www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall St. Peter the Aleut

Slava Jesu Kristu,

So really, after all is taken into account, St. Peter the Aleut truely does represent the persecutions of the natives peoples and the spirit of that time. Regardless of the validity of the true story, I think Catholics should have no problem venerated him as a model of strength of the Faith. At least, that is how I am looking at it. I hope my Orthodox brothers don't mind...

Mir s Toboy,
Dmitri

Dear Friends,

Gerard Serafin questioned the existence of St Peter the Aleut on the basis of this reasoning: 1) the idea of an Orthodox Christian being martyred by Catholics is hurtful to the process of church unity; 2) it also casts a slur on the Catholic Church itself, therefore, 3) it can't really be true and Peter may have been a figment of an anti-Catholic Orthodox group's overactive imagination.

If I've misrepresented his basic argument in any way, I apologise, but it's an argument I've come across before.

The point is that there are other saints in the calendar who were likewise done in by Catholics and vice-versa.

The argument that this cult hurts the cause of Church unity is not "resolved" by calling it into question with the view to pretending it isn't valid or the person didn't exist etc.

Other Orthodox saints martyred by Catholics include St Athanasius of Brest, St Isiodore and the 72 Martyrs of Dorpats, the 26 Martyrs of Zographou Monastery on Mt. Athos and other martyrs for Orthodoxy.

There is a whole group of Orthodox saints who were known for their critical statements against Catholicism including St Theophan the Recluse, St Paissy Velichkovsky, St Mark of Ephesus and many others.

Many Catholic saints also had critical things to say about the "Orthodox schismatics."

To remove from the calendars of both Churches those many saints that had things to say about church politics and controversies of their day would truly impoverish everyone.

Rather than pretend these controversies and strong feelings didn't exist or that they somehow downplay a given Saint's claim to holiness and veneration, we should view them in their proper historical contexts that change over time.

A future united Orthodox-Catholic Church will gather all the local saints together into one fold.

This happened several times before, such as following the Arian heresy.

As we've discussed way back when, many Arian saints are now in the Orthodox and Catholic calendars after the demise of that movement.

Sts. Sabbas and Nicetas the Goth are two popular saints of our Church, and yet they were Arians, the latter consecrated a priest by the Arian bishop Ulfilas himself. And yet St Basil the Great wrote a panegyric in his honour, his martyrdom for Christ bearing more weight than any defects of his orthodoxy.

Miaphysite saints of the Oriental Orthodox Church of Georgia are now in the universal Orthodox Calendar following that Church's union with Eastern Orthodoxy.

And so, St David of Garesja, who was called "that putrefaction from Georgia" by Greek theologians, is now a saint in the Orthodox Calendar.

Let us join with St Herman of Alaska, when he first heard about the martyrdom of an Aleutian Indian, and say:

St Peter the Aleut, pray unto God for us!

Alex

As a priest of the OCA, I would like to correct Gerard on two of his "facts": Bishop Seraphim (Sigrist) is *not* a bishop of the OCA. He is a retired bishop of the Moscow Patriarchate. Therefore, he does not speak on such matters for the OCA, only himself.

Second, in a previous post, Gerard quotes an unamed monk who doubts the veracity of the account of St. Peter the Aleut. My educated guess is that the monk to whom you refer is a prolific presence on the internet. I will not name him because this would not be proper (and I certainly may be wrong, but I doubt it!). I will tell you that, if this is the same monk, he does not live in a monastery, and he also does not consider our father among the Saints, St. John of Kronstadt, to be a saint either. So everyone is entitled to their opinion, but once again, he does *not* speak for the Holy Synod of Bishops of the OCA. Only the Holy Synod speaks for the Holy Synod.

It is true that his relics have not been positively located, but the story of his sacrifice was common among the Aleuts and among the locals in California and Alaska. It was on these accounts, and the stories of his intercessions, that he was canonized.

I can tell you that St. Peter the Aleut, young martyr, is indeed unashamedly venerated in all OCA churches, and I have never received official correspondence otherwise. His feastday is September 24th. His account is found with the Martyr Juvenaly.

I will openly admit that "both sides" have committed atrocities in the name of "truth," however, I believe that this thread is beneath the dignity of God-fearing Byzantine Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

Martyr Peter the Aleut, pray for us!

Priest Thomas Soroka
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (OCA)
McKees Rocks, PA
http://www.stnicholas-oca.org

I thank Fr. Thomas for providing the last word on this thread.

St. Peter the Aleut, pray for us!