By St. John of Kronstadt
We, brethren, have waited for the feast of Holy and Glorious and All-Praised and Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul. They are worthily blessed by the whole universe. Worthy, because for Jesus Christ our Lord and for the salvation of human souls they denied themselves and laid down their lives, rejected all the beauties and sweets of the world; with their teaching they enlightened the whole world, darkened by idolatry and various passions, and brought many souls to Christ, that is, they delivered them from eternal destruction and brought them into the Kingdom of Heaven. And all of us Christians of the whole world, present and past, owe to them the gospel and the salvific rules of Christian life. That is why we worthily bless them. The death of both Apostles was martyrdom. The Apostle Peter was crucified on the cross upside down, and Apostle Paul was beheaded by the sword.
What was the reason for such glorious exploits of the Apostles, for which they are worthily blessed by the whole world? Their living faith and love for Christ, a faith in which they considered everything earthly to be rubbish and dung and infinitely valued everything heavenly, infinitely highly valued every word of the Lord Jesus Christ, held every word of Him tightly in their hearts, tried to fulfill every commandment of His with all their strength; they infinitely valued every human soul and tried with all their might to save every human soul from sin and eternal destruction; for in their memory and in their heart they constantly held the words of the Savior: "For the Son of man came to seek and save the lost" (Matthew 18:11). Their love for Christ – in which they loved all people as Christ loved and loves them – for whom they were ready to go both to prison and to death, inspired them to sacrifice everything in the world for the salvation of human souls; to renounce the enjoyment of all the blessings of the world, to be subjected to all kinds of sorrows, dangers, and death. This was the reason for the glorious exploits of the Holy Apostles, and especially of Peter and Paul! Let us learn from them such faith and love for Christ.
Nowadays, unbelief and lack of faith have increased too much and many hearts have completely cooled towards Christ. A very unfortunate phenomenon! Should we, Russian Orthodox Christians, weaken in faith, when the Author and Finisher of our faith, Christ, has become so gloriously glorified and is always glorified among us with countless miracles - in holy relics, then in holy miraculous icons, sometimes in the life-giving Mysteries, sometimes in the various powers He reveals to those who believe in Him in all corners of our vast fatherland? Should we not believe in Christ the Son of God, the Savior of the world, when He apparently saved and is saving our fatherland and our Orthodox Tsar from all enemies and adversaries, and just recently showed His strong hand over His beloved anointed? Should we, brethren, not believe in Christ, when He has saved you and me many times from troubles, illnesses, sorrows, especially from our sins, when He feeds us, clothes us, enlightens us, gives us peace, and gives us life? Should we not believe in Christ when we feel in our hearts that He lives in us, acts in us, constantly saves, gives life, strengthens us? It would be madness if anyone said that he does not believe in Christ as the Son of God - madness, absurdity. Here in Russia, almost every place, every city, village, monastery, temple, is evidence of the power of Christ - every pious Christian is a living witness of the power of Christ, perfected in weaknesses.
Should we Russians, Orthodox Christians, not love Christ when the faith of Christ has enlightened us, strengthened us, elevated us, and made us blessed? Should we not love the Lord Jesus Christ when faith in Him and fulfilling His commandments is the guarantee of our prosperity, flourishment and strength? The guarantee of forgiveness for our sins, intercession and salvation in troubles, sorrows and misfortunes; the guarantee of our resurrection from the dead and our eternal life? Who will comfort us in sorrows and misfortunes without Christ? Who will forgive sins? Who will feed us with flesh and life-giving blood? Who will say: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" ( Matthew 11:28)? Who will say: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believe in Me, even if you die, you will live" (John 11:25)? Thus, not to love Christ means not to love oneself, to be an enemy to oneself, not to love eternal life, endless blessedness; in a word, it means to be a madman.
Oh, let us, brethren, be firm in faith and love for Christ until our last breath, and at our last breath let us surrender our spirit into His hands, our endless Life. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.