Saint Peter of Perillos

 

Saint Peter, an illustrious forgotten

In the annals of history, hagiography, legends and archives of Perillos and Opoul, we find references to saints such as the archangel St Michael, St Barbara, St Cecile and St Laurent, the latter the patron saint of Opoul. There are no references to St Peter, nothing except the name of a Calvary station, part of those that surround the old mines, destroyed at whatever time this protective perimeter disappeared. Thus, a single element, is insufficient to assume that there is a cult to St Peter in our beloved abandoned village. Nevertheless, there is such a presence, as is attested by the former inhabitants.
In fact, it is a largely forgotten tradition, which was largely limited to the abandoned village of Perillos itself. With no more inhabitants, it is no doubt the primary reason why the tradition has become largely extinct and is only known within the “old families”, whose elders still talk about “the good old days”. Still, the tradition has spread to Opoul and some of the surrounding hamlets and villages – as that is where the “elders of Perillos” ended up.

Saint Peter

Who is Saint Peter? He is the “rock” upon which the Church was built. His feast day is June 29, which commemorates his crucifixion, on a cross that was upside down, in the Circus Maximus in Rome. According to some traditions, his ordeal coincided with that of St Paul, who was beheaded.
The seat of St Peter in Antioch
Another celebration linked with Peter occurs on February 22, in honour of the first Episcopal seat that Peter established in the city of Antioch. The historical veracity of this claim is largely not in doubt, with writings dating back to the 4th century. Nevertheless, it lasted until the 16th century before this tradition was “validated” by the powers that were.
The Roman seat
As if it did not want to feel left out, Rome decided to inaugurate the commemoration of the Roman seat, celebrated on January 18. It was made official in 1557 by Pope Paul V – the same pope who fixed February 22 as the feast day for the seat of Antioch. After the Vatican II Council, it was decided to have both events feasted on the same day, February 22.
Saint Peter in Chains
The Acts of the Apostle states that when St Peter was captured by the Roman legionnaires in Jerusalem, he was awoken by an angel who broke the chains that imprisoned him. The miracle was so phenomenal that at first, Peter thought he had dreamed the entire episode. For Catholics, the miracle is known as the Chains of Saint Peter and is celebrated on August 1, though for the Orthodox Church, the feast day is January 16.
The Vatican tomb
St Peter, despite some great disadvantages on the terrain, was buried in the location where the Vatican was erected by the Emperor Constantine. Part of the problem was that the site was a Roman cemetery. Still, the site eventually became known as “St Peter’s Basilica” and became, eventually, the heart of the Catholic Faith. During excavations in the 20th century, an empty tomb was found that was said to have been of Saint Peter.
… and a fish
This quick overview would not be completed with paying due attention to a fish that is named after the saint. It is the “Zeus faber”, which can grow up to a length of 60 centimetres – an impressive enough length for a fish. The meat of the fish is apparently very sought after and seems to be composed of thin strips. Legend states that St Peter caught this fish by hand, upon which he took a piece of gold out of its mouth. Holding him to complete this operation, the story goes that his thumb left an imprint on the fish, which became a genetic trait of the species. The unfortunate problem with this theory is not so much genetics, but that Peter lived in Galilee, an area where this type of fish is not found.

Patron saints of fishers

Simon’s profession when he met Jesus made him into the patron saint of fishers. In the Mediterranean, his feast is a mixture of pagan and Christian rites, for if any people are liable to certain ways of enticing the deities, it are fishermen. Mass begins by launching a boat onto the sea, decorated with flowers; it is launched to the memory of the men who died exercising their profession. The concoction, often the following morning, is then set alight, often on the beach or near the church.
According to Arnold van Gennep, there are several sites in France in which customs attributed to this feast and saint were celebrated. We can add, with some interest, that there is a link between the St John fires celebrated on June 24. For example, in the Ardèche, in Saint-Piereville, Le Garn and the Templar house of la Madeleine, there is a saying that goes: “the lights of St John are extinguished by St Peter.”

The discrete charm of a forgotten tradition

This information nevertheless does not conform to the rather unique tradition linked with St Peter that exists in Perillos.
On the evening of June 28, the eve before the feast day of St Peter, there is a communal meal. When the bottle of wine of the evening meal is finished – empty – it is filled with cold water and placed at the centre of the table, which is then cleared of the leftovers of the meal. With great care, the oldest woman that is present, takes an egg, breaks it, separates the yoke, and places the egg white, gently, in the bottle that is filled with water. The top of the bottle is left open, but a towel for washing the dishes is placed over the bottle, gently once again, in such a manner that no part of the bottle underneath is visible.
Then, each one goes to bed, as usual. In the morning, the family reunite once again around the table and carefully lift the cloth from the bottle, making sure no-one is hitting or moving the table or the bottle. Once the cloth is removed, everyone can see how there is a sort of magical boat – a barque – formed inside the bottle, created by the egg white. If this phenomenon was a total success, it can reach a height of 20 centimetres.

A miraculous performance

It is this event that we tried to recreate during the night of June 28 to June 29. It is clear that this spectacle, if it does manifest itself, is nothing more than a chemical reaction that science would have little problem in explaining.
Nevertheless, we were often told by those who had practiced this ritual, that it would be unwise to perform it at any other moment in time than the “saintly days”. It is warned that in case of such disrespect, “bad luck” would befall these adventurers. But by adhering to the date and specifically the proper way of execution – which would imply success was guaranteed – a type of protection would extend over the home in which the operation was carried out.

Interestingly, from a scientific point of view, we tried to perform the experiment on other dates – as well as different locations. But they were either not met with success – or at least less success. This happened on the slopes of Mount Canigou, Lyon, Perpignan and Montpellier. But when we performed the ritual in three locations, namely Opoul, Tautavel and Durban, on the “correct night”, in each instance, the results were positive.

In the morning, if one leaves the bottle where it is, the “boat” continues to be visible and only towards the evening does it begin to break up, and begins to float towards the top of the bottle. In our case, we aimed to get a bottle made from white glass, so that it would be easier to make our observations, as well as try to make a photograph – which was not easy because of the glass.
There is more: the rite is accompanied by a rendition of a Catalan saying: “For whom Saint Peter takes to sea and passes the night and he will come back in July.” If the boat manifests itself, the saint will have accomplished his “mission”. It seems that few dare to ponder what would happen in case of non-success.

The months leading up to the “right time” to perform the experiment were used to find out details about the ritual, as well as engaging people in asking whether they had heard of it or even still practiced it. We also went through records, but found nowhere any trace of this ritual. But then we should add that there is precious little that remains in writing about the past of Perillos and its surroundings. As to oral legends, the elders did know of it, or had seen their parents or grandparents perform it. But once this was noted, the most intriguing question left to ponder was why precisely this tradition existed in Perillos. To answer that question, no-one seemed to know why or how this custom was developed.

As stated at the beginning, there is nothing to suggest why this area would have a specific interest in St Peter, or develop a unique tradition involving this saint. Nothing in the churches or the chapels of the area direct us towards Saint Peter – there is not even a statue of this saint present; there is no part of the mass reserved for him; nothing, except when solitary Calvary station, which should not qualify as anything. So it is all the more bizarre why this tradition happened here. It is clear that Perillos never was famous for its fishing industry, so that cannot be an answer either.
It is therefore important to search in another direction, perhaps the link with Jesus, or other parallels that might shed some light on this bizarre connection.

Saint Peter and some important symbols

Saint Peter would not have had any interest for Perillos. But he is Jesus’ first apostle – and is important for the Church. Is that important enough? There is, of course, the link between Jesus and Perillos via Saunière’s infamous model, though it is unclear whether this “link” was purely in Saunière’s mind, and if so, whether this was an interest purely for the purpose of creating the model, or whether there was much more to it than that.
First of all, we note that St Peter is often seen as the “gatekeeper” – to Heaven – another dimension, the realm of the dead. This is of course linked with the type of imagery one gets to hear from Ramon de Perillos upon his return from Ireland, when he states there is a gateway to another world on his land. And it there is such a gateway, is there a gatekeeper? And within a Christian context, it definitely seems to have been Saint Peter who held the key. The question, however, is whether he was also seen as “the key”.
But there is more – and a further parallel to the model. It is an infamous prophecy, made by Jesus, that before the night is out, Peter will have denied any involvement with him and his group. The location of all of this? The garden of olives – the area depicted on the model.
Dawn was symbolised by the cock. And it are these elements we find to be all present in one location, namely a painting in the church of Saint Benoit, near Villefort and Chalabre, where Saunière, as priest of Rennes-le-Château, decided to make a few visits. This is what Elie de Kercorb has written down in “Les Cahiers d’études cathares” by Déodat Roché.

A return via Rennes-le-Château

But that is not all. One often overlooked aspect of the mystery is the existence of another church in Rennes-le-Château, that of Saint Peter in Chains, today nothing more than a shed, used for storage. Its sad demise came in the 14th century, when it was attacked by Catalan mercenaries, who were apparently in search of something – or believed that some form of treasure was located there. When they had demolished the structure, it was apparently beyond repair and the castle’s chapel was converted into the new village church, and placed under the dedication of Mary Magdalene. It is the land on one end of this church that Saunière acquired – though there was one other piece of land that did not fall within that area – specifically the plot of land on which the remains of this ancient church were standing. Why, is another unanswered question left behind by this enigmatic priest.
Both Saint Benoit and Saint Peter in Chains in Rennes-le-Château are linked with Saunière – both are also linked with Saint Peter… who is linked with Perillos… and so is Saunière. It’s an interesting connection to make, though it does not bring us any further in trying to explain the anomaly.

The rock of the building

The visitor to the church of Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Château normally stops in front of the doorway, and looks up. Nevertheless, he will often not see three emblems that ornate the arch of the doorway. The one on the left shows a man in a boat, the sail up, holding a cross in his hands. It is the emblem of Mgr. Billard, Saunière’s most supportive bishop. His motto is “in verbo tuo lazabo rete”, which means “On your word I will release the net”. It is a phrase used by the Evangelist Luke, about Saint Peter.
As a first conclusion, it would seem that Saunière merely included the symbol of the bishop into his porch – which would be nothing more than customary – as a sign of respect, noting who his superior was at the time of the church’s rebuilding. But with Saunière, there is often, if not always, a deeper level. Let us also note that in these emblems, there is another depiction, namely that of the great “Navigator” of the church, the pope himself.
Speaking of fishing, there is also the enigmatic “sot pêcheur”, a square of letters left behind by our priest, which begins with “stupid fisherman”. There is talk of catching a fish, baking it and turning it, etc. Of course, fishermen who catch fish, they are linked with our good old Saint Peter, who was patron saint of these fishermen.
Furthermore, speaking of popes and barques: it is Pope John XXIII who, following his accession to the papal throne, chose a fishing boat for his emblem. Roncalli had been Patriarch of Venice, a town known for its canals. Some have explained it was as such that he chose a boat. In the infamous prophecies of Malachy, he is remembered as “pastor and mariner”, which could almost as well apply to Saint Peter.

There was another pope who used the name “John XXIII”, originating from Naples, who was an antipope and the 50th on the list in Malachy’s prophecies. Tradition has it that before he became pope, he was a pirate. His motto was “the Siren’s stag”, which is of course also linked to the sea. But he was opposed to Pope Gregory XII, number 48, whose motto was “The mariner of Negropont”.
According to Daniel Réju, the motto of the 20th century John XXIII, “pastor” and “mariner”, were linked: “the pastor who is on water steers the barque of the Church in the rough tidings of the second half of the 20th century” – which needs no further comment.
Finally, we cannot ignore a discovery that was made behind the church of Saint Michael in Perillos. It was a gold medal, on one side of which was St George striking the beast and on the other, a scene from the parable of the miraculous catch, as stated in the bible: Peter and Jesus were in their fishing boat during a storm. Jesus prayed to god to appease the waters, and demanded from Peter that he threw out the nets. Next, this scene was linked with symbolically “fishing” for souls.

Fishing for stars

If we take this Perillos custom to be old – and there is every indication that it is – then it is at its core linked with a fisherman and three days of navigation. Sailing can be done by day and by night, and by night time, steering is done by making use of the stars. Without such stellar knowledge, a sailor would largely be lost at sea.
And it is in the stars that we see another point of illumination: a key reference point for such navigators is the polar star; in the northern hemisphere, of specific interest is the North Pole star. Its location is normally determined by looking up the Great Bear, which directs the eye to the Pole Star. Specifically the stars Merak en Dubhe “point the way”. We note that another of these stars is known as Alcor, the inversion of which gives us Carol and Coral, two sites we have grown very fond of over the course of our researches.
But though “Ursa Major” means “the Great Bear”, it is but one of several names given to this constellation. A less known name is that of “St Peter’s Barque”. Indeed, for some, its outline seems to show it is Peter’s boat in the skies. Dare we suggest that it is sailing on this celestial river, and that perhaps some of the other stars are souls? Or is Ursa Major perhaps a Boat of the Dead?

A biblical return

On a historical level, there is hardly anything known about Saint Peter. He was originally called Simon, and was a simply fisherman on the Lake of Genesareth. Like his brother Andrew, he was a disciple of John the Baptist. When he meets Jesus, the latter tells him to “follow me”, and Peter abandons his wife and his job to become one of the earliest of the twelve apostles. Jesus gives him a new name, Cephas, which is petros in Greek; it simply means rock. It is only later that his name becomes Peter.
The Gospel of Matthew contains the famous words how “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.” He is described as the closest of Jesus’ followers, the first of the disciples, chief and missionary of the primitive church, speaker for the disciples, and, according to tradition, the first bishop of Rome and the first pope. The Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome is said to have been built on top of his tomb.
Despite this prime position, as we already mentioned, when the going gets tough, Peter lies no less than three times and denies any association between himself and his master. But Jesus seems to know of what Peter is made of, and suggests he is the Church’s first “shepherd”.
Like Jesus, he was crucified and during his ordeal, he cried: “This is the Tree of Life, the tree where death was vanquished and the world restored.”

A perilous hypothesis

We note that St Peter had a brother, Andrew, who was crucified on a cross in the shape of an X. He would later become patron saint of Scotland. According to Louis Charpentier, Andrew was also Lazarus, the man who was resurrected and who was closely linked with Mary Magdalene. Speaking of empty tombs underneath the Vatican: Jesus’ too, of course, was found empty… and so were all those tombs inside the pyramids of ancient Egypt… or is that taking us too far?

Peter was crucified, but he stated that his head should be hung down, as he did not want to die as Jesus. As elegant and heroic as that may be, it could equally be argued that if he really wanted to die following his master’s principle, he should die like him? Furthermore, in his martyrdom, he talks about a tree of life. But surely trees grow out of the ground? So by having his cross upside down, is he saying his tree is a tree that grows out of heaven?
It is a remarkable inversion – inversions that were so cherished by Saunière himself, an interest he put on display in the creation of the model.

A voyage in the sky

St Peter’s tomb was empty. But in Perillos, the tradition, by choosing an egg, is obviously linked with the symbol of birth, rebirth… and Good Friday, bringing us once again to Easter, the events of Jerusalem and the details worked into the model. Good Friday brings us to the death of Christ and the birth of Christianity – largely linked with Peter.
But perhaps we should not focus on the biblical Peter. Perhaps we should focus on the boat – and St Peter’s Barque. Like the egg transformed into a boat on the water in a bottle, did the egg represent the soul of the dead, taken on a boat on the celestial waters? Within the framework that there was this “gateway to another world” – that of the dead? – present in Perillos, and that St Peter was seen as the man guarding the door of heaven – he had the keys – we may have come to the true interpretation of this myth… a Christianised tradition, of a pagan knowledge.

André Douzet & Filip Coppens
We would like to thank Jean-Louis and Jeanine Moner