Hieromartyr Peter Skipetrov

DATE STYLE LABEL CORRECTED: the previously stated "February 1 (O.S.)" was actually the New Style date — the saint was killed on January 19, 1918 Old Style, which corresponds to February 1 New Style; the style labeling has been corrected.

Hieromartyr Pyotr Ivanovich Skipetrov was born July 4, 1863, in the village of Stanki, Vyazniki district, Vladimir province, into a priest's family. He graduated from Vladimir Theological Seminary (1884) and the St. Petersburg Theological Academy (1890). Ordained deacon in 1884 and priest in 1892, he served at several St. Petersburg churches and taught Scripture at orphanages. From 1912 he was rector of the Church of the Icon "Consolation of All Who Sorrow" beyond the Narva Gate, being elevated to archpriest for his zealous ministry.

On January 19, 1918, during the Bolshevik attempt to seize the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Fr. Peter confronted Red Guards who were threatening women with weapons, urging them not to commit violence against believers or desecrate the shrine. A Red Guard shot him point-blank in the face; he died that evening of his wounds.

He was buried at the Lavra's Tikhvin Cemetery. He is regarded as the first priest killed in Petrograd by the atheist regime, a forerunner of the mass persecutions to come. He was added to the Synaxis of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia by Holy Synod resolution of December 26, 2001.