St. Peter the Aleut
St.
Peter the Aleut was a native of Kodiak Island, who became the third
martyr for the Orthodox Faith in America. He was a fur-hunter,
baptized into the Faith by Russian missionaries.
Spain was in possession of California in those days,
and was deeply suspicious of Russian encroachment from the North. In
1815, the Spanish governor ordered an immediate halt to Russian
trading and trapping in the region, and the arrest of nearly one
hundred Russians and Aleuts who had not yet left the area.
The prisoners were treated as slaves, and some,
notably Peter, were tortured in order to try to force them to accept
the Roman Catholic faith, even though he confessed the Holy Orthodox
Christian Faith. An eyewitness account stated that a Spanish priest
ordered that Peter’s fingers be cut off, one joint at a time,
eventually cutting his hands completely off, and then that he be
disemboweled. Peter died of his torture, without ever renouncing the
Orthodox Faith.
Holy St. Peter the Aleut, pray to God for us.
St. Peter the Aleut (with St. Juvenaly) is
commemorated in the Synaxis of the First Martyrs of the American
Land, Dec. 12 on the calendar of the ancient Church (December 25 on
the New Style calendar).
Thy martyr, O Lord, St. Peter the Aleut, through
his suffering, an incorruptible crown did obtain from Thee, our
God; for, rejoicing in Thy strength, he laid low his tormentors
and did beat off impotent affronts of the demons also; at his
intercessions save our souls.
