Pope Peter III of Alexandria also known as Peter Mongus (from the

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

μογγός ''mongos'', "stammerer") was the 27th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.

Biography

After the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

, Peter Mongus was an ardent adherent of

Miaphysitism Miaphysitism () is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one nature ('' physis'', ). It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. It differs from the Dyophysitism of ...

and deacon of Timothy Aelurus. After Timothy expelled the Chalcedonian

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

Proterius in 457, Mongus took part in the persecution of the Chalcedonians. When Timothy Aelurus, who had been expelled in 460 and returned in 475, died in 477, his followers elected Mongus to succeed him. However, the

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

brought

Timothy Salophakiolos Timothy III (died 481), called Salophakiolos ("wobble cap"), was the patriarch of Alexandria from 460 until 475 and again from 477 until his death. He was an adherent of the Council of Chalcedon and opponent of Monophysitism. As such, he is not reco ...

, a Chalcedonian who had supplanted Aelurus before in 460, back to Alexandria and sentenced Mongus to death. Mongus escaped by flight and remained in hiding until 482. In the previous year,

John Talaia John Talaia was patriarch of Alexandria from 481 until 482. He was consecrated in 481, succeeding Timothy III Salophakiolos. Talaia was a convinced adherent of the Council of Chalcedon and refused to sign Emperor Zeno's Henoticon (which gloss ...

had succeeded Timothy Salophakiolos as patriarch. However, as Talaia refused to sign Emperor Zeno's

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 Ch ...

(which glossed over the Council of Chalcedon), the emperor expelled him and recognized Mongus as the legitimate patriarch on the condition that he would sign the Henoticon. Mongus complied and after taking possession of the see, he signed the controversial document and sent notice of his succession to his fellow patriarchs.

Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople Acacius of Constantinople (Greek: Ἀκάκιος; died 26 November 489) served as the patriarch of Constantinople from 472 to 489. He was practically the first prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), ...

entered him into his diptychs as

patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major epi ...

. Talaia had meanwhile fled to Rome, where he was welcomed by

Pope Felix III Pope Felix III (died 1 March 492) was the bishop of Rome from 13 March 483 to his death on 1 March 492. His repudiation of the '' Henotikon'' is considered the beginning of the Acacian schism. He is commemorated on March 1. Family Felix was born ...

, who refused to recognize Mongus and defended Talaia's rights in two letters to Acacius. As Acacius maintained the Henoticon and communion with Mongus, the pope excommunicated the patriarchs in 484. This Acacian schism lasted until 519. Mongus became the chief champion of all Miaphysites. He held a synod to condemn Chalcedon, and desecrated the tombs of his two Chalcedonian predecessors Proterios and Timothy Salophakiolos. When Acacius died in 489, Mongus encouraged his successor

Fravitta Flavius Fravitta ( Greek: ; died 404/405) was a leader of the Goths and a top-ranking officer in the army of the Eastern Roman Empire. Fravitta was a member of the Thervingi aristocracy. He was also a pagan, and for this reason he was praised by ...

to maintain the schism with Rome. Fravitta's successor Euphemius sought to heal the schism by

excommunicating Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

Mongus, who however died soon afterwards in 490.

Works

He is said to have written many books, of which however nothing remains. A pretended correspondence between him and Acacius (in Coptic) is proved to be spurious by Amélineau in the "Memoires publiés par les membres de la mission archéologique française au Caire", IV (Paris, 1888), 196–228.

References

* *

Bibliography

* * * "Peter Mongo" in: ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.'', F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (ed.), London: Oxford University Press, 1974, p. 1074. * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter 03 Of Alexandria, Pope Peter III

Peter III of Alexandria Pope Peter III of Alexandria also known as Peter Mongus (from the Greek μογγός ''mongos'', "stammerer") was the 27th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. Biography After the Council of Chalcedon, Peter Mongus was an a ...

Peter III Peter III Year of birth unknown