Saints

St Peter was in many ways the most impetuous of the apostles. A fisherman in Galilee when he met Jesus for the first time, he was told he would become a fisherman of men. His name originally was Simon. Jesus changed it to Kephas, an Aramaic word meaning rock. When Jesus asked who the disciples thought who he was Peter said immediately: "You are the Christ. The Son of the Living God." Jesus repli... Read More

Bishop and Martyr. Born around 130 AD, Irenaeus of Lyons was bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, (now Lyons) in France. His writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. He was a disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna, who himself was a disciple of the Apostle John the Theologian. Irenaeus is thought to have been a Greek from Smyrna in Asia Minor, now Izmir, Turkey. He was brought up ... Read More

This day commemorates all those who died in the persecutions of Nero, in the late first century. It always falls after the feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Little is known about many of these early Christians. Because of the lack of information, after 1969, several individual names were left out of the list of saints. Remembering them as a group in this way makes up for those whose histories h... Read More