Welcome to our first full week of Lent, and we’re kicking things off with a little Monday Madness 😎
But first… WOW. In the closest race we’ve seen yet, Saint Benedict of Nursia edged out Saint Basil the Great by just over 300 votes! 🗳️
A razor-thin 52% of you gave the nod to the West, as Benedict’s call to work and pray marches on into the Saintly Sixteen 🙌
Now… buckle up.
This one has been brewing for nearly 2,000 years.
The Rock vs. The Road, The keeper of the keys 🔑 vs. the one who was blind but now sees 👀
It’s Saint Peter vs. Saint Paul!
Two giants of the faith. Two community makers. Two pillars whose witness helped shape the Church from Rome to the ends of the earth. Peter, whose confession of faith remains the rock the Church was built. Paul, the relentless missionary, bridging cultures and proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Forget the seeding… this feels like a championship matchup 💥 BUT…Only one can advance. Who gets your vote?
Head over, read the blogs, watch the videos, and make your voice heard!
Paul the Apostle
When we first meet St. Paul of Tarsus in the biblical book of Acts, he’s still far from sainthood. Going by Saul, he’s holding coats for those stoning Stephen, a deacon in the early church and soon-to-be saint himself.
Saul not only approved of Stephen’s killing, but also set out to personally destroy the church.
He went house to house, dragging off men and women and putting them in prison. As followers of Jesus began to scatter, he pursued them to Damascus.
On his way there, Saul had an encounter that changed his life.
The heavens flashed, Saul fell to the ground, and a voice boomed: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
It was Jesus.
When Saul got up from the ground, he could no longer see. His traveling companions helped him finish the journey to Damascus, where God sent a disciple named Ananias to miraculously restore his vision.
“Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel,” God told Ananias.
After this experience, Saul was baptized, spent time with the disciples in Damascus, and began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Many were baffled, and some were convinced it was a trick, but Saul continued to preach and travel widely, using his Latin name, Paul, as he communicated with audiences outside of the Jewish community.
Paul himself had been born a Roman citizen and described himself as “a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees.”
He spent the rest of his life founding Christian communities across Europe and Asia and writing prolifically. Of the 27 books in the New Testament, as many as 14 traditionally have been attributed to Paul, although scholars dispute about half of these.
While he escaped several plots against his life, imprisonments, and even a shipwreck, the book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome. He likely was martyred between the years 62 and 64.
These days, Paul is considered one of the most influential figures within Christianity and the patron saint of missionaries, evangelists, writers, journalists, public workers, tentmakers, and more. His story reminds us it’s never too late to change your mind. It’s never too late to admit you were wrong. God can use anyone.
— Emily Miller
Collect for Paul the Apostle
O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Peter the Apostle
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
Centuries before his name became synonymous with the power and institution of the Church, Peter was a simple fisherman. He was not a political player, religious leader, or anything necessarily of note that one would expect a Messiah to call to be his disciple and message-bearer. When we meet him in the Gospels, he is a young adult, fishing with his brother, Andrew.
One of the best parts of Peter’s story is that his (extremely relatable) brash, stubborn, second-guessing personality shines throughout the Gospels. He walks on water but also freaks out about walking on water. He encounters Elijah and Moses on the mountain with Jesus and has a moment that can only be characterized as Host/Hospitality Anxiety, and offers to build all three of them a tent right there and then. He denies Jesus and his faith on Friday morning and then runs to the empty tomb on Sunday.
Not in spite of, but perhaps because of this intensity, by the time Acts of the Apostles rolls around, Peter is a well-respected leader of this brand-new community. During the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended and small flames alit on each of the apostles, Peter was the first to preach to the gathered crowd. Later, he became the first to proclaim the Gospel to a Gentile (Cornelius the Centurion), opening the doors for this new religion by saying, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
After Acts, historical records trace his footprints from Jerusalem to Rome. He followed his calling into the heart of the empire that had been oppressing him since he was born, boldly proclaiming the message of Jesus, of love and repentance, and creating and supporting communities of believers. After decades of his ministry and Roman persecution, Emperor Nero had him executed. The original plan was for him to be crucified like Jesus was, but Peter begged to be crucified upside-down, claiming to be unfit to die in the same manner as his savior. He was one of the last of the original disciples to die, and one can only imagine the reunification in Heaven.
Centuries before his name became synonymous with the power and institution of the Church, Peter was a simple man whom God called as a disciple. He walked off the shores that day he met Jesus into a new life defined by faith. And two thousand years later, Hades has yet to triumph over the Church that Peter nurtured.
— Bekah Scolare
Collect for Peter the Apostle
Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
106 comments on “Paul the Apostle vs. Peter the Apostle”
I voted for Peter. Growing up a frustrated Roman Catholic I could never embrace The Too Many Rules, Paul. I love Peter’s humanness and determination to follow Jesus as best he could.
Originally I tried to figure out a way to beat the system and vote for both because both are tremendously important in Jesus’s ministry. That didn’t work so I’m rooting for Peter.
Peter is an amazing saint who is so inspiring
Peter is an amazing saint
HI, we should have Peter win the Golden Halo because he is amazing -Vote: Ptere
This was a hard one. Paul is my favorite apostle just because I can relate to him. But Peter is the more deserving of the two. And yes, I feel weird saying this as they are both incredible.
The article states: "Paul himself had been born a Roman citizen and described himself as 'a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees.'”
The writings I have read by Jewish authors maintain he was Never a Pharisee because he did not think with the precision & clarity of Pharisees. I'm Not qualified to evaluate all these claims by Christian or Jewish, past centuries or modern scholars.
A major 20th century Jewish scholar Hyam Maccoby, who lived in England, strongly doubted that Paul's parents were actually Jewish, but suspected they were God-fearers, not actual Jews. Maccoby believed that Paul had too much familiarity with paganism and pre-Christian Ggnosticism to have been raised in a strictly Jewish home.
Maccoby even felt Paul dangled clues that he was a naturalized Roman citizen, rather than born a Roman citizen. I do Not know, except I recognize that Paul got the last word, that he had the last say, on what Christian positions were, since he was an early Apostle who traveled widely but was Not one of Jesus' Disciples or even acquaintances. Paul was early but not quite as early as the Disciples in Galilee.
Paul's rigidity and bad feelings toward Peter have ensured that Peter is presented less favorably to later centuries.
I've been renewing my acquaintance with Paul with greater and greater appreciation, but I serve at St. Peter's, so the choice is obvious!
I vote Paul because he was hauled before the Sanhedrin he called out “I am on trial because of the resurrection of the dead!” The entire Sanhedrin started squabbling.
Anyone who can do that has my vote!
Paul for me. I’m late to the lent madness party this year. I just scrolled through all the comments; where’s John Cabot and his limerick???
I voted for Peter because he was a simple person, a nobody like me, and yet God used him. I hope and I think God uses me in my every day life.
Groan! Our 'new directors' are just as cruel as the past ones! But,on further meditation, I thought -Every story needs a writer.Without Paul's writings, there would have been no stories of the spread of the Gospel and the early church. Would the Church and the Gospel have spread as quickly or as far? Those writings serve as a foundation for so much of our faith. Love Peter but I'm voting for Paul.
Tough one! After much inner debate, I went with Peter. Why? Because he was as Bekah Scolare described him - the most relatable of the Apostles. I remember an exercise carried out on a Cursillo weekend when we were asked to use adjectives to describe Peter before and after the first Pentecost. Ante-Pentecost adjectives were: brash, impetuous, indecisive, hot-headed, dissimulating, and similar descriptors. Post-Pentecost, he was described as loyal, unswerving, convinced and convincing, brave, true, devoted, and so on.
Peter because he has his own opinion and goes with it
hi
I have issues with Paul, so I voted for Peter.
Serving in a church dedicated to St Peter, my vote goes to this imperfect, impetuous, wholehearted saint who never gave up and who opened wide the doors of the church to Cornelius and all who came after him.
I identify with the perpetual screw-ups, so I'm voting for Peter. I feel I ought to vote for Paul, because he's the A+ student in seminary. Peter is obviously the D. But I'm going to go with the one who at least tries to walk on water, also the one who swears up and down he'll have Jesus' back and then in the clinch succumbs to terror. I succumb to terror. So Peter for the win.
Wouldn't let me vote. just a spinning circle of white dots. If it ever settles down Peter has my vote because of Jesus's faith in him.
Another " 1/2 vote for each" moment ...
Voted for Paul, as theologically more relevant to me.
But not always the easiest early Christian to warm up to.
Happy to see Peter ahead in the poll.
Definitely a flawed human (like so many of us), but I like the way he kept working on his faith.
Clear: Jesus did also.
It’s Paul for me. I’ve always admired his 1000% enthusiasm, his run on sentences as he works to explain and bring people to Christ.
Paul is my church’s Patron Saint!
We wonder what happened to Monday Madness?
I adenify with Peter. So many times I get all caught up in intuitive thinking, to do something, and, like Peter, realise I can't walk on water. So I try to keep my head above water and ask for God's help.
I've always thought that when Peter suggested to Jesus that "we shall build three dwellings: one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for you" that Jesus's response was "and WHO is going to build these dwellings?" said the carpenter's son to the fisherman.
A tough one for me. There are lots of negatives to say about Paul, but as someone who frequently reads the Sunday readings at church, his letters are a joy to read aloud. Paul appears to be losing badly to Peter, which makes my vote a bit easier to cast. So I will vote for Paul whose letters are so inspiring.
Paul was ICE but he left and he never went back. He’s a model for what we need most now.
As I was reading Emily’s brilliant write-up on Paul’s travels, it struck me how much the logistics of "shaping the Church from Rome to the ends of the earth" have changed. Paul was a Roman citizen, which gave him a legal "pass," but I wonder how he or Peter would handle the bureaucracy of modern-day missions in the same regions? For a research project on modern pilgrimage logistics, I was looking at the requirements for staying in Portugal long-term to follow Peter’s potential footprints there. Does anyone know if a document like the Portuguese NIF from https://e-residence.com/es/nifonline/ is strictly for financial profit, or would a modern-day tentmaker like Paul need to secure one just to sign a simple lease for a mission house today?
I mean, Mr. Paul is fun and all that, but Peter "head-down was crucified," which is pretty hard to compete with.