Today we celebrate the dedication of the Roman basilicas of St Peter and St Paul. Some people are surprised by this – but they forget that we Orthodox are Romans! ‘Rum’ is the way that Orthodox are still to this day described in the Middle East, not surprising since the empire to which they historically belonged called itself not Byzantium but Romania, the land of the Romans.
And we are Romans, too! We share the faith that the holy apostles brought to the eternal city, Roma felix, tantorum principum purpurata sanguine, happy Rome, empurpled with the blood of such great leaders.