Peter ( Syriac: ''Peṭrūs'' or ''Peṭrā'') was the bishop of Apamea from at least 514/515 until his removal in 519. A protégé of

Severus of Antioch Severus the Great of Antioch (Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians (Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyyun ...

, Peter was the only non-Chalcedonian bishop in the province of

Syria Secunda Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and appears to have been the only non-Chalcedonian clergyman in his diocese. He succeeded Cosmas, who resigned. He was present at the Council of Tyre in 514/515, which approved the ''

Henoticon The ''Henotikon'' ( or in English; Greek ''henōtikón'' "act of union") was a christological document issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in 482, in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences between the supporters of the Council of C ...

'', and at the Council of Antioch in 515/516. He purged the names of Apamea's Chalcedonian bishops from the diptychs of the cathedral of Saint John in Apamea. He sent a force of

Isauria Isauria ( or ; grc, Ἰσαυρία), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated, district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surrou ...

ns (probably mercenary soldiers) to subdue the Monastery of Saint Maron, which had evidently rebelled against his authority and may have been threatening violence themselves. There were casualties and Peter was accused of using violence to settle religious scores. On 10 February 518, Peter was anathematized by Pope Hormisdas in a letter to the clergy, deacons and monastic leaders of Syria Secunda. Following the deposition of Severus at the Council of Constantinople in 518, Peter was deposed by a provincial council. The legality of this council is questionable, since it involved the deposition of their superior by a group of inferior clergy. He left Apamea sometime after 6 January 519. Among the accusations against Peter was that he used prostitutes, but this is probably baseless. After he left Apamea, his name was erased from the diptychs and he was considered excommunicated. Peter went to Constantinople at some point before 535, possibly as early as 532/533. There he preached the

Miaphysite Miaphysitism is the Christology, Christological doctrine that holds Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, the "Incarnation (Christianity), Incarnate Logos (Christianity), Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' (''physis'')." It is a posi ...

doctrine openly against the Chalcedonian. Condemned by the Council of Constantinople in 536, he left the city later that year. The Emperor Justinian I issued a ''

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

'' condemning Peter as a heretic on 8 August 536. Peter was explicitly prohibited from spreading his doctrine. He was banned from the capital and other major cities and is not heard of again. He probably died not long after 536. He was certainly dead by 544/545 (year 856 of the Seleucid era).

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Bibliography

* * {{refend 530s deaths 6th-century Byzantine bishops Syriac Orthodox Church bishops Justinian I Apamea, Syria Non-Chalcedonian Christians