Peter of Atroa (773-837) was an abbot who was later canonized as a saint.
He was born the eldest of three children. His given name was Theophylact. At eighteen, he determined to become a monk and joined Paul the Hesychast at his hermitage in Phrygia, where he took the religious name "Peter".
The two of them started a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but, reportedly because of a vision, they went instead to Bithynia. There Paul established a monastery at ...
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Peter of Atroa (773-837) was an abbot who was later canonized as a saint.
He was born the eldest of three children. His given name was Theophylact. At eighteen, he determined to become a monk and joined Paul the Hesychast at his hermitage in Phrygia, where he took the religious name "Peter".
The two of them started a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but, reportedly because of a vision, they went instead to Bithynia. There Paul established a monastery at the church of St. Zachary in the area of Atroa. The monastery grew quickly, and Paul named Peter as his successor on the former's death in 805.
Leo V the Armenian was in power at the time, and supported the Iconoclasts in their efforts to destroy religious imagery. Peter was forced to disband the monastery for the safety of the monks during these persecutions, himself travelling first to Ephesus and later Cyprus. His reputation as a thaumaturge and spiritual director had become widespread by this time, and he was rarely left to pursue the...
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