Breathing Space - Every Tuesday morning at 10am

Occurring
Every Tuesday at for 15 mins
Venue
An online service using Zoom
Address
An online service using Zoom

Every Tuesday morning at 10am

Simply tune in on Zoom and enjoy a few moments of quiet, prayerful reflection as the week unfolds. It will last no longer than 10 minutes.

Meeting ID: 892 2955 4820 Passcode: 836488

A time to pause, pray, reflect and reconnect.

No preparation needed.

Time for conversation for those who can stay.

“….Waiting on God, learning to be passive in a way creative for your inner life, is not a question of thinking about God, but of growing in stillness. It has to do with prayer, and with music or from the simple contemplation of the world about you.” (Michael Mayne, ‘A Year Lost and Found’)

Saturday 28th June, Holy Eucharist for St Peter and St Paul

Occurring
for 1 hour
Venue
Salinas Anglican Congregation
Address
Salinas Anglican Congregation, Church of the Sagrado Corazón de Maria, Estacion de Salinas, Archidona, Málaga Province, 29315, Spain

It is surprising that two top drawer saints have to share a feast day instead of having one each. In fact St Paul does get his own day, January 25th, but it is dedicated to his conversion alone and not to the rest of his ministry or his writings. St Peter does not.

Saint Peter, also known as Simon or Cephas, was one of the twelve apostles. He appears repeatedly and prominently in the gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, usually in a leadership role.

Roman Catholic tradition regards Peter as the first bishop of Rome - or Pope - and subsequent Popes as the successor to Saint Peter. Based on contemporary historical data, Peter's papacy is estimated to have spanned from AD 30 to his death, which would make him the longest serving Pope of all time, at some 34 years.

Early Church tradition says that Peter died by crucifixion under Emperor Nero at the time of the Great Fire of Rome in 64AD, for which the emperor was happy to blame the Christians. The crucifixion took place at Vatican Hill, and he was buried where the Basilica of Saint Peter was later built, directly beneath the high altar. There is also a tradition that he was crucified head down.

St Paul had a very different story. As a devout Jew, he set out to discredit and then persecute the early church, and was on his way to Damascus on one such mission when he was stopped in his tracks by a bright light and heard the voice of God, “Why are you persecuting me?” From that moment on he became a passionate follower of Jesus, in two ways.

Firstly he travelled extensively, spreading the teachings of Jesus throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. He preached the gospel and founded several Christian communities in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-40s to the mid-50s AD, as detailed in the latter half of the Acts of the Apostles. Secondly he wrote extensively, mainly to the churches he had founded, and often to resolve disputes of theology or church order. 14 of the 27 books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to St Paul, though there is doubt about some 7 of these.

In 57AD, he arrived in Jerusalem where he was accused of defiling the Jewish temple by allowing Gentiles to enter, and was dragged out by an angry mob. He was taken to Caesarea, where he was held for two years until a new Roman governor suggested he be taken back to Jerusalem to stand trial. Paul then exercised his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar and set sail for Rome. He arrived in Rome c 60 AD, and spent another two years, often preaching the gospel. His death is also believed to have occurred around the time of the Great Fire of Rome in 64AD.

So why do they share a feast day? One tradition states that Peter and Paul were martyred "at the same time", Peter being crucified while Paul was beheaded. This feast day celebrates their joint martyrdom in Rome, the date selected being the anniversary probably of their death. Perhaps not surprisingly SS Peter and Paul are today the patron saints of Rome.

The picture above combines a portrait of Saint Peter from the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls, Rome (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) and a fresco of St Paul, dating back to the 4th Century AD, from the Catacomb of Saint Thekla - the oldest one known of in a Roman catacomb (as reported By Nick Pisa in The Telegraph,28 June 2009 - see https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/5675461/Oldest-image-of-St-Paul-discovered.html)

Next Meeting of the Cluster Clergy and Readers, 22nd July 2025

Occurring
for 1 hour
Venue
Address

Cluster Clergy and Readers will meet again by zoom on Tuesday 22nd July at 11am CET. Zoom link to follow.