St Peter the Aleut Martyr

The holy martyr Peter the Aleut (Russian: Пётр Алеу́т, romanized: Pyotr Aleút) or Cungagnaq in his native tongue was probably a native of Kodiak Island (Alaska). He is said to have received the Christian name of Peter when he was baptized into the Orthodox faith by the monks of St. Herman's—missionaries operating in the north. His feast day is commemorated in the Orthodox Church on September 24 or December 12.

Martyrdom

In 1815 a group of Aleut seal and otter hunters, including Peter, were captured by Spanish sailors, who took them to San Francisco for interrogation. With threats of torture, the Roman Catholic priests in California attempted to force the Aleuts to deny their Orthodox faith and to convert to Roman Catholicism.

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 California Indians to cut off each finger of Peter's hands, one joint at a time, finally removing both his hands. They eventually disemboweled him, crowning his life with martyrdom. They were about to torture the next Aleut when orders were received to release them under escort to their monastery in Monterey.

Upon receiving the report of Peter's death from Simeon Yanovsky, St. Herman back on Kodiak Island was moved to cry out, "Holy new-martyr Peter, pray to God for us!" Peter the Aleut was formally recognized as a saint, as the "Martyr of San Francisco", in 1980. We have the account of St. Peter's martyrdom from Simeon Yanovsky as related him by St. Peter's cellmate who escaped torture. Simeon Yanovsky ended his life as the schemamonk Sergius in the St. Tikhon of Kaluga Monastery, and is the author of The Life of St. Herman of Alaska.

Excerpt, *Source: Full article @ OrthodoxWiki

Location of martyrdom and "San Pedro"

Peter the Aleut has been referred to as a "martyr of San Francisco".[15][37] Additionally, many modern descriptions of the martyrdom of Peter the Aleut often describe the event as occurring "in San Francisco",[38][39] and others describe the Native Alaskan traders as being brought "to San Francisco".[15] Other sources can be found describing the event as occurring near Los Angeles or in Southern California.[40] 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".[16][17][41] 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.

Excerpt, *Source: Full article @ Wikipedia