January: Day 16: Teaching 1: Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Peter

January: Day 16: Teaching 1:
Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Peter
 
(It Is Worthy and Righteous to Venerate the Chains of the Holy Apostle Peter)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On the 16th day of January, the Holy Church celebrates a spiritual celebration in memory of one event from the life of the great Apostle Peter.

The event commemorated by the Holy Church took place in the first century of the Christian Church, when the Holy Apostles and all Christians were imprisoned and executed. It was not easy for the confessors of the Christian faith to live then. This is how the Apostle Luke narrates this in the Book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles:

"Peter [who was imprisoned by order of King Herod, to be executed after the feast of the Passover] was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the Church. And when Herod was about to bring him out [to execute him], that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, 'Arise quickly!' And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, 'Gird yourself and tie on your sandals;' and so he did. And he said to him, 'Put on your garment and follow me.' So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, 'Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people'” (Acts 12:5-11).

The Jerusalem Christians rejoiced at Peter’s release. The Lord had delivered him for a time from the hands of his enemies. When day came, there was great alarm among the guards. They had tightly chained the prisoner, they were watching him vigilantly, but he was not there. How he was freed, where he had fled, no one knew. The angry King ordered the guards to be executed.

Soon the King himself died. They began sending rulers from Rome. The wicked Jews were less able to persecute Christians. The city forgot about the release of Peter, forgot about the executed guards. But the Christians did not forget about God's mercy. They obtained those iron chains with which the hands of the Apostle were bound. These chains were more precious than valuable treasures for the faithful children of the Church. The great Apostle wore them for the Lord Christ. They were sanctified by contact with the body of the Holy Apostle, and therefore became a source of healing. That is why the Christians of the first centuries revered them. Of course, during the times of persecution, the veneration of them was secret. It was impossible to honor them openly and visibly. But from the time of Constantine the Great, Peter's chains became an object of reverent veneration for all Christians visiting the city of Jerusalem. In the 5th century (around 437), the Jerusalem Patriarch presented them to Empress Eudokia, the wife of Emperor Theodosius II. The Empress sent one chain to Rome as a gift to her daughter, and left the other in Constantinople. It was placed there in the Church of the Holy Apostle Peter. Our Russian traveler saw it in the 12th century. He also wrote about the feast of the veneration of the chains, when the Patriarch and all those present in the church reverently kissed them.

II. The Holy Church calls upon Orthodox Christians to venerate the honorable chains of the Apostle Peter. It is worthy and righteous to honor such a great sacred object.

The Holy Apostle wore them for the Lord Christ. That is why they are valuable for Christians, because the Apostle Peter wore them and wore them specifically for Christ. And that is why they became miraculous. Do not be surprised at this. It is not the natural power of iron, but God's, grace-filled power. The chains were sanctified by touching the body of the Holy Apostle. Many examples can be given of how the most ordinary things became miraculous from contact with holy persons or objects. The sacred Book of the Acts of the Apostles narrates that even the shadow of the passing Apostle Peter was miraculous (5:15) and that "handkerchiefs and aprons from the body of the apostle Paul were placed on the sick, and their diseases ceased, and evil spirits came out of them" (19:20). And the Holy Gospel proclaims that a sick woman received healing from touching the clothes of the Savior (Matthew 9:20-22). If we were to tell you about the miraculous phenomena that have occurred from things sanctified by closeness to the saints, there would not be enough time. The history of the Church, the lives of saints, martyrs and ascetics are full of them. And in our time, poor in miracles compared to ancient times due to our sins, we can learn from reliable witnesses about cases of miracles from sacred objects. God's mercy is also great for us sinners.

III. Therefore, without any hesitation, let us render homage to the chains of the Apostle Peter. They are dear to us, as the chains of the Foremost Apostle, and also because God's grace, God's power is invisibly present in them. Let us not hesitate to render due honor to sanctified things in other cases. This honor is not to them, but to God, who has deigned to sanctify them. There is one Lord, glorified in the saints and through the saints and through the things sanctified by Him. We have no God but the One true one. We serve Him, but we do not offend Him by rendering due honor to sanctified objects. On the contrary, we are afraid to offend the Lord by lack of reverence for that which He Himself has deigned to make sacred. 

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