Saint Peter Of Alexandria. Bishop And Martyr. "The Seal Of The Martyrs". Feast Day, Today, 26 November.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Saint Peter Of Alexandria.
   Bishop And Martyr.

   Feast Day 26 November.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Saint Peter of Alexandria.

CNA file photo.

Illustration: CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

"At Alexandria," says The Roman Martyrology, "the birth in Heaven of Saint Peter, Bishop of that City, who, resplendent with The Light of Every Virtue, was beheaded by order of the Emperor Maximian in 311 A.D."

Mass: Statuit. Of a Martyr.

END OF THE SANCTORAL CYCLE.

The following Text is from CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

By: Benjamin Mann.

Denver, Colorado. 25 November  2012 / 09:45 a.m. (CNA/EWTN News).- Local Commemorations of the 4th-Century A.D. Martyr, Saint Peter of Alexandria, will take place on 25 November and, also, on 26 November. Although his Feast Day in The Western Tradition (on the latter date) is no longer a part of The Roman Catholic Church’s Universal Calendar, he remains especially beloved among Catholic and Orthodox Christians of The Egyptian Coptic Tradition.

Tradition attests that the Egyptian Bishop was the last Believer to suffer death at the hands of Roman Imperial authorities for his Faith in Christ. For this reason, Saint Peter of Alexandria is known as "The Seal of The Martyrs".

He is said to have undertaken severe Penances for the sake of The Suffering Church during his lifetime, and written Letters of encouragement to those in prison, before going to his death at the close of "The Era of The Martyrs."

Both the date of Peter’s birth, and of his Ordination as a Priest, are unknown. It is clear, however, that he was chosen to lead Egypt’s main Catholic Community in 300 A.D., after the death of Saint Theonas of Alexandria.

He may have previously been in charge of Alexandria’s well-known Catechetical School, an important centre of Religious Instruction in The Early-Church. Peter’s own theological writings were cited in a later 5th-Century A.D. dispute over Christ’s Divinity and Humanity.

In 302 A.D., the Emperor Diocletian and his subordinate, Maximian, attempted to wipe out The Church in the territories of The Roman Empire. They used their authority to destroy Church properties, imprison and torture Believers, and eventually kill those who refused to take part in pagan ceremonies. As The Bishop of Alexandria, Peter offered Spiritual Support to those who faced these penalties, encouraging them to hold to their Faith without compromise.