle=St. Paul |first=Ferdinand |last=Prat |volume=11 |inline=1 |prescript=}}</ref>

==Eastern Christianity== For Eastern Orthodox and some Eastern Catholic Christians this feast also marks the end of the Apostles' Fast (which began on the Monday following All Saints' Sunday, i.e., the second Monday after Pentecost).<ref name=Kfouf>{{cite web|last=Kfouf |first=Ayman |title=The Fast of the Holy Apostles |url=http://orthodoxnotes.com/fasts-and-feasts/the-fast-of-the-holy-apostles |access-date=25 June 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630013453/http://orthodoxnotes.com/fasts-and-feasts/the-fast-of-the-holy-apostles |archive-date=30 June 2012 }}</ref> While not considered among the twelve great feasts, it is one of five additional feasts ranked as a great feast in the Eastern Orthodox tradition and is often celebrated with an all-night vigil starting the evening before.<ref>Mother Mary; Ware, Kallistos, "The Festal Menaion", p. 41. St. Tikhon's Seminary Press, 1998.</ref> In the Julian calendar, 29 June falls on the Gregorian calendar date of 12 July from 1900 to 2099, inclusive.

In the Russian Orthodox tradition, Macarius of Unzha's Miracle of the Moose is said to have occurred during the Apostles' Fast and the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul that followed it.<ref>Count M.V. Tolstoy, [http://www.ccel.org/contrib/ru/History/History17.html ''Stories from the History of Russian Church'' (РАССКАЗЫ ИЗ ИСТОРИИ РУССКОЙ ЦЕРКВИ), vol.3] {{in lang|ru}} </ref>

===Oriental Orthodox tradition=== In the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the feast of saints Peter and Paul is also celebrated on the day 5 Epip which is also the end of the fast of the apostles in these traditions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://st-takla.org/Full-Free-Coptic-Books/Synaxarium-or-Synaxarion/11-Abeeb/05-Abeeb.html|title = 5 أبيب – اليوم الخامس من شهر أبيب – السنكسار}}</ref>

===Spiritual Christian tradition=== Although the Canadian Doukhobors, a Spiritual Christian denomination, do not venerate saints, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul has traditionally been a day of celebration for them. Since 1895, it has acquired a new significance as a commemoration of the "Burning of the Arms", the Doukhobors' destruction of their weapons, as a symbol of their refusal to participate in government-sponsored killing.<ref name="SW">{{cite web|last1=Tarasoff|first1=Koozma J., with Andrei Conovaloff|title=Historic 1895 Burning of Guns descriptions, selections and translations|url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZEzkBQc9V8k9833S-djSse_1Lmvv09MCw1xgAetb2EM/edit?usp=sharing|website=Spirit Wrestlers|publisher=Spirit Wrestlers Publishing|access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref> It is celebrated now by their descendants as simply "Peter's Day" (Russian: ''Petro den''.), sometimes referred to as the "Doukhobor Peace Day".<ref name=peace-day>Tarasoff, Koozma J. [https://doukhobor.org/the-doukhobor-peace-day/ The Doukhobor Peace Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030223137/http://www.doukhobor.org/Peace-Day.html |date=30 October 2018 }}, May 4, 2002</ref><ref name=SW/>

==Western Christian tradition== In the General Roman Calendar, the celebration is a solemnity. In earlier editions, it was ranked as a Double (Tridentine calendar), Double of the First Class (e.g., General Roman Calendar of 1954), or First-Class Feast (General Roman Calendar of 1960). Prior to the liturgical reforms of Pope Pius XII, this feast was followed by a common octave. On this feast, newly created metropolitan archbishops receive from the pope the primary symbol of their office, the pallium.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/01/29/pope_modifies_and_enriches_pallium_investiture_ceremony_/1120538 | title=Pope modifies and enriches Pallium Investiture Ceremony | publisher=Vatican Radio | date=January 29, 2015 | access-date=January 29, 2015}}</ref>

It is a holy day of obligation in the Latin Church, although individual conferences of bishops can suppress the obligation.<ref>''Codex Iuris Canonici'' (1983), canon 1246.</ref> The ''Enchiridion Indulgentiarum'' of 2004 grants a partial indulgence to the faithful who devoutly recite the prayer in honor of the apostles on the Solemnity, and a plenary indulgence to those who devoutly use a sacramental blessed by a bishop, provided they make a valid profession of faith during its use.<ref>''Enchiridion Indulgentiarum'', ''Concessiones'', n°. 20, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 4th edition, 2004, p. 67. {{ISBN|88-209-2785-3}}. Latin quote: "Partialis indulgentia conceditur christifideli qui orationem Sancti Apostoli Petre et Paule devote recitaverit. 'Sancti Apostoli Petre et Paule, intercedite pro nobis. Protege, Domine, populum tuum; et Apostolorum tuorum Petri et Pauli patrocinio confidentem, perpetua defensione conserva. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.'"</ref><ref>''Enchiridion Indulgentiarum'', ''Normae'', n°. 17, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 4th edition, 1999. [https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/tribunals/apost_penit/documents/rc_trib_appen_doc_20020826_enchiridion-indulgentiarum_lt.html Official Latin text]: "Christifidelis qui pietatis obiecto (crucifixo, cruce, corona, scapulari, numismate), a quovis sacerdote rite benedicto, pia utitur mente, consequitur indulgentiam partialem. Si autem pietatis obiectum a Summo Pontifice aut a quolibet Episcopo fuerit benedictum, christifidelis, eodem obiecto pia utens mente, assequi potest etiam indulgentiam plenariam die festo SS. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, addita tamen, qualibet legitima formula, fidei professione." (accessed 26 June 2025.)</ref> thumb|left|A painting of Risen Jesus Christ surrounded by Saint Peter, Saint Paul and two angels In England, Scotland, and Wales, as in most of the world, the Latin Church continues to observe the feast as a holy day of obligation; however, in the United States and Canada, it has not been observed as a holy day of obligation since 1840.<ref>{{cite web |title=American Catholic Quarterly Review, Volume 11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QI_NAAAAMAAJ |access-date=13 June 2020 |last1 = Corcoran|first1 = James Andrew|last2 = Ryan|first2 = Patrick John|last3 = Prendergast|first3 = Edmond Francis|year = 1886}}</ref>

The Church of England celebrates 29 June as a festival.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Church's Year |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year#na |website=The Church of England |access-date=12 May 2021 }}</ref> The Lutheran churches celebrate it in the rank of a lesser festival.<ref name="LCMS2019">{{cite web |title=Feasts and Festivals |url=https://www.lcms.org/worship/church-year/feasts-and-festivals |publisher=Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod |access-date=29 June 2019 }}</ref>

Because of the importance of Sts. Peter and Paul to the Catholic Church, many Catholic-majority countries observe their feast day as a public holiday. The feast is observed in Rome because St. Paul and St. Peter are patron saints of the Eternal City.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Scaramuzzino |first1=Maria |title=Peter and Paul, the patron saints of Rome, the Eternal City |url=https://www.italiani.it/en/peter-and-paul-the-patron-saints-of-rome-the-eternal-city/ |website=italiani.it |access-date=11 May 2021 |date=29 June 2020}}</ref> In the Apulia region of southeastern Italy, the feast has been associated with the Tarantella dance since the Middle Ages.<ref>Anon (1968). ''Tarantism: St. Paul and the Spider'', in ''Essays and Reviews form the Times Literary Supplement''. London: Oxford University Press, pp. 172–183. Originally published in the ''Times Literary Supplement'', 27 April 1967. pp. 173–174</ref>

In Malta, the solemnity is a public holiday and in Maltese is known as ''L-Imnarja''. It is celebrated with festivals the preceding weekend in Nadur Gozo and as well as Buskett Gardens in Rabat.<ref name=Brittanica>{{cite web |title=Feast of Saints Peter and Paul {{!}} religious festival |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Feast-of-Saints-Peter-and-Paul |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=11 May 2021 }}</ref>

It is also a public holiday of the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, as well as parts of the Swiss cantons of Lucerne and Graubünden.<ref>{{cite web |title=Liste der Feiertage in der Schweiz |url=http://www.datumsrechner.de/FeiertageSchweiz.pdf |website=Datumsrechner |access-date=12 May 2021 |language=German}}</ref> It is a public holiday in Peru<ref>{{Cite journal |date=June 22, 2023 |title=Holidays 2023 in Peru: List of public and long holidays in Peru |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2829063464/citation/702464B8AA974A5BPQ/4 |journal=Noticias Financieras}}</ref> and in various municipalities of the Philippines.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} In Ormoc, festivals, bazaars, parades, and pageants are held annually on the feast day, as Peter and Paul are the city's patron saints.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reyes |first1=Ronald |title=Philippine city holds on to faith despite disasters – UCA News |url=https://www.ucanews.com/news/philippine-city-holds-on-to-faith-despite-disasters/82730# |website=ucanews.com |access-date=12 May 2021 }}</ref>

In 1577, Jan Rubens named his son Peter Paul, because he was born during the office of vespers of this day.<ref>Historische levensbeschryving van P.P. Rubens Door Jean François Marie Michel p.14</ref>

==See also== * Golowan Festival * Incident at Antioch, a dispute between Peter and Paul * International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church * St Peter's Eve

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|Feast of Saints Peter and Paul}} * [http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=101840 The Holy Glorious and All-Praised Leader of the Apostles, Peter & Paul] Icon and Synaxarion of the Feast (Orthodox) {{Liturgical year of the Catholic Church}}

Category:Catholic holy days Peter Category:Saints Peter and Paul Peter Category:Public holidays in Switzerland Category:June observances Category:July observances Category:Patronal festivals in Italy Peter and Paul Category:Christian feast days