The Rock and the Net
"We worthily exalt the all-praiseworthy Peter and Paul, the defender of the rock of the Church, and the net of the world."--Sessional Hymn I, Matins of the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul Glory to Jesus Christ! The fast has ended, and the feast begun: we now celebrate the all-glorious Prime Apostles, Peter and Paul. We can see this feast as the final feast in continuation of Pentecost, which in turn continues Pascha, and thus the Great Fast, and thus Theophany, and thus even Nativity. For we can see a progression in time in many of our great feasts, beginning with the Nativity. We celebrate Christ's birth, and then His Baptism and the manifestation of the Trinity to the world, the great Theophany. Not long thereafter, we walk the way of the Cross during the Fast, remembering in part Christ's temptation in the desert falling His Baptism, and in part those days when He approached His death. At the end of the Fast, we remember His glorious entranc...