November: Day 24: Teaching 1: Holy Hieromartyr Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria

November: Day 24:* Teaching 1:
Holy Hieromartyr Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria
 
(Lessons From His Life:
a. Obedience to the Dictates of the Authorities, and
b. The Need to Sacrifice One's Personal Safety for the Common Good)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Holy Hieromartyr Peter, whose memory is celebrated today, being the Archbishop of Alexandria, during the days of the cruel persecution of Diocletian, with complete self-sacrifice protected his flock, strengthened it for the feat of martyrdom and by his bold preaching about Christ could not fail to attract the attention of the pagan government. Emperor Maximinus, who lived at that time in Nicomedia, ordered the commander of Alexandria to seize Saint Peter and bring him bound to him. In carrying out this order, the commander encountered strong obstacles among the people, who rebelled and did not want to part with their shepherd. Day and night, the Christians devoted to him remained at the house where the Saint was kept until the time of a new order from the emperor. Hearing about the people's rebellion, the emperor immediately ordered the death of Saint Peter and all those resisting the royal decree. Despite this, the people, who had flocked in great numbers to the place where the Saint was imprisoned, showed a resolute intention not to hand over their shepherd to the enemies. Seeing such determination in the people and wanting to prevent the terrible bloodshed that could occur as a result of the rebellion, Saint Peter repeatedly admonished the people to hand him over to the lawful government. All was in vain, the people cried out: "Let them kill us all first, but we will not abandon our shepherd." The Saint of Christ, having firmly decided to suffer alone in order to avert public disaster and the death of many, sent one of his close servants to the governor with the proposal that if he wants to fulfill the emperor's will, he should come at night and, having dug under the wall of the prison from the back, take him and do with him as he pleases. The governor actually did so. Thus, Saint Peter, having suffered for the faith of Christ as a true and faithful follower of Christ, at the same time fulfilled the duty of self-sacrifice as a citizen, a member of society, for the sake of preserving public peace.

II. This behavior of the Saint points out to us, brethren, two virtues that are obligatory for all Christians.

a) Firstly, we are obliged to obey the authorities.

1) This is required by the word of God. The Holy Apostle Peter teaches Christians this virtue: “Be submissive to every human institution for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king as the supreme authority, or to governors as those sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good we may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. As free, not using your freedom as a cover for evil, but as servants of God. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:13-17).

“Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities,” teaches another Foremost Apostle, “for there is no authority except from God; and the authorities that exist have been ordained by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God. And those who resist will bring upon themselves condemnation” (Rom. 13:1–3).

Without a doubt, Saint Peter strictly followed these apostolic instructions, which is why he did not waver for a moment in his obedience to the authorities, seeing in them the instruments of Divine world governance.

2) The Holy Fathers of the Church teach in a similar way about our duty to obey the authorities. Thus Saint Gregory the Theologian teaches: “Among our laws there is one law – a praiseworthy law and beautifully set by the Spirit, Who gave His laws, comparing what is possible and best. According to this law, just as slaves must be obedient to their masters (Eph. 6:5), wives to their husbands, the Church to the Lord, disciples to shepherds and teachers; so all who are obliged to pay tribute must obey all the authorities in power, not only for anger, but also for conscience’s sake (Rom. 13:5, 6), and not make the law hateful by doing evil, not bring oneself to the sword, but, cleansing oneself with fear, deserve praise from the authorities. One and the same rule, but it spares the direct and cuts off the superfluous. There is only one sun, but it shines on healthy vision, and darkens the weak one.”

b) Secondly, the behavior of Saint Peter of Alexandria, who voluntarily gave himself up to the executor of the royal will in order to prevent general bloodshed, teaches all members of society to sacrifice their personal safety for the common good.

1) There is a direct commandment from God for this: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (I John 3:16), says Saint John the Theologian, the beloved disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. Only then will we be true Christians and only then will the Lord recognize us as His true disciples.

2) Common sense teaches the same. Nothing is so harmful to public welfare as self-interest and the desire to achieve personal benefits and conveniences, with disregard for the common good. Peace, quiet and the welfare of society associated with this are maintained only when the members of society "seek not their own, but each man his neighbor's" (1 Cor. 10:24), yield to the demands of public order and subordinate their personal desires to the law in force in society. Not to mention exceptional cases of self-sacrifice for the benefit of society, for example, in military rank, when every member of society must respond to the call of the sovereign and the fatherland for defense from enemies, both external and internal, with complete readiness and unconditional surrender, many cases of self-sacrifice, compliance, and peacefulness appear to us in everyday life, when only by observing these qualities in mutual relations can one arrange the extremely necessary peace and happiness in family and public life. On the contrary, much evil and misfortune occurs between people at every step from self-interest, intransigence, and the inability to sacrifice themselves. “Where do wars and contentions come from among you? Do they not come from your lusts warring in your members?” (James 4:1).

III. So, if you desire a quiet and silent life, try to suppress your selfish desires, fear God, honor the Tsar and obey all authority established by God for our own good.

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

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* Because in the Slavic calendar St. Peter is commemorated on November 25th, I switched the date from the original text to conform to the Greek calendar where St. Peter is commemorated on November 24th.