Vigils Reading – SS Peter & Paul

THE FISHERMAN

AND THE TENTMAKER

From a treatise by St John Chrysostom

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Before the crucifixion, <Peter>, the prince of the apostles did not

endure the threat of a doorkeeper. After such an initiation as he had

received, he said that he did not know the man. But after the crucifixion, he

traveled all over the world; as a result of his travels and preaching, countless

people died the death of martyrs because they chose to be slain rather than

say what the prince of the apostles said when he was frightened by the threat

of one doorkeeper who was a mere maid-servant.

The result of his travels and preaching was that every land and city,

every desert and area where men dwell has joined us in preaching Christ

crucified. Now we find on our side emperors and generals, princes and

consuls, free men and slaves, private persons, the wise, the unlearned, and

the barbarian; among every race of men and in every land over which the sun

passes and shines, we hear his name and find him worshiped. From this you

may understand what Isaiah meant when he said: “His resting place shall be

glorious.”

Although the place which received his slain body was very small and

narrow, it is more venerable than royal palaces, and the emperors themselves

hold his tomb in higher honor. “His resting place shall be glorious.” And

this is true not only of his tomb but also of the tombs of his apostles. Those

men who were dragged from one court of justice to another, who were bound

in chains and treated with contempt, those who endured ten thousand

torments in their lifetime, now that they have died, are held in higher honor

than the emperors themselves.

At Rome, the most imperial of cities, emperors, consuls, and generals

put all else aside and hurried to the tombs of the fisherman and tentmaker.

And in Constantinople, those who were crowned with royal diadems did not

wish their bodies buried close to the apostles but outside the church,

alongside the entrance. In this way, emperors became door-keepers for the

fishermen. Even in death, both the emperors themselves and their children

feel no disgrace in this but even consider it an honor.

As Isaiah said: “His resting place shall be glorious.” You will see how

great this glory is when you have considered the symbol of his death, a death

which was the most cursed and ignominious of all deaths. This kind of death

was the only one subject to a curse. Let me give you an example. In ancient

times. Some malefactors were burned, others were stoned to death, and

others ended their lives by some other kind of punishment. But the man who

was nailed to a cross and was left hanging on its wood not only endured the

harsh punishment to which he had been sentenced but he was also subject to

a curse. “Everyone who is hanged on a gibbet is accursed.” But that

accursed, abominable symbol of the worst of punishments has now become

an object of man’s desire and love.