The pillars of the Church
Hand-painted icon of Saints Peter and Paul
The fisherman of Galilee and the Pharisee of Tarsus, so different, united in the same faith and the same martyrdom in Rome. The Church celebrates them together on 29 June as the two pillars on which her building rests.
How to recognise them
- Saint Peter has white hair and beard, short and curly; he holds the keys of the Kingdom or a scroll.
- Saint Paul has a high, bald forehead and a long dark beard; he holds the book of his Letters, sometimes the sword of his martyrdom.
- In the best-loved icon Peter and Paul embrace: it is the image of reconciliation and communion in the Church.
- In another variant they hold together the model of a church.
For whom
Saints Peter and Paul are patrons of Rome and of many cities and parishes. The icon is given for an ordination, to a priest or bishop, to those named Peter or Paul, to two brothers or two friends, as a sign of reconciliation after a division. Like every icon by Concetta Basile, it is fully gilded with 23¾ karat gold, with inscriptions in Greek or Latin, and is commissioned with an offering proportionate to the time and materials of the work.