"Go therefore, make disciples of all nations, and baptize them in the name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Mk 28:19)
In the icon for the Feast of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, Our Lord stands in the center with the founders of the Church on his both sides. To the right of Christ stands St. Peter, holding the keys of the Kingdom and a scroll representing the apostolic teachings in his left hand. He stands upon a rock symbolizing (Peter) the rock on which the Church was built. St. Paul, on the left of our Lord, holds the book of his epistles and bears a sword, symbol of his martyrdom. Christ holds a scroll in His left hand and blessed in His right hand. The figures are framed by two pillars and an arch, representing the apostles as the pillars of the church and symbolizing the Kingdom of Heaven.In the far background is the world, into which the apostles were commissioned by Our Lord to go and preach the Gospel and baptize the nations. Behind St. Peter are depicted the hills of Antioch, where he founded the apostolic See, and the snow-capped mountains of Lebanon. To the back of St. Paul lies the rocky terrain and sea of his missionary journeys. Immediately behind and framing the three figures is the outline shape of the church, bearing a cross and with windows looking out onto the world. At the bottom of the icon is a scroll with the words in the original Greek: "Go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to all creation." (Mk 16:15).