Peter the Aleut
Saint Peter the Aleut | |
|---|---|
September 24; December 12 | |
| Attributes | portrayed as an Aleut youth, wearing a traditional gut parka[1] |
Cungagnaq (Russian: Чукагнак,
Martyrdom
According to the most fully developed version of the story, in 1815 a group of Russian employees of the
When the Aleuts refused, the priest had a toe severed from each of Peter's feet. Peter still refused to renounce his faith and the Spanish priest ordered a group of Native Americans, indigenous to California, to cut off each finger of Peter's hands, one joint at a time, finally removing both his hands. They eventually disemboweled him, making him a martyr to the Eastern Orthodox faith. The Spanish captors were about to torture the next Aleut when orders were received to release the other Russian and Native Alaskan prisoners.
Historicity
An account of the martyrdom of Peter the Aleut is contained in a lengthy letter written on November 22, 1865, by
Location of martyrdom and "San Pedro"
Peter the Aleut has been referred to as a "martyr of San Francisco".[3][15] Additionally, many modern descriptions of the martyrdom of Peter the Aleut often describe the event as occurring "in San Francisco",[16][17] and others describe the Native Alaskan traders as being brought "to San Francisco".[3] Other sources can be found describing the event as occurring near Los Angeles or in Southern California.[18] These varying descriptions of the location may be based on varying oral traditions, varying understandings of the relationship of the location of the martyrdom and Fort Ross, and also on varying interpretations of references to "San Pedro" in the original historical documents.
The earliest historical sources about the death of Peter the Aleut describe the event as taking place in or near "the mission of San Pedro".[6][7][19] Some have taken this to refer to San Pedro y San Pablo Asistencia, a "sub-mission" of Mission San Francisco de Asís (also known as Mission Dolores). San Pedro y San Pablo Asistencia was located on the site of the modern-day Sánchez Adobe Park in modern-day Pacifica, California.
Others have interpreted the historical description to refer to the dock in
Veneration
Notes
- ^ Icon: St. Peter the Aleut, Creighton University
- ^ All Saints of North America, an Orthodox Church in Virginia, USA Archived June 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e Saint Peter the Aleut, Oct 22 1999, University of Michigan
- ^ Ivan Kuskof was a sailor and official associated with the Russian-American Company
- ^ Bancroft, p. 308, see footnote referencing "Barânof, Shizneopissanie, 135-6; Khébnikof, Zapiski, 11; Tikhmenef, Istor. Obosranie, i. 213, 216."
- ^ a b c Namee, Matthew (et al, for comments following main article). "Primary Sources on St. Peter the Aleut" OrthodoxHistory.org (see both main article and following comments) Archived February 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Namee, Matthew. "Peter the Aleut: the original martyrdom account", OrthodoxHistory.orgArchived December 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ McNichols Icon: St. Peter the Aleut and St. Andrew Bobola, SJ, Creighton University
- ^ Text of Yanofsky's account of the martyrdom of Peter the Aleut, contained in his letter to Abbot Damascene (at Orthodox Church in America website)
- ^ For a translation of the letter, see The Russian Orthodox Religious Mission in America, 1794-1837, pp. 80-89.
- ^ Moses, Bernard. "Charles III: Expulsion of the Jesuits (1767)", Spain's Declining Power in South America, 1730-1806 (Berkeley, Calif., 1919), pp. 104-106
- ^ Pollen, John Hungerford. "The Suppression of the Jesuits (1750-1773)." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 25 Aug. 2014
- ^ Pollen, John Hungerford. "The Jesuits After the Restoration (1814-1912)." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 25 Aug. 2014
- ^ See The Russian Orthodox Religious Mission in America, 1794-1837, cited below, p. 177.
- ^ Valadez, John. "Saint Peter: The First American Born Martyr". Death to the World. February 8, 2013
- ^ "Holy New Martyr Peter the Aleut" Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
- ^ Podmoshensky, (Abbot) Herman. "America’s New Saints - Protomartyrs Juvenal and Peter the Aleut" Orthodox America Archived December 12, 2000, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia".
- ^ a b c Bucko, Raymond A., S.J. St. Peter the Aleut:Sacred Icon and the Iconography of Violence Creighton University Archived August 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "History" The Port of Los AngelesArchived November 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ St. Peter the Aleut Orthodox Christian Church, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Archived July 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ St. Peter the Aleut Church, Minot, ND
- ^ Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut Church, Calgary, AB
- ^ Saint Peter the Aleut Orthodox Mission, Southeast Louisiana Archived 2008-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
Sources
- OCLC 648737 (Google Play Books link)
- Farris, Glenn, "The Strange Tale of Saint Peter, the Aleut: A Russian Orthodox Martyr on the California Frontier". A paper presented at "The Spanish Missions and California Indians Symposium," D-Q University, 3 March 1990.
- Ogden, Adele, The California Sea Otter Trade 1784-1848. (University of California Publications in History, 26). (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1941).
- The Russian Orthodox Religious Mission in America, 1794–1837, with Materials Concerning the Life and Works of the Monk German, and Ethnographic Notes by the Hieromonk Gedeon. Originally published in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1894. Translated from the Russian by Colin Bearne; ed. by Richard A. Pierce(Kingston, Ont., Canada: Limestone Press, 1978).
- Tarakanoff, Vassili Petrovitch, Statement of My Captivity Among the Californians (Los Angeles: Glen Dawson Press, 1953).
- Tikhmenev, P. A, A History of the Russian-American Company. Translated and edited by Richard Pierce and Alton Donnelly. (Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press, 1978).