Caput XXVI
The Torn Garment of Christ
Peter of Alexandria, who excommunicated Arius, receives a vision of Christ wearing a torn white tunic, and Christ reveals that Arius is the one who tore it, symbolizing the wound of heresy against the Lord.
So that the dignity of the priesthood might be commended on account of the majesty of faith by the display of a visible miracle as well, let that deed of blessed Peter be brought forward. This blessed Peter was the bishop of Alexandria, and he was the first to throw the heretic Arius out of his church. When the moment of his passion was at hand, Christ appeared to him in a dream, shining with excessive splendor, clothed — that is — in a tunic of the purest white, but torn all the way down to the feet. Nevertheless, he held that tunic to his breast with both hands, and in a way was covering his nakedness. Peter, understanding that it was Christ, struck with great horror, said: 'My Lord, who did this?' But he said: 'Arius did this to me, and the rest which he pursued with excessive eagerness.'
A Bishop Who Would Not Sit in His Chair
Out of profound humility, Peter refuses to sit in his episcopal chair, using only a low stool, because whenever he approaches the altar a fiery splendor emanates from the throne and overwhelms him with ecstatic contemplation.
This Peter, therefore, during his time as bishop, never wished to sit in his own chair, but used to sit upon a stool belonging to that very chair. On account of this, the clergy and the people frequently complained against him, but he by no means complied, since whenever he ascended the altar, a fiery splendor going forth from that very seat appeared, and by the sight of it the holy man was so set on fire that he did not know whether he was sometimes in the body.
The Fiery Throne and the Terror of the Priesthood
Pressed by his clergy, Peter at last reveals the fiery power flashing from his episcopal throne and warns that the priestly office holds a terrifying divine majesty, a testimony preserved in the account of his passion.
But when on a certain day the clergy and bishops who were present were complaining about the aforementioned session, he, compelled and no longer able to conceal it, said: "Why is my heart troubled?" "Don't you see the fiery power that flashes from that throne, and don't you perceive the spirit gleaming?" And when all of them, heads bowed, had fallen silent upon hearing so great a thing, he added: "Believe me, dear sons — if you could see what I see, then you would understand what kind of power the priestly office holds, and what grace dwells within it. I am terrified by the presence of that majesty, and I do not dare to sit in that same chair." If this example is well considered, since on one side those who despise such things could be greatly terrified, then on the other hand even the occupants themselves would tremble not a little. This is reported in the account of his passion.
Read the original Latin
Ut autem sacerdotalis dignitas propter fidei majestatem ostensione etiam visibilis miraculi commendetur, illud beati Petri ad medium deducatur. Hic beatus Petrus Alexandriae praesul fuit, et Arium haereticum ab Ecclesia sua primus ejecit. Cui dehinc instante passionis articulo Christus per somnium nimio splendore fulgens apparuit, indutus videlicet colobio nimis candidissimo, sed usque ad pedes scisso. Quod tamen colobium ambabus manibus ad pectus suum stringens, nuditatem suam quodammodo operiebat. Quem Petrus esse Christum intelligens, cum ingenti horrore attonitus ait: Mi Domine, quis hoc fecit? At ille ait: Arius mihi hoc fecit, et caetera quae ille nimis affectuose prosecutus est. Hic ergo Petrus tempore episcopatus nunquam in cathedra sua sedere voluit, sed super scabellum ipsius cathedrae residebat. Propter quod frequenter clerus et populus contra eum querebatur, sed nequaquam acquiescebat, quoniam quotiescunque thysiasterium ascendebat, splendor igneus de ipsa sede egrediens apparebat, cujus aspectu vir sanctus ita accendebatur, ut nesciret se interdum esse in corpore.
Cum autem quadam die clerus et episcopi qui aderant de praedicta sessione quererentur, ille coactus et jam celare non valens: Quid, inquit, affligitur cor meum? Annon videtis virtutem igneam quae emicat de solio illo, et spiritum coruscare non cernitis? Cumque omnes demisso capite tantam rem audientes conticuissent, ille subjunxit: Credite mihi, filioli, si videretis quae video, tunc cognosceretis, qualis est sacerdotalis virtus, et quae gratia in ipsis habitat, ad cujus majestatis praesentiam ego territus sedere in eadem cathedra non audeo. Quo exemplo si bene consideratur, cum hinc admodum contemptores terreri possent, tum quoque ipsi sessores non mediocriter contremiscerent. Hoc in ipsius passione refertur.
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