Pope Peter of Alexandria
| Pope Peter of Alexandria | |
|---|---|
| Hieromartyr | |
| Born | 3rd century, Alexandria, Egypt |
| Died | November 25, 311, Alexandria, Egypt |
| Venerated in | Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism |
| Feast | November 25 |
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Pope Peter of Alexandria was Pope of Alexandria (300 - 311). He is revered as a saint by the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church,[1] and the Byzantine Orthodox Church.
The Coptic Orthodox Church believes that Peter was given by his parents to His Holiness Theonas to be brought up as a priest, as had Samuel in the Old Testament. He rose through the orders, first becoming a reader, then a deacon, then a priest. On his death bed, Theonas advised the church leaders to choose Peter as his successor, which they did. Eusebius states he was patriarch for 13 years (Historia Ecclesiatica VII.32).
The years in which Peter fell during the most terrible persecution Christianity was subjected to, that of Roman Emperor Diocletian, which began in 303, and continued intermittently over the next ten years.
During his imprisonment, he and Bishop Meletius of Lycopolis fell into an argument over the treatment of Christians who had either offered a sacrifice or surrendered scriptures to save their lives during the persecution. Peter urged leneincy while Meletius held firmly the lapsed had abandoned their faith and needed to be rebaptised. Their argument became heated, and was ended when Peter hung a curtain between him and Meletius. One of Meletius' followers was Arius, which Peter excommunicated from the Church [2]. According to Severus, Arius tried in vain to receive the absolution from the Patriarch, before Peter was executed.
Martyrdom
During the Diocletian Persecution, the Patriarch was seized and thrown in prison. When the emperor was informed about this, he ordered Peter to be beheaded. This was hindered by a large number of Christians who gathered at the prison willing to die for their Patriarch. The soldiers delayed the execution because they neither wanted to massacre the crowd nor create a riot.
The Patriarch, fearing for the life of his people, advised the soldiers with a plan to sneak him out of jail by breaking a hole in a certain wall which he would point out. He could then be smuggled out and receive his sentence.
Severus of Ashmumeen describes the moment when the Patriarch was martyred
| “ |
And he took off his pallium, and bared his neck, which was pure before the Lord, and said to them: «Do as you have been commanded». But the soldiers feared that trouble would befall them because of him. So they looked one at another, and not one of them dared to cut off his head, because of the dread which had fallen upon them. Then they took counsel together and said: «To him that cuts off his head each one of us will give five denarii». Now they were six persons; and one of them had some money; so he took out five and twenty denarii from among the coins and said : «He that will go up to him, and cut off his head, shall receive this money from me and from the four others». So one of the men went forward, and summoned up his courage, and cut off the head of the holy martyr and patriarch Peter; that day being the 29th of Hatur (November 25, 311). [3]. |
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References
| Preceded by Theonas |
Pope of
Alexandria 300–311 |
Succeeded by Achillas |
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