The Holy Apostles: The Pillars of the Holy Church
The Holy Apostles: The Pillars of the Holy Church
On the occasion of the blessed Fast of the Apostles, I would like to speak to you a little about the Holy Apostles.
The Apostles in the Church are its sacred pillars. The Holy Bible likens them to mountains, and Saint Augustine, in his commentary on the Psalms, says regarding the verse “I lift up my eyes to the mountains” (Psalm 121:1), that these mountains refer to the Apostles.
The Church is founded upon the holy mountains, meaning those Apostles who rose high in spiritual life. When Saint Paul spoke of Peter, James, and John, he said they were pillars in the Church. The Apostles, therefore, are the pillars of the Church. They delivered to us the Christian faith, appointed the first bishops and clergy, and passed on the holy teachings they received directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. They handed down to us the faith “once delivered to the saints,” who are the first Apostles.
The Apostles were the most laborious and hardworking of all people for the sake of the Word, testimony, preaching, and evangelism. Saint Paul said of himself: “I labored more abundantly than they all” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
The Apostles are for us the first fountains from which we received the faith, flowing with the living water of the Holy Spirit. They were vessels carrying the Holy Spirit to the whole world. We honor them deeply and preserve for them this great gratitude because they brought the faith to us.
When we speak of the Apostles, let us pause to know how they were chosen, and how God selected them from among all the world—how He chose these pillars, these precious jewels in the crown of the Church. How?
The Lord Jesus Christ chose the Apostles from various kinds of people to show us that anyone can be fit for the Kingdom of God and leadership if placed in God’s hand.
If the Lord had chosen them all from one specific group, we might have said that anyone outside that group would be unfit for ministry. But Christ chose many types of people, and whichever kind was placed in His hand, He could work through them. What matters is not what a person is before being in the hand of Christ, but what he becomes after.
Many kinds of people fell into the hand of Christ—Thomas the doubter, Peter the impulsive, the sons of thunder (John and James), the harsh tax collector Matthew, a group of fishermen, and even the learned philosopher Saul of Tarsus. Every type that fell into His hand, He was able to use.
The important thing is this: how can you place yourself in the hand of Christ so that He works through you? Do not say, “I am unworthy; my nature is not fit.” Instead, say, “How can I reach the hand of Christ so that He may work in me?”
Take, for example, Saint John the Beloved and his brother James. They were called the sons of thunder, strong in truth like a flaming sword, raised by John the Baptist—the fiery prophet who said: “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance… Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7–10), and who rebuked Herod saying: “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mark 6:18).
The Lord took John and James to Samaria, where the people rejected them. When they said, “Lord, do You want us to call fire down from heaven to consume them?” (Luke 9:54), He refused and said, “I will remove this harshness from you.”
Then He began to train John gently, allowing him to lean on His loving breast that beats with compassion for all people, until John was transformed into the Apostle of love. His Gospel overflows with love. If we ask him, “Where did you get this love?” he would answer, “I was placed in the hand of Christ, and He changed my nature.”
God can choose any person. You might say, “I am harsh, and God is gentle; I am not fit.” Do not say that. God takes all types and works through them. Even thorns, as one writer said, can serve as fertilizer for the earth.
In the desert, we burn thorns and use their ashes to enrich the soil. In unskilled hands, thorns are useless; in wise hands, they become fruitful.
This shows the divine skill of God, who turned the son of thunder into the Apostle of love, and Peter the coward into a bold preacher of faith. When Peter once feared a servant girl by the fire, Christ said, “Bring Me this fearful man so I may make him courageous.” The important thing is that he reaches My hands—for whatever reaches My hands becomes powerful.
Our problem is that we often flee from Christ and resist giving ourselves to Him. He says to us, “Stay in My hand, surrender your will, and I will work in you.” We should rejoice to be in His hand, even if it presses us—for that is for our good.
Christ took all these different people and made them instruments to teach the whole world. He did not choose philosophers but simple fishermen and filled them with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
God has a workshop for souls and servants. He reshapes people and molds them anew, making them new creations. This renewal that Christ gives is part of His work in humanity. Sometimes He changes a person’s nature completely; other times, He redirects it toward good.
For example, John the son of thunder was not stripped of his strength—his power was redirected toward spiritual love. Peter, who was impulsive, remained zealous, but his zeal was purified and directed toward holy courage and boldness in preaching.
Saul of Tarsus had zeal too, but it was misguided—he persecuted the Church and consented to the stoning of Saint Stephen, the first martyr. Yet Christ did not destroy him; He called, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” and transformed his zeal into tireless service and defense of the faith.
God uses all gifts in His kingdom—He corrects the misdirected ones and strengthens the good ones. Even those who were once far from God, like Tolstoy or Augustine, were transformed when placed in His hand.
No one who falls into God’s hand remains the same. If one lacks gifts, He grants them; if one has gifts, He refines them.
Who would have thought that Matthew the Apostle, who wrote the Gospel, was once a tax collector? God does not need people’s talents so much as their willingness to be placed in His hand.
He gives gifts, corrects faults, and works through all who respond to His call.
You might say, “Lord, I am weak and cannot resist sin.” He answers, “Come into My hands, and you will see what happens.” “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
When Samson relied on his own strength, he lost it. But when he turned his heart back to God, his strength returned, and he accomplished in one moment more than in his whole life.
The great secret of the Apostles’ success is that they surrendered themselves into Christ’s hands without debate, condition, or hesitation. Matthew, while sitting at the tax booth, heard, “Follow Me,” and immediately followed Him—without question or reasoning.
Our problem today is too much reasoning. Matthew did not reason. He simply followed. He did not know where Christ was going, but he trusted Him completely.
We too must place ourselves in Christ’s hands without condition, saying, “Lord, I have come to You—work in me as You will.”
Just as a craftsman shapes wood into something beautiful, so God reshapes our lives when we stop resisting His hand.
What matters most is that we are in His hands—the hands that formed us, were pierced for us, and hold all power. Whoever reaches these hands reaches the depth of goodness and love.
What was the first great work of the Apostles that led to their success? It was that they did nothing but surrender themselves to the hand of Christ, to do with them whatever He willed according to His good and blessed purpose.
If we glorify them, it is because they gave their wills entirely to Him, denied themselves, and let Him lead them completely.
We too must say, “Lord, we do not understand, but You do. We place ourselves in Your hands—let Your will be done.”
This was the path of the Apostles. May you also walk in this path and place yourselves in the hand of Christ.
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Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Watani Newspaper, June 24, 1973
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