Fragments 1
Greek text: PG 18.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 1
1Routh 4:94
Petrus in fide Dei stabilitis, dilectis fratribus in Domino, salutem. Quoniam cognovi Meletium nihil per utilitatem agere, cui nec beatissimorum episcoporum ac martyrum epistola placuit, sed insuper ingressum nostram paroeciam tantum sibi adsumpsisse, ut etiam ex mea auctoritate presbyteros, et quibus permissum erat egentes visitare, conaretur separare, et indicium suae cupiditatis in principatu quosdam sibi ordinasse in carcere; modo illud observate, ne ei communicetis, donec occurram illi cum sapientibus viris, et videam quae sunt, quae cogitavit. Valete.
Peter, to the beloved brothers in the Lord, established in the faith of God: greeting. Since I have learned that Meletius does nothing for the common good, and that even the letter of the most blessed bishops and martyrs did not satisfy him, but that, moreover, having entered our parish, he has taken so much upon himself that he has tried to separate from my authority the presbyters and those who had been permitted to visit the needy, and, as a sign of his desire for primacy, has ordained certain persons for himself in prison; take care, then, not to communicate with him, until I meet him with wise men and see what it is that he has in mind. Farewell.
Notes and citation
Summary: Peter warns the church of Alexandria not to communicate with Meletius, who has intruded into his see and ordained clergy for himself in prison.
- The letter survives only in a Latin version (Maffei, printed by Routh). The background is the Meletian schism (ca. 305–306): Meletius of Lycopolis ordained clergy in other bishops' dioceses during the persecution. “The letter of the most blessed bishops and martyrs” is the letter of the imprisoned Egyptian bishops Hesychius, Pachomius, Theodore, and Phileas protesting his conduct. “Parish” (paroecia) means the bishop's district, that is, the church of Alexandria.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (oe read as ce)): parceciam → paroeciam.
Topics: Church office, Heresy
Cite (SBL): Peter of Alexandria, Frag. 1 (Routh 4:94; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/peter-alexandria-fragmenta/1/#p-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Migne's Patrologia Graeca (archive.org OCR; slips and Migne's Latin removed as logged corrections) and compared afterwards with ANF where it has the text; otherwise re-read against the Greek.