Synaxarium

On this day, Saint Peter, the seventeenth Pope of Alexandria and the Seal of the Martyrs, was martyred. His father was the chief priest of Alexandria named Theodosius, and his mother was Sophia. They were very God-fearing but had no children. On the fifth of the month of Abib, which is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, his mother went to church and saw women carrying their children. She was very saddened and wept, asking the Lord Jesus with tears to grant her a child. That night, Peter and Paul appeared to her and informed her that the Lord had accepted her prayer and would give her a son named Peter. They instructed her to go to the patriarch to bless her. When she awoke, she told her husband what she had seen, and he rejoiced. She then went to the patriarch and told him the vision. He prayed and blessed her. Shortly after, this saint Peter was born. At the age of seven, they entrusted him to Pope Theonas like Samuel the prophet. He became like a special son to him and was enrolled in the theological school, where he excelled in preaching and guidance. He was ordained deacon by Agnestus and shortly after became a priest, taking on many church responsibilities. Pope Theonas passed away after recommending that Father Peter be his successor. When he sat on the Marcion throne, the church was enlightened by his teachings. In Antioch, a chief named Arius agreed with King Diocletian to return to paganism. He had two sons whom their mother could not baptize there, so she came to Alexandria with them. On the way, the sea became very stormy, and fearing the children might drown unbaptized, she immersed them in the sea water, saying, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” She then cut her breast and marked the sign of the glorious cross with her blood on the foreheads of her two sons. The sea calmed, and she reached Alexandria safely with her children. One day, she brought them with other children for baptism. Each time the patriarch tried to baptize them, the water froze like stone. This happened three times. When he asked her about this, she told him what had happened at sea. He was amazed and glorified God, saying, “Thus the church says, there is one baptism.” During this pope’s days, Arius the heretic appeared. Saint Peter advised him much to repent from his corrupt belief, but he refused. He was excommunicated and barred from church fellowship. Arius contacted the pagan King Maximian, accusing Peter, Patriarch of Alexandria, of inciting the people not to worship the goddess. The king was very angry and sent messengers ordering Peter’s beheading. When they reached Alexandria, they ravaged the people, destroyed most of Egypt, plundered wealth, abducted women and children, and killed about 840,000 people, some by sword, others by hunger and imprisonment. Then they returned to Alexandria, arrested the patriarch, and imprisoned him. When the people learned of their shepherd’s arrest, they gathered at the prison door, wanting to rescue him by force. The commander feared public disorder and postponed the execution until the next day. Seeing this, the saint wished to surrender himself to death for his people, desiring to depart and be with Christ without causing disturbance. He sent for his children, comforted them, and urged them to remain steadfast in the true faith. Arius did not know that Saint Peter would soon depart to the Lord and leave him under the ban. He begged the chief priests to release him, but they refused. He told them that the Lord Jesus appeared to him that night in a vision wearing a torn garment. He asked, “Who tore your garment, my Lord?” The Lord answered, “Arius tore my garment because he separated me from the Father. Beware of accepting him.” Then Saint Peter secretly summoned the king’s commander and advised him to dig behind the prison wall on the side without Christians. The commander was amazed at the father’s nobility and did as he was told, secretly freeing him from prison. He brought him to the city outskirts near the tomb of Saint Mark, the evangelist of these lands. There, he knelt and prayed to God, saying, “Let my blood be the end of idol worship and the cessation of the shedding of Christian blood.” A voice from heaven was heard by a nearby holy virgin saying, “Amen,” meaning, “May it be as you have wished.” When he finished his prayer, the executioner came and cut off his holy head. The body remained in place until the people left the city unaware of what had happened. They hurried to the place of martyrdom, took the pure body, clothed it in angelic garments, and seated it on the chair of Saint Mark, which he had refused to sit on during his life, saying he saw the power of the Lord sitting on it and did not dare to sit. They placed him among the bodies of the saints. His tenure on the throne lasted ten years. May his prayers be with us. Amen.

On this day, Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome, was martyred. This father was born in Rome to a noble father named Festinus, a member of the Senate. He was taught and educated in Greek literature. When Saint Peter the Apostle came to Rome and preached, Clement was summoned to his council and debated with him extensively. The apostle demonstrated the futility of idol worship and proved the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom they preached and performed miracles. Clement believed through him and was baptized by him. From that day, he followed him and wrote the lives of the disciples and what they endured under kings and governors. He preached in many cities, and many believed through him. He was entrusted by the apostles with their canonical books and became patriarch of Rome in the late first century AD. He preached there and brought many of its people to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. King Trajan heard about him, summoned him as a prisoner, and ordered him to worship idols and deny Christ, but he did not obey. Fearing to torture him publicly before the city and his people, the king exiled him to a city and wrote to its governor to torture and kill him. The governor tied his neck to an anchor and threw him into the sea. Thus, this saint surrendered his pure soul and received the crown of martyrdom in the year 100 AD. A year after his departure, the sea receded from his body, which appeared at the bottom of the sea as if alive. Many entered and were blessed by him. They wanted to move him from his place, so they brought a marble coffin and placed him in it. When they tried to take him out of the sea, they could not move it, so they realized he did not want to be moved and left. The sea recedes from him every year on his feast day, allowing visitors to enter and be blessed. Many travelers came to witness this wonder. Among the miracles written about him is that in some years, visitors came to be blessed and forgot a small boy behind the saint’s coffin. This was by the Lord Jesus Christ’s arrangement to show the grace of His love and the honor they received. When the boy’s parents remembered their son, they hurried to the sea and found the sea had returned and covered the coffin. They concluded their son had died in the sea and been eaten by sea beasts. They mourned him and held memorials and liturgies as usual. The following year, the sea receded, and people entered as usual, astonished to find the boy alive. They asked him how he had stayed and what he ate. He said the saint fed and gave him drink and protected him from sea beasts. They glorified the Lord Jesus Christ, glorified in His saints. May his prayers be with us. Amen.

Commemoration of the martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. May her prayers be with us, and glory to our Lord forever and ever. Amen.