Subj : January 9th - St. Peter, Bishop of Sebastea To : All From : rich Date : Fri Jan 08 2021 09:39:47 From: rich January 9th - St. Peter, Bishop of Sebastea d. 391 THE family to which St. Peter belonged was ancient and illustrious, but the names of his ancestors are long since buried in oblivion, whilst those of the saints whom his parents gave to the Church are immortal in the records of our Christian faith. In this family three brothers were at the same time eminently holy bishops, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Peter of Sebastea; their eldest sister, St. Macrina, was the spiritual mother of many saints and excellent doctors; and their father and mother, St. Basil the Elder and St. Emmelia, were banished for their faith in the reign of the Emperor Galerius Maximian, and fled into the deserts of Pontus. Finally, the grandmother was the celebrated St. Macrina the Elder, who was instructed in the science of salvation by St. Gregory Thaumaturgus. Peter of Sebastea was the youngest of ten children and lost his father in his cradle, so that his eldest sister, Macrina, took charge of his education. In this duty her only aim was to instruct him in religion: profane studies she thought of little use to one whose thoughts were set upon the world to come. Neither did he resent these restrictions, confining his aspirations to the monastic state. His mother had founded two monasteries, one for men, the other for women; the former she put under the direction of her son Basil, the latter under that of Macrina. Peter joined the house governed by his brother, situated on the bank of the River Iris. When St. Basil was obliged to surrender that charge in 362 he appointed St. Peter his successor, who discharged this office for many years with great prudence and virtue. When the provinces of Pontus and Cappadocia were visited by severe famine, he gave proof of his charity. Human prudence would have advised him to be frugal in the relief of others till his own community were secured against that calamity; but Peter had studied the principles of Christian charity in another school, and liberally disposed of all that belonged to the monastery to supply with necessaries the destitute people who daily resorted to him in that time of distress. When St. Basil was made bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia in 370 he promoted Peter to the priesthood. Basil died on January 1 in 379, and Macrina in November of the same year. Eustathius, Bishop of Sebastea in Armenia, an Arian and a persecutor of St. Basil, seems to have died shortly after them; for Peter was consecrated bishop of Sebastea in 380 to root out the Arian heresy in that diocese. The evil had taken such deep roots that the zeal of a saint was necessary to deal with it. A letter which St. Peter wrote, and which is prefixed to St. Gregory of Nyssa=E2=80=99s books against Eunomius, has entitled him to a pl= ace among the ecclesiastical writers; and it is a standing proof that though he had confined himself to sacred studies, yet by good conversation and reading, and by his own natural gifts, he was inferior to none but his incomparable brother Basil and his colleague Gregory Nazianzen in solid eloquence. In 381 St. Peter attended the general council held at Constantinople. Not only his brother St. Gregory of Nyssa but also Theodoret, and all antiquity, bear testimony to his sanctity, prudence and zeal. His death occurred in summer about the year 391, and his brother Nyssa mentions that his memory was honoured at Sebastea (probably the very year after his death) by a solemn celebration, together with that of some other martyrs of the same city. His name occurs in the Roman Martyrology on January 9. It is a wonderful thing to meet with a whole family of saints. This prodigy of grace, under God, was owing to the example, prayers and exhortations of the elder St. Macrina. From her they learned to imbibe the true spirit of self-denial and humility that all Christians confess to be the fundamental maxim of the gospel. Unfortunately it generally happens that the principle is accepted as a matter of speculation only, whereas it is in the heart that this foundation is to be laid. We have little information about St. Peter of Sebastea beyond the casual allusions contained in St. Gregory of Nyssa=E2=80=99s Life of Macrin= a (in Migne, PG., vol. xlvi, pp. 960 seq.). His letter addressed to his brother Gregory of Nyssa, entreating him to complete his treatise against Eunomius, is printed in PG., vol. xlv, pp. 241 seq. See also Acta Sanctorum, January 9 DCB., vol. iv, pp. 345-346 ; and Bardenhewer, Patrology (Eng. trans.), pp. 295-297. Saint Quote: Even though knowledge is true, it is still not firmly established if unaccompanied by works. For everything is established by being put into practice. --Saint Mark the Ascetic Bible Quote: "I myself have anointed my king on Zion my holy mountain. I will proclaim the decree of Yahweh: He said to me, 'You are my son, today have I fathered you. Ask of me, and I shall give you the nations as your birthright, the whole wide world as your possession.=C2=A0 Psalms 2:6-8 <><><><> =C2=A0Prayer for the Holy Souls, "Deliver Them from Purgatory": My Jesus, by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine agony in the Garden, =C2=A0in Thy scourging and crowning with thorns, on the way to Calvary, in Thy crucifixion and death, have mercy on the souls in purgatory, and especially on those that are most forsaken; do Thou deliver them from the terrible torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in paradise. Amen. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .