Today we celebrate the Festival of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles. Early Christian tradition holds that Ss. Peter and Paul were martyred on the same day in Rome under the persecution of Nero. In addition to their joint commemoration on June 29th (a festival the Church has observed since the third century or so), Ss. Peter and Paul are also commemorated separately in the calendar — St. Peter on the 18th of January for his confession of Christ and St. Paul on the 25th of January for his conversion. Both Peter and Paul are held up in Scripture as examples of men who, although flawed, became staunch defenders of and evangelists for the faith.