- THE ASSEMBLY OF THE HOLY GLORIOUS AND PRAISE WORTHY APOSTLES
Even though each one of the Twelve Great Apostles has their own special day of celebration throughout the year, nevertheless the Church has set aside this day as a festal assembly of all the apostles together and with them, Paul. These are the names and the separate days of the celebrations of the Holy Twelve:
SAINT PETER June 29 and January 16
SAINT ANDREW November 30
SAINT JAMES, THE SON OF ZEBEDEE April 30
SAINT JOHN THE THEOLOGIAN September 26 and May 8
SAINT PHILIP November 14
SAINT BARTHOLOMEW June 11 and August 25
SAINT THOMAS October 6
SAINT MATTHEW THE EVANGELIST November 16
SAINT JAMES, THE SON OF ALPHAEUS October 9
SAINT THADDEUS OR JUDE, THE BROTHER OF JAMES June 19
SAINT SIMON THE ZEALOT May 10
SAINT MATTHIAS August 9
SAINT PAUL June 29
Let us also mention how each one of these most holy and most beneficial men in the history of the world ended their earthly life:
Saint Peter St. Peter was crucified upside down.
Saint Andrew St. Andrew was crucified.
Saint James, the son of Zebedee St. James was beheaded.
Saint John the Theologian St. John died in a miraculous manner.
Saint Philip St. Philip was crucified.
Saint Bartholomew St. Bartholomew was crucified, scrapped and beheaded.
Saint Thomas St. Thomas was pierced with five spears.
Saint Matthew the Evangelist St. Matthew was burned alive.
Saint James, the son of Alphaeus St. James was crucified.
Saint Thaddeus or Jude, the
Brother of James St. Thaddeus was crucified.
Saint Simon the Zealot St. Simon was crucified.
Saint Matthias St. Matthias was stoned and then was beheaded after death.
Saint Paul St. Paul was beheaded.
- BLESSED PETER, THE CROWN-PRINCE
Peter, by descent, was a Tartar and the nephew of the Tartar King Berkai. He heard the words of salvation from Bishop Cyril of Rostov and those words adhered to his heart. And yet when he witnessed the miraculous healing of Berkai’s son, by the help of Bishop Cyril’s prayer, he secretly left the Golden Horde and fled to Rostov where he was baptized and where, with all his soul and mind, dedicated himself to asceticism and the study of the honorable Faith. Once at night, Saints Peter and Paul appeared to him in a dream on the shores of the lake and commanded him to build a church in their name on that same place and along with that, Blessed Peter received from the saints the necessary amount of money for that purpose. Indeed, Blessed Peter built a most beautiful church there in which he in old age, following the death of his wife, was tonsured a monk. Blessed Peter died peacefully in ripe old age on June 29, 1290 A.D. and his church became and remains a monastery called the Petrovski Monastery.
- VENERABLE GEORGE, THE IBERIAN [GEORGIAN]
George was born in Iberia [Georgia] in 1014 A.D. and was a relative of the Georgian kings. George received a good classical education in his childhood but his heart drew him to the spiritual life. He lived a life of asceticism with the famous spiritual father George in the Black Mountain. He fled to Holy Mount Athos and continued his asceticism in the monastery Iveron. George became the abbot of Iveron. With the help of Emperor Constantine Monomachus he restored Iveron and covered the monastery church with lead. That lead roof remains even today. He translated the Holy Scriptures, the Prologue and books of the Divine Services into the Georgian language. King Bagrat invited him to Georgia to teach the people. George was royally welcomed in his homeland. He traveled everywhere and taught both the clergy and people. In his old age, he desired to die on Mt. Athos where he set out for but death overtook him in Constantinople in the year 1067 A.D. His relics were translated to Iveron. Even though he died on May 24, the monks of Iveron commemorate his memory on June 30 considering him to be as “equal to the apostles.”