December: Day 21: Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow

December: Day 21:
Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow
 
(Lessons From His Life)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Almost 600 years have passed since the death of the now celebrated Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, but time has not hidden from us the lamp of faith and piety; the Russian people have preserved his memory in their chronicles for the grateful, prayerful glorification of the Saint of God. Let us open these chronicles to see in them the bright image of the Saint standing before the throne of the Lord of glory.

Saint Peter was born in Volyn, in the second half of the 13th century. Not long before his birth, his mother had a significant dream, foreshadowing the greatness of the soul and life of her future son. She dreamed that she was holding in her arms an extraordinary lamb, between whose horns there was a tree on which the leaves were mixed with flowers and fruits, and among the branches of the beautiful tree many candles burned, pouring out fragrance. And the dream came true: the Lord gave her a son, who became a shepherd of many rational sheep, was fragrant among them, and shone with faith and a God-pleasing life.

At the age of seven he was sent to learn to read and write. It was difficult for him at first; the youth was sad, and his parents were sad, but they did not lose heart, but prayed to the giver of wisdom - God, and He heard their prayer. One day the youth fell asleep with sorrow in his heart about the difficulty of learning, and saw in a dream a man in a bishop's cassock, who, approaching him, said: "My child! open your mouth," and when the youth opened his mouth, the Saint touched his tongue, and as if poured sweetness into his mouth. At this the youth woke up, an inexplicable delight filled his heart, his mind was enlightened. From then on his abilities began to develop quickly, book learning came easily to him, reading the word of God was his most important occupation, to which he devoted himself with all his love. The seed of the word of God sank deep into the young soul; falling on good soil, it brought forth abundant fruits of Christian virtues, and with such force attracted him to the heavenly, that the twelve-year-old youth left his parents' house and entered a monastery.

The young monk was distinguished by strict obedience, zeal and love for prayer, meekness and humility. After several years he was ordained a deacon, and then a priest. In the monastery he learned icon painting, and was, as the chronicler says, a wonderful icon painter. In icon painting he found the greatest pleasure for himself, since in this occupation he lived with thoughts of God and His saints. The desire for higher achievements prompted him to seek solitude, and he withdrew to a deserted place, where on the bank of the Rata River he subsequently built a church and founded a monastery. Chosen as abbot, he applied with all strictness to his new service the commandment of Christ the Savior: "Let him who is greatest among you be the servant of all." He served as an example of a high ascetic life for the brethren, taught patience, meekness, mercy, humility, taught labor and prayer. The fragrance of the virtues of the Ratsk Monastery abbot spread far; throughout southern Russia the people knew about him - the princes and nobles knew.

After Metropolitan Maximus, Saint Peter was elected Metropolitan, but not only of southern Russia, as the Galician prince Yuri wished, plotting to completely separate from the Moscow metropolitanate, but of all Russia. For the consecration, Saint Peter went to Constantinople. During the consecration, his face shone as if with the sun's rays, so that all those serving were amazed by this, and the Patriarch himself said to the entire synod: "Truly by the command of God this wonderful man has come to us, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit he will well shepherd the flock entrusted to him." Thus the Lord prepared His chosen one for the high service of the hierarch, to whom He entrusted the governance of the Church in the most difficult time in the life of the Russian people, oppressed by the Mongols, tormented by the internecine strife of princes, shaken by the grossest vices: deceit, cunning, treachery, duplicity, cruelty. Many labors, many sorrows lay before the Saint. In order to strengthen faith and good morality among the people, he walked around the lands of Volyn, Kyiv, Suzdal, proclaimed the gospel truth, consoled, defended the offended, was a father to orphans, widows and the poor. He inspired persons of the priestly rank to teach the people by word and good life, addressed them with a written instruction, which was imbued with the spirit of meekness, love, a deep awareness of the importance and height of the priestly rank.

The work of Saint Peter was almost interrupted by the machinations of Bishop Andrei of Tver, who dreamed of occupying the throne of the Russian metropolitanate. He sent a false denunciation of him to the Patriarch, who proposed that the matter be considered at a synod. The synod was convened in Pereslavl-Zalessky. After the denunciation, filled with slander, was read, a general, strong unrest occurred. In order to stop this storm, the Saint said: "I am no better than the Prophet Jonah: if there is such unrest because of me, then cast me out from among you." Then, turning to the slanderer, he said: "Peace be with you, child! It is not you who are guilty of this, but the ancient envious one of the human race - the devil. From now on, beware of lies, and may God forgive you for the past." The synod issued a complete acquittal of the Saint. Rejoicing at the triumph of truth, at the speedy end of the unrest, he again, and with even greater zeal, devoted himself to his archpastoral service, begged the princes to stop the discord, traveled with the Grand Prince Michael Yaroslavich to the Horde, and petitioned the new Khan Uzbek for confirmation of the previously granted rights and privileges.

Upon returning from the Horde, Saint Peter, already decrepit in years, continued to lead his former wandering life, instructing and encouraging everyone. During these travels, he came to know the modest town of Moscow, and fell deeply in love with the prince there, Ivan Danilovich Kalita, a merciful, pious and meek prince,  so he began to live in Moscow more than in other cities, and then moved there entirely. Approaching the grave, Saint Peter advised his beloved prince to build a stone church of the Holy Mother of God in Moscow, and to convince him, he said prophetically: "If you listen to me, my son, then you yourself will become more famous than other princes with your lineage, and your city will be famous among all Russian cities, and the saints will live in it, and my bones will be laid here." The church was founded and quickly erected: the Saint managed to make a coffin for himself in it with his own hands, near the altar, but did not live to see its completion, and died on December 21, 1326, at prayer, during the evening service. His coffin, placed in the Dormition Cathedral founded at his request, became the cornerstone of Moscow's greatness. After his death, the Lord glorified His chosen one with miracles and the incorruptibility of his body. The relics of Saint Peter were found in 1472.

II. This is a brief account of the life and work of the great Saint of the Russian land, Holy Metropolitan Peter of Moscow, who can rightly be called the salt of the Russian land: "You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13, 14), said Christ the Savior to His disciples. So high is the calling and purpose of the Holy Apostles! By preaching about Christ, they were to bring healing to the life of the world lying in evil, to save it from spiritual decay, just as salt preserves various objects from spoilage and decay. The holy life of the Apostles was to be a light for the world sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, illuminating the path to truth and to the Divine light - Christ. The Holy Apostles sacredly fulfilled the covenant of their heavenly Teacher, were the salt of the earth, the light of the world, in all the power of these words.

The salt of the Russian land, a lamp burning brightly in it, was the successor of the apostolic ministry, the now celebrated Saint Peter. What did he bequeath to us with his life and work?

a) He bequeathed to us a love for book learning, a love for fine art, but especially a love for the word of God, on which alone true education, the correct development of the soul and human life can be built.

b) He bequeathed to us to overcome the difficulty of book learning with diligence, patience and prayer. By these means, and not by others, the difficulty of book learning was overcome by Saint Sergius of Radonezh the Wonderworker and other holy saints of God. The source of truth and wisdom, the Lord grants both to all who resort to Him with fervent prayer for this.

c) He bequeathed to us diligence and obedience, to avoid idleness and absent-mindedness, to be attentive and strict in our words and actions, to be restrained, meek, indulgent in mutual relations, to be merciful, always ready to help our neighbor in his trouble and need, to forgive insults with all our hearts, and to admonish the offenders with love, to avoid quarrels and enmity, to bring peace and harmony everywhere, promoting the unification and cohesion of the family, society and the state, ensuring their strength, power and prosperity. He bequeathed to us to bring into life the light of faith and good deeds, ardent love for our native country, the ruler of the people, God's Anointed One, and the Orthodox Church. (See the Words and Instructions of Archpriest Mazanov, Law School of the Poltava Institute.)

III. Let us honor the sacred memory of the Saint of God by fulfilling His will, let us ask His saints to pray for us, so that the united Russian land may grow in strength and power, in the flourishing of faith and piety, in ardent love and reverent obedience to its Sovereign, to whom the Ruler of the world, the Lord, Himself entrusted the governance of the people. “By Me,” says God Himself, “kings reign, and the mighty decree righteousness” (Prov. 8:15). 

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.