St. Peter & St. Paul
St. Peter
"The divinely-blessed Peter was from Bethsaida of Galilee. He was the son of Jonas and the brother of Andrew the First-called. He was a fisherman by trade, unlearned and poor, and was called Simon; later he was renamed Peter by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who looked at him and said, “Thou art Simon the son of Jonas; thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, Peter)” (John 1:42). On being raised by the Lord to the dignity of an Apostle and becoming inseparable from Him as His zealous disciple, he followed Him from the beginning of His preaching of salvation up until the very Passion, when, in the court of Caiaphas the high priest, he denied Him thrice because of his fear of the Jews and of the danger at hand. But again, after many bitter tears, he received complete forgiveness of his transgression. After the Resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit, he preached in Judea, Antioch, and certain parts of Asia, and finally came to Rome, where he was crucified upside down by Nero, and thus he ascended to the eternal habitations about the year 66 or 68, leaving two Catholic (General) Epistles to the Church of Christ." (Taken from Northeast American Diocese website)​
St. Paul
"Paul, selected by Christ to be His chosen vessel, the glory of the Church, the Apostle to the Nations, and teacher of the world, was a Jew, who was born a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, and from Tarsus. He was a Roman citizen, spoke Greek fluently, was thoroughly trained in the Law, and was a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law in Jerusalem, and a famous Pharisee. Because of these factors, Paul--who was Saul before his conversion (Acts 22:3-4)--was initially a passionate defender of Jewish traditions, and a violent persecutor of the Church of Christ. He was in a rage against the disciples of the Lord when he made his way to Damascus with letters from the high priest, for the sole purpose of bringing back to Jerusalem all those who were disciples of Christ, in chains upon their hands. As Saul drew near to Damascus at about noon, a light from heaven shone around him brilliantly, and he fell down upon the ground. Then he heard a voice say, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" He said, "Who are you, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting; it is hard for you to kick against the goads." Saul, once overcome with fear, could not see and had to be led by the hand into the city. There, he is baptized, through the revelation to the Apostle Ananias (see Oct. 1), and both his sight and a true understanding are given to him, so his eyes are opened to the Light of Righteousness. And then, immediately—O wonderful change!—he begins preaching in the synagogues that "Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 9:1-21). After his conversion, no one preached the Gospel with the fervor and zeal that Paul did. He has gone through innumerable labors and sufferings: wounds, imprisonments, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, danger on land and sea, danger in towns and wilderness, sleeplessness, fastings, hunger, thirst, cold, and nakedness. He stood before nations, kings, and Israel, but above all, his heart was burdened for all of the churches and the salvation of every soul. As such, he became "all things to all men" that he might save some. He preached and preached, travelled across Asia and Europe, East and West, staying in places only a short time. Paul left to the Church a fourteen-volume set of Epistles, full of divine wisdom and heavenly revelation. The letters, explained in 250 homilies by St. John Chrysostom, manifest the depth of his thought, the volume of grace he received, and the extreme truths about God he was entrusted with." (Taken from Northeast American Diocese website​)