The Chains of St. Peter

Reading the propers for today in the Daily Divine Service Book, and the juxtaposition of the Epistle from Acts 12 and the Gospel from St. Matthew 16 stood out:  he to whom the keys of the Kingdom were entrusted could not be held in bondage by earthly shackles.  The collect similarly reminds us that the keys entrusted to Peter have freed us from the bonds of our sins:  "O God, who didst loose the Blessed Apostle Peter from his chains; and didst cause him to go forth unhurt: free us, we beseech Thee, from the bonds of our sins and in Thy mercy remove from us all evil..."