Peter the Aleut

Common card · No. 360045

Peter the Aleut (Russian: Пётр Алеу́т, romanized: Pyotr Aleút), born Cungagnaq (spelling varies) (Russian: Чукагнак, romanized: Chukagnak c. AD 1800; died 1815), is venerated as a martyr and saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was a native of Kodiak Island (Alutiiq or Sugpiaq), and received the Christian name of Peter when he was baptized into the Eastern Orthodox Church by the monks of St Herman's missionaries operating in the north. According to the Eastern Orthodox Church, he was captured by Spanish soldiers near "San Pedro" in 1815 and killed either there or at a nearby location on the orders of the Jesuits, however this narrative is rejected by historians. The most widely circulated source on Peter is a letter from Semyon Yanovsky written 50 years after the alleged murder. Historians reject the involvement of the Jesuits because they were not present in the territory at the time. In response, the Orthodox Church in America now maintains that Franciscans were actually responsible...

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