" In the Synaspismos we witness two strong leaders willing to submit to one another—to embrace the gifts the other brings and to join together, shields overlapping, in a shared mission. The icon is all about Peter and Paul, and it is also all about something much greater than Peter and Paul. Precisely because of their differences, both the differences we see portrayed and the differences we know about from the New Testament, the icon invites us to ponder what could bring two men together in this way. What—or who—would be powerful enough to draw them together in this greeting, to hold them together across all of their barely concealed discomfort? "

― Andy Crouch , Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power