The feast of the Holy Primate Apostles Peter and Paul is celebrated in the Orthodox Church on July 12 in the new style. This day began to be revered as a special celebration since the 4th century, when temples began to be erected in Constantinople in honor of these great preachers of the gospel.
The feast of the holy apostles Peter and Paul is marked by the end of St. Peter's fast. The fast itself began on the following Monday after the Sunday of All Saints (that is, a week after the feast of the Holy Trinity). This time of abstinence was timed to commemorate the holy disciples of Jesus Christ. However, the main joy for an Orthodox Christian on the day of July 12 is not that now, at last, one can break the fast and eat meat. The main celebration of this day for the Orthodox is the prayerful veneration of the holy apostles, the remembrance of their life and death. According to the tradition of the Church, the Apostle Peter and Paul died on this very day in Rome. They suffered a martyrdom. Peter was crucified upside down, and the head of the Apostle Paul was cut off with a sword.
The main moment of the celebration of the day of the supreme apostles for an Orthodox person is attending an Orthodox divine service. Even on the eve of a church celebration, a believer comes to church to attend the festive all-night vigil. Some Christians, at the end of the service, confess in order to cleanse their souls from sins and take communion on the day of the holy feast.
On the morning of July 12, the believer goes to the church for the festive liturgy dedicated to the holy apostles Peter and Paul. Those who are preparing for the sacrament partake of the holy mysteries of Christ. Only after the end of the liturgy does the Christian go home in the joyful abode of the spirit.
At home on the day of the holiday, the believer breaks his fast. Many host a feast in memory of the holy apostles. However, you need to know that if July 12 falls on Wednesday or Friday, then the Christian must fast (eating fish is allowed). But fasting on the day of the holiday should not darken the spiritual joy of the prayerful veneration of the saints.
On the feast of the holy apostles, it is customary to visit each other and congratulate all those who are familiar with the memory of the holy Primate Apostles.
