12 July 2026
Dear brothers and sisters!
I wholeheartedly greet you on a great feast — the day of the memory of the Holy Chiefs of the Apostles, Peter and Paul!
It is hard to imagine two more different people.
Peter was an ordinary Galilean fisherman, impulsive, fervent, and extremely sincere, who walked almost the entire path of the Saviour's earthly ministry along with Him. Paul was a Roman citizen, an educated scholar of the Law, and a profound theologian. He was not among Christ's disciples during His earthly life, and initially, he was even a fierce persecutor of first Christians.
They differed in origin, character, experience, and way of thinking. Neither does the Holy Scripture hide the fact that an acute controversy once arose between them. Paul openly argued with Peter in Antioch. The dispute concerned the attitude towards Gentile Christians and the observance of Old Testament customs.
Nevertheless, the Church celebrates their memory on one day, and we often see Peter and Paul together, in a fraternal embrace, in icons. Not because there were no disagreements between them, but because Christ was above all for them.
They were united by one faith, one Cup, ministry to the Gospel, and readiness to give their lives for the Lord. The same grace of God manifestly worked through two such different people. They did not conceal their disagreements, but they could distinguish the main thing from secondary ones and prevented the argument from ruining ecclesiastical unity.
This apostolic image speaks with us particularly clearly today. Unfortunately, we see a prejudiced media activity within the church fence ever more often — with acute arguments, mutual accusations, barbs, and reproaches. There are disputes about the Church's path amidst the historical storm, about boundaries, rules, jurisdictions, about the way to keep faithfulness to Christ in a world which ever more persistently demands that the Church live according to the logic of earthly divisions.
But a divergence of opinions is not a reason for enmity for a believing person. An argument is not a reason for condemnation or hatred. And no earthly 'correctness', often dependent on a status and earthly interests, can be higher than love for our neighbour with whom we stand at one Cup — whether he be a hierarch or a layman.
Yes, disagreements in secondary things are possible. But where is our Christian love? Do we not replace it with a vain desire to be liked by the authorities or the audience of social networks?
Ecclesiastical unity is neither identity nor movement in a line. It has been given to us by the Holy Spirit and is preserved in faithfulness to Christ alone and in brotherly love — even when, from a human perspective, too much seems to separate us.
And today, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul remind us: we can be very different, we can disagree, but we cannot let earthly disagreements and passions destroy the unity created not by us. It has been given to us by God, and we must preserve it and pass down to next generations.
Through the prayers of the Holy Chiefs of the Apostles, may the Lord pacify our hearts, heal the wounds of division, and give us wisdom and courage to cherish ecclesiastical unity as the apple of our eyes — without giving in to enmity, mutual condemnation, or cowardice.
Happy feast, dear brothers and sisters!
All related news I wholeheartedly greet you on a great feast — the day of the memory of the Holy Chiefs of the Apostles, Peter and Paul!
It is hard to imagine two more different people.
Peter was an ordinary Galilean fisherman, impulsive, fervent, and extremely sincere, who walked almost the entire path of the Saviour's earthly ministry along with Him. Paul was a Roman citizen, an educated scholar of the Law, and a profound theologian. He was not among Christ's disciples during His earthly life, and initially, he was even a fierce persecutor of first Christians.
They differed in origin, character, experience, and way of thinking. Neither does the Holy Scripture hide the fact that an acute controversy once arose between them. Paul openly argued with Peter in Antioch. The dispute concerned the attitude towards Gentile Christians and the observance of Old Testament customs.
Nevertheless, the Church celebrates their memory on one day, and we often see Peter and Paul together, in a fraternal embrace, in icons. Not because there were no disagreements between them, but because Christ was above all for them.
They were united by one faith, one Cup, ministry to the Gospel, and readiness to give their lives for the Lord. The same grace of God manifestly worked through two such different people. They did not conceal their disagreements, but they could distinguish the main thing from secondary ones and prevented the argument from ruining ecclesiastical unity.
This apostolic image speaks with us particularly clearly today. Unfortunately, we see a prejudiced media activity within the church fence ever more often — with acute arguments, mutual accusations, barbs, and reproaches. There are disputes about the Church's path amidst the historical storm, about boundaries, rules, jurisdictions, about the way to keep faithfulness to Christ in a world which ever more persistently demands that the Church live according to the logic of earthly divisions.
But a divergence of opinions is not a reason for enmity for a believing person. An argument is not a reason for condemnation or hatred. And no earthly 'correctness', often dependent on a status and earthly interests, can be higher than love for our neighbour with whom we stand at one Cup — whether he be a hierarch or a layman.
Yes, disagreements in secondary things are possible. But where is our Christian love? Do we not replace it with a vain desire to be liked by the authorities or the audience of social networks?
Ecclesiastical unity is neither identity nor movement in a line. It has been given to us by the Holy Spirit and is preserved in faithfulness to Christ alone and in brotherly love — even when, from a human perspective, too much seems to separate us.
And today, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul remind us: we can be very different, we can disagree, but we cannot let earthly disagreements and passions destroy the unity created not by us. It has been given to us by God, and we must preserve it and pass down to next generations.
Through the prayers of the Holy Chiefs of the Apostles, may the Lord pacify our hearts, heal the wounds of division, and give us wisdom and courage to cherish ecclesiastical unity as the apple of our eyes — without giving in to enmity, mutual condemnation, or cowardice.
Happy feast, dear brothers and sisters!
