Peter the Iberian ( ka, პეტრე იბერი, tr) (c. 417-491) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

royal prince,

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

who was a prominent figure in early

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and one of the founders of Christian

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some i ...

. Some have claimed that he is the author known conventionally as

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' o ...

. His accomplishments include founding the first Georgian monastery in

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

and becoming the bishop of

Majuma Maiuma or Maiumas was an ancient town at the site of present-day Rimal near Gaza, Palestine. History of Maiuma In antiquity, Gaza port was the principal port on the Mediterranean serving the Incense Road. Strabo and Ptolemy referred to it as ' ...

near Gaza. The oldest Georgian ''

Bir el Qutt inscriptions The Bir el Qutt inscriptions ( ka, ბირ ელ ქუტის წარწერები, tr) are four Old Georgian Byzantine mosaic inscriptions in the ''Asomtavruli'' script. They were excavated at a Saint Theodore Tiron Georgian Orth ...

'' mention Peter with his father.

Life

He was born into the royal

Chosroid dynasty The Chosroid dynasty (a Latinization of ''Khosro anni'', ka, ხოსრო ��ანები), also known as the Iberian Mihranids, were a dynasty of the kings and later the presiding princes of the early Georgian state of Iberia from the 4 ...

of the Kings of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

(Eastern Georgia)Horn, Cornelia B. and Phenix, Robert R., ''The Lives of Peter the Iberian, Theodosius of Jerusalem, and the Monk Romanus'', Society of Biblical Lit, 2008
and was initially named Murvan (alternatively, Nabarnugios), Prince of Iberia (

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

). His father, King Bosmarios of Iberia, invited noted philosopher Mithradates from

Lazica Lazica ( ka, ეგრისი, ; lzz, ლაზიკა, ; grc-gre, Λαζική, ; fa, لازستان, ; hy, Եգեր, ) was the Latin name given to the territory of Colchis during the Roman/Byzantine period, from about the 1st centur ...

to take part in Murvan's education. For a time, the child was kept hidden so as not to be delivered as a hostage to the Persians. In 423, at the age of about five, the prince was sent as a political hostage to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

to ensure the loyalty of Iberia to the Byzantines rather than to the Persians. Here he received a brilliant education under a personal patronage of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

empress

Aelia Eudocia Aelia Eudocia Augusta (; grc-gre, Αιλία Ευδοκία Αυγούστα; 401460 AD), also called Saint Eudocia, was an Eastern Roman empress by marriage to Emperor Theodosius II (r. 408–450), and a prominent Greek historical figure in ...

, wife of

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

. According to his biographer,

John Rufus John Rufus, John of Beth Rufina (also spelled Ruphina), or John of Maiuma (born c. AD 450), was an anti-Chalcedonian priest of Antioch, a disciple of Peter the Iberian and an ecclesiastical historian who possibly served as the bishop of Maiuma. He ...

, Peter refused to write to or receive letters from home lest it undermine his ascetic discipline. When he was about twenty, the young prince, together with his mentor Mithradates, left the palace and escaped to make a pilgrimage to Palestine, where he became a monk at

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

under the name of Peter. In 430, he founded his own monastery at

(later known as the Georgian Monastery of Bethlehem). In 445, he was ordained as a priest. Accompanied by Mithradates (now called John), he traveled across several countries of the Near East and finally settled in

near Gaza. In 452, he was consecrated bishop of Majuma by Patriarch

Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name. Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium ...

. He only served for six months before some Christians were banished by the decree of the local ruler. Peter escaped to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, where he found refuge in the

Enaton The Enaton (or Ennaton, Hennaton) was a monastic district in Egypt during the Middle Ages. It lasted into the 15th century, but it was at its height between the 5th and 7th centuries. It takes its name, which means "ninth" (Greek ἔνατον), fr ...

. In the early 470s, Peter moved to Palestine where he continued ascetic activities, visiting various towns and villages of Palestine. Here he acquired great fame as a holy Father. He was called "pillar of Orthodoxy", "Great Peter", "the second Apostle Paul", "the second

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

" and "an exceedingly wonderful person". He gained numerous followers and disciples. According to the medieval sources, he was an author of several famous religious works. However, none of them survived to be written under the name of Peter. He died at Yavneh-Yam, port of ancient Iamnia, in 491 and was buried in his monastery near Gaza.

Position vs. Chalcedonian creed

Various eastern Churches think that he may have deviated from the

Chalcedonian Chalcedonian Christianity is the branch of Christianity that accepts and upholds theological and ecclesiological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christolo ...

doctrine. These Churches (Armenian, Coptic, etc) believe that Peter the Iberian was a Miaphysite and an anti-Chalcedonian, whereas this view is not shared by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Although his biographies do not discuss this issue, some of the scholars who side with the Armenian sources accept the idea that he was an anti-Chaldeonian, while others do not. For example,

David Marshall Lang David Marshall Lang (6 May 1924 – 20 March 1991), was a Professor of Caucasian Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He was one of the most productive British scholars who specialized in Georgian, Armenian and ...

believes in the possibility that he was a Monophysite, while

Shalva Nutsubidze Shalva Nutsubidze ( ka, შალვა ნუცუბიძე; December 14, 1888 – January 6, 1969) was a Georgian philosopher, cultural historian, rustvelologist, literary critic, translator, public figure, one of the founders of scientific ...

and Ernest Honingmann believe that he was a Neoplatonic philosopher.Horn (2006), p. 167

Biographies

Peter's ''Vita'' was written by his disciple, John Rufus (John of Beth Rufina), later his successor as bishop of Maiuma. * The so-called

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

version of John Rufus' in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

original, dates back to the 8th century * The so-called

version originally written by Peter's contemporary,

Zacharias Rhetor Zacharias of Mytilene (c. 465, Gaza – after 536), also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian. Life The life of Zacharias of Mytilene can be reconstructed only from a few scattered rep ...

, bishop of

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...

, in Greek has been preserved as a manuscript of c. 13th century.

Notes

References

* Horn, Cornelia B. (2006), ''Asceticism And Christological Controversy in Fifth-century Palestine: The Career of Peter The Iberian''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, .
The Life of Peter the Iberian
from Lives and Legends of the Georgian Saints by David Marshall Lang
A. Kofsky. Peter the Iberian. Pilgrimage, Monasticism and Ecclesiastical Politics in Byzantine Palestine

by Georges Florovsky

* David Marshall Lang, "Peter the Iberian and His Biographers". Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol. 2 (1951), pp 156–168 * Jan-Eric Steppa, John Rufus and the World Vision of Anti-Chalcedonian Culture, (Gorgias Press, 2002), xxvii + 199 pp. * Ernest Honigmann, ''Pierre l'iberian et les ecrits du Pseudo-Denys l'Aréopagite'', Bruxelles, 1952 (French) * Petre Iberi. Works, Tbilisi, 1961 (Georgian) * Shalva Nutsubidze. Mystery of Pseudo-Dionys Areopagit, Tbilisi, 1942 (Georgian, English summary) * Shalva Nutsubidze. Peter the Iberian and problems of Areopagitics. - Proceedings of the Tbilisi State University, vol. 65, Tbilisi, 1957 (Russian) * A. Kofsky. "Peter the Iberian and the Question of the Holy Places," Cathedra 91 (1999), pp. 79–96 (Hebrew). * Besik Khurtsilava. The inscriptions of the Georgian Monastery in B'ir el-Qutt and their chronology,"Christianity in the Middle East", No 1, Moscow, 2017, pp. 129–151 *ქართული ლიტერატურის ქრესტომათია. ტ. I შედგ. ს. ყუბანეიშვილის მიერ. ტ. I. თბ. 1944. *ძველი ქართული აგიოგრაფიული ლიტერატურის ძეგლები, ი. აბულაძის რედაქციით, II ტ. თბ. 1967. *ძველი ქართული აგიოგრაფიული ლიტერატურის ძეგლები, IV, ე. გაბიძაშვილის და მ. ქავთარიას რედაქციით, ტ. თბ. 1968 . *ცხოვრება პერტე იბერისა, ასურული რედაქცია გერმანულიდან თარგმნა, გამოკვლევა, კომემტარები და განმარტებითი საძიებლები დაურთო ი. ლოლაშვილმა, თბილისი, 1988. *პეტრე იბერიელი (ფსევდო-დიონისე არეოპაგელი). შრომები. თარგმ. ეფრემ მცირისა. ს. ენუქაშვილის გამოც. თბ. 1961. *შ. ნუცუბიძე. პეტრე იბერი და ანტიკური ფილოსოფიური მემკვიდრეობა. შრომები. ტ. V. თბ. 1975. *ს. ყაუხჩიშვილი. ბერძნული ლიტერატურის ისტორია. ტ. III. თბ. 1973. *Н. Марр. Житие Петра Ивера, царевича—подвижника и епископа Мойюмского V века. Православный палестинский сборник. 1896 г. т. 16. *მ. თარხნიშვილი, ახლად აღმოჩენილი ქართული მონასტერი ბეთლემში, ბედი ქართლისა, 16, 1954. *გ. წერეთელი, უძველესი ქართული წარწერები პალესტინიდან, თბილისი, 1960. {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter the Iberian 411 births 491 deaths Philosophers from Georgia (country) Saints of Georgia (country) Byzantine theologians 5th-century philosophers Holy Land during Byzantine rule Christian monks from Georgia (country) 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Christian theologians Byzantine people of Georgian descent Chosroid dynasty People from medieval Georgia (country) Neoplatonists Founders of Christian monasteries 5th-century Christian monks 5th-century Syrian bishops

Life

Position vs. Chalcedonian creed

Biographies

See also

Notes

References

Further reading