Peter of Batak

Priest Peter of Batak († 1876) was one of the priests of the church of Saint Nedelya in Batak, killed by the Turks in the massacre of the spring of 1876, and was canonized as a holy martyr by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in 2011. The Synod decided on canonization in March 2011, and the service of canonization was held on 4 April 2011 in the Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia; he is commemorated on 17 May (4 May by the old calendar), together with the other martyrs of Batak.

Very little is preserved of his life. The testimonies of survivors say that on the day of the massacre, as one of the fathers of the church of Saint Nedelya, he stood before the oppressors. The account kept in local tradition is brief: "We will tell you three words, priest. If you fulfil them, we will not cut you down. Will you turn Turk?" Father Peter answered boldly: "My head I give, my faith I do not give." The Turks cut off his head. The Church holds that this very short account contains the whole life of the new martyrs of Batak.