Peter the Iberian and Palestinian Anti-Chalcedonian Monasticism in Fifth- and Early Sixth-Century Gaza*

ARAM, 15 (2003), 109-128 109

PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM IN FIFTH- AND EARLY SIXTH-CENTURY GAZA*

CORNELIA B. HORN

PETER THE IBERIAN'S DEATH AND BURIAL

One early winter morning in 491 AD in Gaza's port-city Maiuma,1 previ- ously known as Constantia,2 on the south-eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, throngs of men and women, young and old, were rushing from their homes to the monastery of Peter the Iberian.3 Like wildfire the news spread that Peter, their beloved spiritual father and bishop, had died and that his burial was imminent. Everyone anxiously wished to take hold of the saint's body, if need be by force. Failing that, at least they wanted to tear asunder and distribute among themselves the long outer garment which covered the dead saint’s body. Yet by the time the crowds arrived at the monastery, Peter's disciples had already placed the holy man in his sarcophagus. The faithful could only fall on their knees in pious veneration.4 With tears and lamentations they kissed and embraced the holy remains, prostrated themselves, burst out into shouts and cries, and made supplications like beloved children who were orphaned of a father, and not only of a father, but also of a foster-father, a shepherd, and a bishop.5

* Copyright June 2001 by Cornelia B. Horn. Unless stated otherwise, the responsibility for the English translation of sources lies with the present author. 1 On Gaza in general and its sometimes conflict-ladden relationship with Maiuma see the useful summary presentations with bibliographical leads by G. Downey, “Gaza,” in Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum 8 (1972), 1123-1134; D. and L. Stiernon, “Gaza,” in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie Ecclésiastiques 20 (1984), 154-176; Geoffrey V. Gillard, “Gaza,” in Theologische Realencyclopädie 12 (1984), 29-31; and Ulrich Hübner, “Gaza,” in Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche 4 (1995), 306-307. 2 Because of its significant Christian population, Constantine had named the port of Gaza Maiuma Neapolis after his son, Constantius. See Sozomen, Historia ecclesiastica, bk. 2, ch. 5, and bk. 5, ch. 3. For the older but more widely accessible edition of the Greek text, see Patrologia Graeca 67.844-1629 (Paris, 1859), here cols. 948 and 1221. See also Asher Ovadiah, “Les Mosaïstes de Gaza dans l'Antiquité Chrétienne,” Revue Biblique 82 (1975), 552-557, here p. 553. 3 For the critical edition of the Syriac text of the Vita Petri Iberi see Richard Raabe, ed. and transl., Petrus der Iberer: ein Charakterbild zur Kirchen- und Sittengeschichte des fünften Jahrhunderts; syrische Übersetzung einer um das Jahr 500 verfassten griechischen Biographie (Leipzig, 1895), abbreviated in the following as Vita Petri Iberi, followed by the page number of the Syriac text. For Peter's first visit to Maiuma, see Vita Petri Iberi 49. 4 See Vita Petri Iberi 142. 5 See Vita Petri Iberi 143. 110 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM

With such a description one seems to adequately capture the scenario of the arrival and subsequent burial of the mortal remains of the anti-Chalcedonian monk and bishop Peter the Iberian in Maiuma, Gaza, only a few hours after his death on December 1, 491. The account of these events is due to Peter's bio- grapher, John Rufus.

THE SIGNIFICANCE, LIMITIATIONS, AND SCOPE OF THE PRESENT STUDY

For a number of years now scholars have realized the significance of the history of Christianity in the Holy Land in general and the developments and achievements of Palestinian asceticism in particular for a correct understand- ing of life in the Middle East. Chalcedonian monasticism in the Judaean Desert has been carefully studied by historians, archaeologists, scholars of reli- gion, and other specialists. For a variety of reasons, the same scholarship could not be applied to the study of the early history of Christian asceticism in the south western part of the Holy Land, particularly in the Gaza area. In early Byzantine times, that region was home to a second major center of Christian asceticism and for a while contained the headquarters of anti-Chalcedonians in Palestine. Due in part to the difficult access to and even scarcity of textual and archaeological sources for the reconstruction of Palestinian anti-Chalcedonian history in the fifth and sixth century, until very recently that group was only little studied.6 This paper will examine what can be known about the history of anti-Chal- cedonian monasticism in the Gaza area in the fifth and early sixth century through the lense of the career of Peter the Iberian as it is recorded in the works of John Rufus. Peter was one of the most influential participants in the anti-Chalcedonian revolt in Palestine in AD 451 and seemingly the focal point of the movement in Palestine throughout the time of its existence there. Rufus's literary works about Peter are the main sources available to the modern historian's attempt at reconstructing anti-Chalcedonian history in Pales- tine, both in the Jerusalem and the Gaza area. After a short introduction to both Rufus and Peter, this paper will reveal Rufus's agenda of assigning to Peter, and consequently to anti-Chalcedonian asceticism in the Gaza area, the role of being the immediate heir to the Pales- tinian proto-monk Hilarion. Next, an attempt is made at gleaning from the textual sources as well as from relevant but unfortunately scarce archaeological sources what can be learned about the conditions and circumstances of the

6 See now Cornelia B. Horn, “Beyond Theology: the Career of Peter the Iberian in the Chris- tological Controversies of Fifth-Century Palestine” (Ph.D. diss., The Catholic University of America, 2001). C.B. HORN 111 daily life of Peter and his anti-Chalcedonian monks in the Gaza area. Topics to be investigated here are Peter's integration into the already existing monastic milieu in the Gaza area around the middle of the fifth century, his recruitment of new disciples, the possible connections between his monastery and local holy places, and the efforts of his community to enlarge and fortify the monastery after Peter's death. What can be learned about the concrete circumstances that finally brought an end to the presence of anti-Chalcedonians in the Gaza area is little. In its concluding paragraphs the paper will present and dis- cuss the evidence derived from the sources which speaks of the conflict between anti-Chalcedonians and Chalcedonians in the Gaza area. It can only be hoped that other scholars will be able to add to those findings in subsequent studies.

JOHN RUFUS'S WORKS AS SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ANTI-CHALCEDONIANS IN PALESTINE

Most likely, John Rufus was a native of Syria, probably from the greater Antioch area.7 Having received ordination to the priesthood from Peter the Fuller between AD 475 and 477,8 Rufus served the Church in Antioch before joining the radical anti-Chalcedonian monks around Peter the Iberian in Pales- tine in the 480s. His historical and literary reputation is based on his author- ship of (1) the Vita Petri Iberi9; (2) the Plerophoriae10; and (3) the De obitu Theodosii,11 all composed in Greek. Today, however, Rufus's texts are only extant in an ancient Syriac translation. Rufus is to be considered one of the most prominent and influential authors of the anti-Chalcedonian movement in Palestine in the fifth and sixth cen- turies. His writings preserve the memory of the founders of the Palestinian anti-Chalcedonian movement, i.e., the monks, nuns, and laypeople, who abhorred and opposed the decisions of the fourth ecumenical council of Chal-

7 For a discussion of Rufus's origins see Cornelia Horn, “A Chapter in the Pre-History of the Christological Controversies in Arabic: Readings from the Works of John Rufus,” paper presented at the VI. International Christian Arabic Conference, Sydney, Australia: July 2000, forthcoming in the conference proceedings in Parole de l'Orient. 8 See the discussion in Horn, “Beyond Theology,” 32-33. 9 See fn. 3 above. An English translation of the complete works of John Rufus by C.B. Horn and R.R. Phenix is forthcoming. 10 For the critical edition of the Syriac text, accompanied by a French translation, see Jean Rufus, Évêque de Maïouma, Plérophories, c.-à-d. témoignages et révélations, edited by F. Nau, translated by M. Brière, Patrologia Orientalis 8.1 (Paris, 1911). In subsequent footnotes the abbreviation Plerophoriae is used, followed by the section number of the Syriac text. 11 For the critical edition of the Syriac text, accompanied by a Latin translation, see E. W. Brooks, ed. and trans., Narratio de obitu Theodosii Hierosolymorum et Romani Monachi auctore anonymo, in Vitae virorum apud Monophysitas celeberrimorum, Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium vol. 7, Scriptores Syri, series 3, tomus 25 (text), 21-27; Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium vol. 8, Scriptores Syri, series 3, tomus 25 (versio), 15-19. 112 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM cedon in AD 451.12 Peter the Iberian, Rufus's predecessor as bishop of Maiuma, clearly was one of their leaders.

WHO WAS PETER THE IBERIAN?

Peter the Iberian was born either in AD 412 or 417 as son of the Georgian royal couple Bosmarios and Bakurduktia.13 At the age of twelve the young prince was sent as hostage to the court of Theodosius II in Constantinople.14 At the Byzantine palace Peter was inspired to take up the monastic life. Jerusalem seemed to him to be the best place for carrying out his plan. Thus, accompanied by his Lazic friend and soul-mate John the Eunuch, Peter went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In Jerusalem the two young pilgrims first joined the monastery of Melania the Younger on the Mount of Olives.15 Subsequently, Peter founded a monastery in the Holy City proper, close to the Tower of David.16 When involvement in the city's pilgrimage business seemed no longer reconcilable with his monastic aspirations, Peter and John left Jerusalem and settled on the Mediterranean coast, between Gaza and Maiuma. There again they partici- pated in the life of an already existing monastic community. Over time, Peter gained considerable esteem among the local population. Once he was ordained a priest, the Maiumans even pressed him into becoming their bishop. In late AD 452 or early AD 453 the monk Theodosius, who had become the anti-Chalcedonian bishop of the Holy City in consequence of the revolt of the Palestinian monks against Juvenal of Jerusalem,17 ordained Peter as bishop of Maiuma. Peter had played a central role in the Palestinian monks' revolt in AD 451.18 Roughly a year later he found himself installed as bishop, yet on the anti-Chal- cedonian side. Endowed with such authority, Peter was well-prepared to take on a key role in the Christological controversies arising in Palestine and Egypt

12 See now also Jan-Eric Steppa, John Rufus and the World Vision of Anti-Chalcedonian Cul- ture (Piscataway, NJ, 2002), which appeared after this article was completed. 13 Vita Petri Iberi 5. It is not known, on what day or in which month Peter was born in AD 412 or 417. He died on December 1, 491. For a useful discussion of important dates of his chronology see Paul Devos's article “Quand Pierre L'Ibère vint-il à Jérusalem?” Analecta Bol- landiana 86 (1968), 337-350. For a detailed discussion of Peter's life, see most recently Horn, “Beyond Theology,” chapter 1. 14 Vita Petri Iberi 15-16. 15 Vita Petri Iberi 27-32. 16 Vita Petri Iberi 45. 17 For a discussion of these events see Lorenzo Perrone, La chiesa di Palestina e le contro- versie cristologiche–Dal concilio di Efeso (431) al secondo concilio di Costantinopoli (553), Testi e ricerche di Scienze religiose pubblicati a cura dell'Istituto per le Scienze religiose di Bologna, vol. 18, (Brescia, 1980), 89-103. 18 See Horn, “Beyond Theology,” chapter 3. For the still authoritative study of Juvenal of Jerusalem see E. Honigmann, “Juvenal of Jerusalem,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 5 (1950), 211-279. C.B. HORN 113 in the aftermath of the Council of Chalcedon. Both as bishop and as charismatic wandering monk Peter preached in support of the anti-Chalcedonians until his death. His journeys led him all over Palestine, into Egypt and Trans- jordan,19 and along the Phoenician coast up to Tripolis.20

PETER THE IBERIAN AS “SUCCESSOR” OF THE PALESTINIAN PROTO-MONK HILARION

The reader of the Vita Petri Iberi cannot but note that Rufus appears to have had a considerable interest in connecting Peter's ascetic career firmly with the Gaza area. In the biography, Rufus emphasizes that at the invitation of Diony- sius, an anti-Chalcedonian lawyer in Gaza,21 Peter dwelt in Dionysius's village named “Magdal Tutha, south of Gaza,” for three years.22 This was a location from which Peter could conveniently cultivate a close spiritual friendship with Abba Isaiah, the famous monastic teacher who had come from Scetis and settled in Beth Daltha, four miles from Magdal Tutha.23 Whether or not and how clearly one can place Abba Isaiah in the Palestinian anti-Chalcedonian camp is still debated and cannot be decided here.24 From

19 For a valuable discussion of some of the connections between Egyptian and Palestinian monasticism, suggesting a location for Peter the Iberian in that context as well, see Samuel Rubenson, “The Egyptian Relations of Early Palestinian Monasticism,” in Anthony O'Mahony with Göran Gunner and Kevork Hintlian, eds., The Christian Heritage in the Holy Land (London, 1995), 35-46. 20 For an outline of his journeys in general, Rufus's interpretation of Peter's journeys as a form of martyrdom, and for a more detailed discussion of Peter's encounters with the local population east of Jerusalem, see Cornelia Horn, “Weaving the Pilgrim's Crown: Rufus's View of Peter's Journeys in Late Antique Palestine,” paper presented at the Symposium Syriacum VIII, Sydney, Australia, June 2000, forthcoming in the conference proceedings, presumably in Orien- talia Christiana Analecta; and Horn, “A Chapter in the Pre-History of the Christological Con- troversies in Arabic.” 21 Vita Petri Iberi 100-101. 22 Vita Petri Iberi 101. On this locality, see C. Clermont-Ganneau, “Sur quelques localités de Palestine mentionnées dans la Vie de Pierre l'Ibère,” in Études d'Archéologie Orientale vol. 2 (1896), 1-22, here pp. 9-14. 23 Vita Petri Iberi 101-102. For a discussion of the friendship between Abba Isaiah and Peter, see Horn, “Beyond Theology,” chapter 3. See also Jan-Eric Steppa, “Petros Iberern och Abba Esaias: Stildrag och tendenser i två anti-Chalcedonensiska munkbiografier” [in Swedish], in Med- delanden från Collegium Patristicum Lundense 12 (1997), 33-44. For a study of spiritual authority in Gaza monasticism, see Jennifer Lee Hevelone-Harper, “Letters to the Great Old Man: Monks, laity, and spiritual authority in sixth-century Gaza (Palestine)” (Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 2000). Important articles on Abba Isaiah include Derwas J. Chitty, “Abba Isaiah,” Journal of Theological Studies 22 (1971), 47-72; Hermann Keller, “L'abbé Isaïe-le- Jeune,” Irénikon 16 (1939), 113-126; R. Aubert, “Isaïe de Gaza,” in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie Ecclésiastiques, vol. 26, fasc. 150 (1995), 115-117; and R. Aubert, “Isaïe de Scete,” in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie Ecclésiastiques, vol. 26, fasc. 150 (1995), 120-124. 24 For the thesis that Abba Isaiah never adhered to Chalcedon, see G. Krüger, “Wer war der Pseudo-Dionysios,” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 8 (1899), 302-305. R. Draguet, Les cinq recensions de l'Asceticon syriaque d'abba Isaïe, in Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, 114 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM

Rufus's and Zachariah's works one hardly gets the impression that Abba Isaiah made any effort to encourage Peter the Iberian to adhere to Chalcedon.25 Magdal Tutha could also pride itself in being located “by the side of the tem- ple of the holy Hilarion, the great ascetic, prophet, and abbot of monks.”26 That observation is not as insignificant as it may seem at first glance. It should be seen in connection with the event which Rufus recounts immediately following. Peter's host in Magdal Tutha, Dionysius, felt he also received a special blessing through Peter's prayerful presence in the area. Dionysius told Rufus, “When I had spent three hundred darics27 on the building and the preparation of that place [in order to host Peter the Iberian], after a few days I brought in those three hundred darics from where I never expected [it] nor [from where] it [ever] came into my mind.” Rufus continues his report: “those vineyards surrounding that village, which used to produce worthless and humble wine, – because also the soil was sandy and shallow, – when he [i.e., Dionysius] took the saint [i.e., Peter the Iberian] and brought him to each one of the vineyards, he asked him to make a prayer and to bless the place. And from that time it began to produce wine many times double [the quantity] and durable, something which no one from among the workers of that soil [could] remember ever happening. Those vineyards were giving this yield of fruits continually, for the whole lifetime of the blessed one.”287

This effective prayer and blessing appears to have a closely related precedent, with which Rufus's audience at Maiuma, both ascetic and lay, would have been familiar. The Palestinian proto-monk Abba Hilarion (ca. 300-371) once held a service in the vineyard of the monk Saba, presumably located in the same general area where Hilarion dwelt and where Dionysius, the lawyer, later owned his vineyard. At the end of the service, Hilarion “blessed the vineyard and… those who partook [of the grapes] were not less than three thousand. And whereas the whole vineyard had been estimated at a hundred flagons, within thirty days he made it worth three hundred.”29 In a very direct sense, vols. 289, 290, 293, and 294 (Louvain, 1968), advanced objections to that view. See also the dis- cussions in Lucien Regnault, “Isaiah of Scetis, Saint,” in The Coptic Encyclopedia 4 (1991), 1305-1306, and Siméon Vailhé, “Un mystique Monophysite, le moine Isaie,” Échos d'Orient 9 (1906), 81-91. 25 For Zachariah's view of Abba Isaiah, see Zachariah Scholasticus, “Vita Isaiae,” in Vitae virorum apud Monophysitas celeberrimorum, edited by E. W. Brooks, in Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium vol. 7, Scriptores Syri, series 3, tomus 25 (textus), 3-16; Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium vol. 8, Scriptores Syri, series 3, tomus 25 (versio), 3-10 (Paris and Leipzig, 1907). 26 Vita Petri Iberi 101. 27 J. Payne Smith, A Compendious Syriac Dictionary (Oxford, first edition 1903, reprinted 1988), 97, explains that “a daric” is “a Persian gold coin named from Darius Hystaspes who struck them. It is worth about a guinea.” 28 Vita Petri Iberi 101. 29 Jerome, Vita Hilarionis, ch. 27; for the more easily accessible Latin text of the Vita Hilar- ionis see Patrologia Graeca 23.29-54. The English translation quoted here is from the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 6, as published on http://ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2- 06/Npnf2-06-05.htm. C.B. HORN 115 both monks are perfect examples of what scholars have claimed more generally for Gaza in the early Byzantine period: that the rise of monasticism increased the grape and wine production, consumption, and trading in the Gaza / Ashkelon area at that time.30 Yet one should also comment on the inten- tionality behind Rufus's emphasis on the parallel between Hilarion and Peter. Rufus seems to imply two things: first, that his hero Peter, by living for an extended period of time in the very place where the Palestinian proto- monk Hilarion had dwelt, became a direct heir to one of the two founders of Palestinian monasticism31; second, that through the Hilarion / Peter connection, which is obvious in Rufus's mentioning of Hilarion's name and in the parallel of the wine- / vineyard-focused miracles,32 anti-Chalcedonian monasticism can trace its roots to the very beginnings of monasticism in Pales- tine. Given that Rufus ascribes great significance to Peter's ascetic life in the Gaza area, the following discussion will present in greater detail the history of anti-Chalcedonians in the Gaza area on the basis of the experiences and practices of Peter and his ascetic followers there.

PETER THE IBERIAN'S DAILY LIFE AS A MONK IN THE GAZA AREA

Already at a time when Peter was still living in Jerusalem, he established contacts with ascetics living in the greater Gaza area. Given that ascetics who lived in the larger Gaza area and followed in the footsteps of Abba Sil- vanus resisted Chalcedon,33 it is significant that Peter had repeatedly sought spiritual direction from Abba Zeno, an ascetic, hermit, and prophet, who “was living… in the little village Kefar She'artha, about fifteen miles from

30 See Philip Mayerson, “The Wine and Vineyards of Gaza in the Byzantine Period,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 257 (1985), 75-80; re-published in Philip Mayer- son, Monks, Martyrs, Soldiers and Saracens; Papers on the Near East in Late Antiquity (1962- 1993), published by The Israel Exploration Society in association with New York University (Jerusalem, 1994), 250-255, here pp. 250-251, where Mayerson called attention to the miracles worked by Hilarion and Peter as well. 31 Usually Chariton, who settled in the Judaean Desert, and Hilarion, who dwelt in the Gaza area, are venerated as the two founding fathers of Palestinian monasticism. For editions and/or translations of the lives of these holy men see L. Di Segni, tr., Cercare Dio nel deserto: Vita di Caritone (Bose, 1990); and A. A. R. Bastiaensen, ed. and tr., Vita di Martino, Vita di Ilarione, In memoria di Paola (Milan, 1975). 32 One may add yet another element of comparison between Hilarion and Peter, which the audience of the Vita Petri Iberi could have noted. Hilarion's first miracle concerned a sterile woman from Eleutheropolis who was able to bear a son after Hilarion had “raised his eyes to heaven and bade her to have faith, then wept over her as she departed” (Jerome, Vita Hilarionis 13). When traveling in the Transjordan area, Peter's prayers likewise helped sterile parents to conceive children. For a discussion of these instances see Horn, “A Chapter in the Pre-History of the Christological Controversies in Arabic.” 33 Plerophoriae 48. 116 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM

Gaza,”34 and “who was a disciple of the great Silvanus.”35 In obedience to Abba Zeno's advice Peter had left his monastery in Jerusalem to “dwel[l] in the congregation which was between Gaza and a small city, called Maiuma.”36 From the Vita Petri Iberi and the Plerophoriae one can reconstruct some of the aspects of the early history of that monastic community before it received its distinctive shape under Peter's influence. Rufus states in the Vita Petri Iberi that at the time Peter joined the congregation it “was full of many holy monks,” whom Rufus calls “bearers of their cross.”37 A certain Abba Irenion seems to have been the community’s abbot.38 From the Plerophoriae one learns that Peter dwelt in a laura.39 Peter's cell was part of the laura guided by Abba Irenion. Rufus states that Abba Irenion, Peter, and John the Eunuch considered one another as neighbors and were on excellent terms with one another.40 Yet this did not prevent Abba Irenion from assisting Juvenal of Jerusalem’s nephew, Bishop Paul, who held the episcopal throne of Maiuma at the time when Peter arrived, to ordain Peter as a priest, against his will and by force.41 The ordination took place at the feast of the martyr Victor whom the people in the Gaza area venerated. From the Madeba map (ca. 560 AD) one learns that a sanctuary, O TOU AGIOU BIKTOROS (“the [house]42 of the holy Victor”), was located between the city of Gaza and the seashore.43 Pilgrims used to visit the place in the sixth century. In 1893, U. Bouriant published a Coptic panegyric on the martyr Victor, attributed to Theodosius, the anti-Chalcedonian bishop of Jerusalem.44 Van Esbroeck dis-

34 Vita Petri Iberi 50. On Kefar She'artha, see Clermont-Ganneau, “Sur quelques localités de Palestine,” 15-16. 35 Vita Petri Iberi 47. On Abba Silvanus and his followers, see the important study by Michel van Parys, “Abba Silvain et ses disciples; Une famille monastique entre Scété et la Palestine à la fin du IVe et dans la première moitié du Ve siècles,” Irénikon 61 (1988), 315-331 and 451-480. On Zeno in particular see there in the first part, pp. 324-331, as well as the whole of the second part of van Parys's study, which is an evaluation of sayings in the Apophthegmata tradition which are attributed to and / or are dealing with Abba Zeno. 36 Vita Petri Iberi 49. 37 Vita Petri Iberi 49. 38 Vita Petri Iberi 51. 39 Plerophoriae 2. As M. G. Mara, “Laura,” in Encyclopedia of the Early Church, vol. 1 (1992), 475, conveniently defines this specific organizational form of Palestinian monasticism, a laura is “a monastery… composed of a group of individual cells of semi-hermits under the leadership of a single superior, like a village of monks centered on the church.” 40 Vita Petri Iberi 51. 41 Vita Petri Iberi 51. 42 I owe this suggestion to Robert Phenix. 43 For a view of the respective section of the Madeba map, see Mohammed-Moain Sadek, in col- laboration with Yasser Matar Abu Hassuneh and Jean-Baptiste Humbert, O.P., “Gaza,” Les dossiers d'archéologie, n. 240 [Special issue: L'Archéologie Palestinienne] (January / February 1999), 46-67, here p. 50. I am grateful to Stephane Verhelst for having drawn my attention to this article. 44 U. Bouriant, “L'Eloge de L'Apa Victor, fils de Romanos,” Mémoires de la Mission archéologique française au Caire 8 (1893), 145-266. C.B. HORN 117 cussed how “the cult of Saint Victor [had] a strongly anti-Chalcedonian tone.”45 Taken together, these few pieces of evidence suggest that the veneration of the martyr Victor may have played a certain role in the tradition of the Palestinian anti-Chalcedonian community, and particularly in the life of the monastic community of Peter the Iberian. While Peter was living in his laura close to the shore of Maiuma, Pela- gius, an anti-Nestorian monk and prophet from Edessa who had found refuge in Palestine used to visit him. Pelagius may have lived not far away from Peter's laura, so that frequent visits did not cause great trouble. Probably Peter's laura was situated very close to the sea-shore, since Rufus portrays Pelagius and Peter as “pacing up and down in the sandy places of the laura” and disputing with one another about theological questions.46 Even though Peter engaged regularly in spiritual and theological conversations with Pelagius or another one of his many visitors,47 he most enjoyed the with- drawn life of quietness in the laura, and did not wish to mingle with the world.

PETER THE IBERIAN'S RECRUITMENT OF MONASTIC DISCIPLES

Most likely only after his return from Egypt to the south western coast of Palestine, the local monastic community grew in reputation through Peter's presence there. Eventually, a group of his followers formed the nucleus of an anti-Chalcedonian center of zealous ascetics. From far and wide, young and older ascetics and laypeople were attracted. Rufus states that “[w]hen [Peter] dwelt [close to Ashkelon], and many were coming to him from every place, he was strengthening some,… while he was enlightening [others] [and] was adding [them] to the orthodox church. Some, however, he incited to renounce the vanity of the world entirely, persuading [them] to run after perfection, to distribute their possessions to the poor, and carrying the Cross of Christ to follow him alone. Among them were the blessed Procopius, who was chaste in everything and who in truth depicted a man of God (1 Tim 6:11), and Cyril, that sheep [78] of Christ,–while he led both of them out from the world, he brought [them] to the place of the angels,–and Theodore, a lawyer, who in the end also was the recipient of his evangelical way of life, of his zeal, and of the gov- ernship of his monastery, together with Abba John, the venerable old man, the one who was dear and beloved and who was adorned with every virtue of monasticism, especially with humility. He attracted many others, not only men but also women, to the army of Christ. While he urged them to carry the sweet yoke of vir-

45 Michel van Esbroeck and Khalil Samir, “Victor Stratelates, Saint,” in The Coptic Ency- clopedia 7 (1991), 2303-2308, here p. 2304. 46 Plerophoriae 2. 47 Plerophoriae 3. Rufus mentions “other saints” who together with Pelagius of Edessa were approaching Peter. 118 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM

ginity, he was preparing for the Lord a people, abundant and zealous for good works.”48

Many of the ascetic newcomers were former law school students from Beirut. Next to Rufus's works, Zachariah Rhetor's biography of Severus of Antioch supplies the most valuable information about these fervent young law students-turned-ascetics.49 At one point, Zachariah himself had studied at the Beirut Law School.50 Yet he never took the step of becoming a monk in Peter's monastery, even though his father's house in the Gaza area was in the immediate neighborhood of Peter's monastery.51 One of the Beirut Law School students who had joined Peter's circle early on, as Rufus already indicated, was Theodore of Ashkelon.52 Theodore had sold his possessions in Ashkelon, the city of his birth, and had given the money to the poor in fulfillment of the Gospel command.53 He understood his entering the monastic life under Peter as taking up the Cross of Christ and following him.54 Theodore was called “'the Just' because of the virtues which he… possess[ed].”55 After Peter's death Theodore inherited a share in the gov- ernorship of Peter's monastery56 and seemed to have exercised his leadership effectively. Some of the young lawyers from Beirut who joined Peter's monastery learned about the saint by word of mouth and from friends who already lived in communion with the saintly ascetic. John Rufus, for example, had learned about Peter from his school-time friend Theodore of Ashkelon. After his law studies in Beirut and his subsequent service as priest in Antioch, when Rufus became greatly dissatisfied with the situation in Antioch after Peter the Fuller's exile in AD 477,57 he decided to break with the city's clergy. Since he had maintained correspondence with friends from Beirut, particularly with Theodore, who by then was one of the monks in Peter's community and who

48 Vita Petri Iberi 77-78. 49 For text and French translation see Zachariah Scholasticus, Vita Severi, edited by M. A. Kugener, Patrologia Orientalis 2.1 (Paris, 1907), 7-115. For an English translation of excerpts see Robin A. Darling Young, “ZACHARIAS: The Life of Severus,” in Vincent L. Wimbush, ed., Ascetic Behavior in Greco-Roman Antiquity – A Sourcebook (Minneapolis, 1990), 312-328. 50 Vita Severi 86. Reference is made to the page numbers in this edition. For the still authoritative monograph on the famous Beirut Law School see Paul Collinet, Histoire de l'École de Droit de Beyrouth (Paris, 1925). 51 Vita Severi 88. 52 Vita Severi 87 states that Theodore had chosen the monastic life before Rufus. 53 Vita Severi 87. Cf. Matthew 19:21. 54 Vita Severi 87. See also Vita Petri Iberi 78, quoted above. For a study of the significance and relevance of the motif of the Cross in anti-Chalcedonian spirituality in Palestine, see Horn, “Beyond Theology,” chapter 4. 55 Vita Severi 87. 56 Vita Severi 86. 57 Vita Severi 86-87. C.B. HORN 119 repeatedly had invited Rufus to visit the great saint and become part of his community himself, Rufus decided that the time was ripe for such a step. Theodore personally introduced him to Peter. Quickly Rufus became “a fellow of [Peter's] communion” and “a companion of his ministry.”58 In the Vita Severi Zachariah emphasizes that both Rufus and Theodore of Ashkelon had “a great reputation in [regard to] temperance and love of God.”59 He especially singles out Rufus for “the seriousness of his face and the asceticism of his body,” in consequence of which he “was being called Lazarus.”60 The deep spiritual friendship which developed between Rufus and Peter formed the basis for Rufus's continued involvement in the affairs of Peter's monastery. Rufus became one of the heirs to Peter's monastery,61 and as a committed anti- Chalcedonian, seems to have succeeded Peter as Bishop of Maiuma. Peter also recruited some of the ascetic disciples of his Maiuma monastery directly and in person. Apparitions of him became a popular motif in the sto- ries of his young recruits. The Vita Severi recounts how Anastasius of Edessa and Elisaeus felt called to the monastic life when they saw Peter appear to them in a nightly vision. Anastasius was the first to receive such a marvellous calling, as Zachariah notes. Anastasius had seen in a dream how Peter the Iber- ian “commanded… him to come immediately, by mounting a horse like a courrier.”62 Zachariah interpreted the dream for Anastasius, explaining that through this “divine apparition” Anastasius was called to the monastic life.63 For fear of his uncle, a governor in the province of Tyre, who did not wish that his nephew should leave a promising legal career, Anastasius first delayed his departure. Eventually, however, he made it to Caesarea where he met several disciples of Peter who guided him safely to the saint.64 First the holy man reproached Anastasius for not having come promptly. Yet as soon as Anasta- sius promised “to embrace the monastic life and to live under [Peter's] obedience,” Anastasius's body, which had been infected with leprosy, was healed.65 Anastasius’s experience seems to have functioned as a catalyst for similar occurrences. After his story broke in Beirut, it did not take long until the pious Elisaeus, “a man of simple habits,” had a similar experience. For a while already Elisaeus had been taken captive by a desire to lead the life of a monk. One day he had “an apparition of the holy man [i.e., Peter the Iberian], who

58 Vita Petri Iberi 82. 59 Vita Severi 86-87. 60 Vita Severi 87. 61 Vita Severi 86. 62 Vita Severi 83. 63 Vita Severi 84. 64 Vita Severi 84-85. 65 Vita Severi 85. For a discussion of the value of the episode dealing with Anastasius's and Elisaeus's experience for the dating of the hagio-biographical work of Zachariah Rhetor, see M.-A. Kugener, “Observations sur la Vie de l'ascète Isaïe et sur les Vies de Pierre l'Ibérien et de Théodore d'Antinoé par Zacharie le Scolastique,” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 9 (1900), 464-470. 120 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM commanded him during the night to get up and to chant to God the fiftieth psalm.”66 The encounter lit in Elisaeus “the fire of the divine philosophy [i.e., monasticism],” and since he did not know how “to resist the flame of the divine vocation,” he betook himself hastily to Peter in Palestine and took on “the yoke of philosophy” [i.e., monasticism] by placing himself under obedience to the holy man.67 Why were young law school students in Beirut so excited about the ascetic from Palestine? Peter had traveled extensively during the later years of his life and had spent an extended visit in the city of Beirut, because he felt that God had called him to recruit new ascetics precisely from among these law school students.68 The students kept alive the memory of his visit and passed it on to the following generations. Peter also wrote letters to individuals there.69 The Vita Severi mentions Evagrius in Beirut who “did not cease to lead many people to the love of the divine philosophy and to the monastic life.” Evagrius continuously talked “about the asceticism of those who cultivated the philosophy in the East,” referring to Peter the Iberian and Abba Isaiah, even though Evagrius himself had never met Peter in person.70 In the Vita Severi Zachariah describes both of them as “these two men, [who] during their sojourn in Pales- tine, had acquired a great reputation with all the Christians.”71 It may be that Anastasius and Elisaeus simply had become so excited about the charismatic figure of Peter the Iberian that their imagination was aroused, they dreamed about him, and then felt they should follow him. Severus of Antioch, debatably the most famous student of the Beirut Law School and a spiritual son of the above-mentioned Evagrius, settled for a while in a monastic cell in the immediate vicinity of Peter's laura in Maiuma.72

WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE IN THE MAIUMA MONASTERY BEFORE AND AFTER PETER'S DEATH?

There is only little information available that allows one to describe the life at the Maiuma monastery during Peter's lifetime. Yet the community, which Peter had gathered in Gaza during his earlier years and which eventually received its name from him, reestablished itself at the site of Peter's monastery after his death and managed to flourish for a while. By combining pieces of evidence from Rufus's and Zachariah's works, it is possible to reconstruct

66 Vita Severi 85. 67 Vita Severi 85-86. 68 Vita Petri Iberi 113. 69 For example, to one named Lucius. See Vita Severi 88. 70 Vita Severi 86. 71 Vita Severi 83. 72 Vita Severi 96. C.B. HORN 121 aspects of the community's practices as they pertain to the liturgical and ascetical life at Maiuma, particularly for the years after Peter's death when Rufus held responsibility among the monastery's leaders.73 One can trace the origins of liturgical customs observed in the Maiuma monastery to practices introduced by Peter himself.74 The monks kept the tradition of commemorating the saints of their community on special feast days. Peter had introduced a custom of celebrating a memorial service for his Geor- gian relatives who had been guides for him to the ascetic life. Their feast was celebrated “on the Sabbath in the middle of Lent.”75 The Vita Petri Iberi's “Sitz im Leben” is to be seen as the annual memorial celebration which Peter's followers held for their founder and spiritual guide. At that occasion Rufus's account of Peter's life was read to the monks. The Vita Petri Iberi pays great attention to the physical altar used at the monastery in Maiuma. Peter had testified to the monks that in an extraordinary apparition Mark the Evangelist had consecrated that altar in Egypt.76 At one occasion, Peter's dear friend and soul-mate John the Eunuch had offered the liturgy at that altar and during a three-day ecstasy at the altar received a vision of the Second Coming of Christ. Grounded in that vision, the community at Maiuma believed that its altar represented the one and only true altar on earth.77 Through such a conviction Peter’s anti-Chalcedonian followers demonstrated that they thought of themselves as being the only rightful and God-pleasing Christian church in existence. In many of the monasteries throughout the ancient Christian East, ascetics followed the rule of Basil the Great.78 It is no great surprise then that in his last will Peter laid down that his monks should also live according to Basil’s rule.79 In the Vita Severi, Zachariah provides an illustration of the way of life which the monks at Maiuma practiced. According to Zachariah, Severus of Antioch had observed that the monks “spent every day fasting, taking the earth for their bed, standing upright every day, giving the entire night to watching, praying constantly, and assisting at the

73 See also Horn, “Beyond Theology,” chapter 3; and Cornelia Horn, “Peter the Iberian and anti-Chalcedonian monasticism in Gaza in the light of Old and New Sources,” paper read at the Mid-Atlantic regional AAR / SBL meeting, Glen Mills, PA (March 24, 2000), unpublished man- uscript. 74 To the ones mentioned in this paragraph, one could also add the usage of a particular cov- ering for the altar table on the feast day of the commemoration of Peter of Alexandria. See Vita Petri Iberi 132. 75 Vita Petri Iberi 6. 76 Plerophoriae 44. 77 Plerophoriae 43. 78 Patrologia Graeca 31.889 – 1305 (Detailed Rule and Short Rules). See Johannes Quasten, Patrology, vol. 3, 213; Karl Suso Frank, “Basiliusregeln,” in Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche 2 (1994), 71-72. 79 Vita Petri Iberi 135: “Meditate, however, and read always in the book on asceticism, the one on the questions of the brothers, of the blessed Basil, the bishop. And like his holy orders also set his laws.” 122 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM

office. They gave only a small part of the day to manual labour, so that they could acquire what they need[ed] to nourish their bodies and to help the poor. Each one laboured over the sacred Scriptures during the hour of manual labour. Their chastity was so great that they did not look at each other's faces. They looked at the ground and made their responses to everyone. They laboured religiously at all things that led to virtue and attempted not to speak unnecessarily.”

Zachariah himself “knew some among them who, during the bodily lifetime of the great Peter, were advised to remain silent for six years, speaking only to God in the prayers and the divine office, and not to reveal (because of the curiosity of the demons) that God had given this combat as a remedy for their faults. They were careful to obey, so that no needless words left their mouths and they did not even express useless thoughts by standing still, or walking, or moving their eyes.”80

Both Severus and Zachariah attest to the fact that the monks at the Maiuma monastery practiced strict forms of ascetic abstinence in regard to human needs for food, sleep, and human interaction. The strong emphasis on silence is remarkable. To what extent it may have been due to the teachings of Abba Isaiah would have to be contemplated more carefully.81

WHAT CAN BE KNOWN ABOUT THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF THE MAIUMA MONASTERY?

While Peter still dwelt at the Maiuma monastery, he ordered the construction of “three sarcophagi which were joined to one another.”82 He intended these sarcophagi as resting places for his own body and those of two of his close friends, John the Eunuch and Abraham of Atripe. The sarcophagus in the middle was reserved for his own relics.83 With the translation of Peter’s relics to the Maiuma monastery, recounted at the beginning of this paper, also several if not all of the brothers that had gathered around Peter over the years returned to and settled at their spiritual father's former monastic residence. In a joined effort they rebuilt and revived the monastery. It seems that during their years of absence due to constant traveling the place had fallen somewhat into decay. By the time of Peter's death in the last decade of the fifth century, the group of his disciples comprised thirty members. Thus the few cells that remained from earlier years did no longer suffice. In the Vita Petri Iberi Rufus describes the building activities which 80 For both quotes see Zachariah Rhetor, Vita Severi 93-94. English translation quoted from Darling Young, “ZACHARIAS: The Life of Severus,” 325. 81 Regnault, “Isaiah of Scetis,” 1305, notes “hesychia, that blissful quietude essential for the monk,” first in the list of practices which Abba Isaiah recommended to monks. A fuller study of the importance of solitude and silence in Abba Isaiah would help clarify the question raised here. 82 Vita Petri Iberi 141. 83 Vita Petri Iberi 142. C.B. HORN 123

Peter's heirs undertook to improve the living conditions at the monastery. Given the scarcity of available funds, the efforts of Theodore of Ashkelon in particular appear to have made the difference. While one may assume that his fellow monks assisted Theodore in his building activities, Rufus describes the monastery's reconstruction in the following as largely the work of Theodore alone: “When those heirs of the blessed one saw, however, that the place was small and was not sufficient for a dwelling-place of many monks, for the cells were few and those were [such] that one was neglecting them, they prepared to revive the place. There was want of many supplies, and that blessed one had left [behind] little, which hardly [144] was sufficient for a few days for the nourishment of the brothers, who were about thirty in number. For that blessed one left only twenty-four dinars84 for supplies, because he used to distribute the greater part to the poor, and there was not one resource, neither from the produce of the soil, nor from the work of the hands of the brothers, because they were only occupied with the reception and refreshment of these saints and strangers who were coming continually to there during the life of the blessed one. If, however, anyone was offering anything, he was distributing the greater part of it, as I said, immediately to the poor. Nevertheless, while they put their trust in the riches of the kindness of God, and were strengthened by the prayers of the saint, those heirs began with the construction of the building. Especially, however, the diligent Theodore, that scholas- tic; accepting the work, he began the building with great cheerfulness, faith, and hope. And since God was helping, and gave strength, cheerfulness, and supplies invisibly, he built in a few days the tower and the Church, which is in it, and a house of prayer in the church. He built also the wall of the monastery and let [it] go around [it]. He constructed many cells, both lower and upper ones. He led a wall around the porticos, the pillars, and the courtyard, dug a well, fashioned gardens, and took care of the rest of what was necessary, of the building of the monastery, and of the work of the hands of the brothers, while he put his trust only in the goodness, the care, and the help of the Lord. When he had finished the construction of the building and they had decorated [145] the house of prayer, they dug a place of reverence under the altar. And they transferred to there the body of the saint during the following year, one day before [the anniversary] of his death.”85

The former monastery structures consisted of several cells to which new ones were added. The buildings had pillars and porticoes, which suggests a centralized arrangement of the cells. The monks planted gardens and dug a well for water supply. A wall surrounded the whole monastery, probably as defense against intruders. Rufus emphasizes that Theodore also built a tower and a new church. Within the church building, a special prayer-house was erected, which seemed to have been the central place for the liturgical life of the community. After finishing the prayer-house, the monks deposited Peter’s relics in a special 84 According to Payne Smith, Syriac Dictionary, 91, a dinar was generally gold, sometimes silver. 85 Vita Petri Iberi 143-145. 124 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM

“place of reverence under the altar.”86 The monks at the Maiuma monastery preserved a vivid sense of the continued presence of Peter among them and of his uninterrupted intercession in heaven for the needs of his brothers.87 In accordance with the model of Egyptian liturgical practice customary for the commemoration of Archbishop Peter of Alexandria, the monks at Maiuma also celebrated the feast of commemoration of their own founder on three con- secutive days.88

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

The textual sources state that the monastery of Peter the Iberian in question was located “between Gaza and Maiuma.”89 In modern times, excavations in the Gaza area have been rather difficult. On the one hand, the vicinity of the Mediterranean Sea has to account for climatological conditions which are unfavorable to the preservation of materials from antiquity. Under Islamic rule, materials from formerly Christian buildings were removed from their original locations and reused in architectural structures that served purposes that were foreign to those for which the materials were originally prepared. Moreover, given the present political, social, and economic situation of the inhabitants of the Gaza area, tasks other than archaeological work have a greater priority and importance. Nevertheless, some archaeological research is being carried out by the Department of Antiquities of the Palestinian Authority, especially in collabo- ration with the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem.90 At certain locations in the Gaza area mosaics, including mosaic floors, of sixth- century churches have been discovered. Those mosaics were up to now known only through the descriptions of Chorikios of Gaza, who in the sixth century painted vivid verbal tapestries of the mosaics of the Churches of St. Sergius and of St. Stephen.91 In 1999, in an article in Les dossiers d'archéologie, 86 Vita Petri Iberi 145. 87 Vita Petri Iberi 145. 88 Vita Petri Iberi 146. 89 Vita Petri Iberi 44. 90 See, e.g., École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem, Excavations in Gaza, at http://www.op.org/ebaf/news-001.htm (accessed Summer 2001). 91 Chorikios of Gaza's encomia on Bishop Marcian of Gaza (530-550) are of particular importance for the history of Christian art in Gaza. For the text of Chorikios's works see the edition by R. Förster and R. Richtsteig, Choricii Gazaei opera (Leipzig, 1929; reprinted Stuttgart, 1972). For an English translation of relevant sections, see R. W. Hamilton in Quarterly state- ment; Palestine Exploration Fund (PEFQSt.) (1930), 178-191. For a short summary of Chorikios's descriptions see Ovadiah, “Les Mosaïstes de Gaza,” 553-554. See also F.-M. Abel, “Gaza au VIe siècle d'après le rhéteur Chorikios,” Revue Biblique 60 (1931), 5-31. On Chorikios of Gaza, see P. Bruns, “Choricius of Gaza,” in Dictionary of Early Christian Literature [translation of the German Lexikon der antiken christlichen Literatur], ed. by Siegmar Döpp and Wil- helm Geerlings (New York, 2000), 123. C.B. HORN 125

Mohammed-Moain Sadek, representative of the Palestinian Department of Antiquities, reported that in April 1995 a large fragment of a mosaic floor was found, most likely the pavement of an ancient villa, about 300 m east of the United Nations Relief Center, in an area called al-Sabra, located between the ancient city of Gaza and its port, Maiuma.92 The mosaic consists of marble tesserae of approximately 2 cm x 2 cm. The mosaic fragment constitutes the corner of a rectangular surface filled in with geometrical shapes, i.e., rows of circles and diamonds. The partially damaged mosaic covered an area of about 2 m x 2 m. The fragment which was found contains no inscriptions. The excavators stated that the style of the mosaic is to be regarded as typical for the Gaza region and resembles closely a mosaic found in the Byzantine theater in Alexandria, Egypt, which in its turn can be dated to the sixth century AD. One may therefore date the mosaic fragment from Gaza to the same period. 8 m south west of the location of the mosaic was found a layer of building stones mixed with chalk and ashes on top of Byzantine jars.93 However, no traces of any architectural structures have yet come to light. This makes it extremely difficult to identify the building of which the mosaic once was a part. In his article, Sadek asked whether the mosaic could have belonged to a Byzantine monastery of St. Victor, for which the Madeba map indicates a location between Gaza and Maiuma. In the end Sadek thought the mosaic rather belonged to the larger area surrounding a monastery of St. Victor. While it still has to be clarified what exactly the nature of “the [house] of the holy Victor” was, the existence of monasteries in the region between Gaza and Maiuma is clearly attested to. As mentioned above, Severus of Antioch built a laura in the area. Literary sources offer substantial information about the monastery of Peter the Iberian, which, as shown above, comprised numerous extensive buildings and was inhabited by anti-Chalcedonians at least until AD 518, the beginning of the reign of Emperor Justin. The sixth-century Life

92 Sadek, Humbert, and Abu Hassuneh, “Gaza,” 60. 93 Sadek does not indicate, whether or not the excavators were able to determine the use that was made of the jars in question. In excavations of the Byzantine strata at numerous sites along the Mediterranean coast between Caesarea and Gaza, sherds of storage-jars have come to light in large numbers. Archaeologists and ceramists commonly speak of them as “'Gaza wine jars' or ‘Gaza storage-jars.'“ See Philip Mayerson, “The Gaza ‘Wine' Jar (Gazition) and the ‘Lost' Ashkelon Jar (Askalônion),” Israel Exploration Journal 42 (1992), 76-80; republished in Philip Mayerson, Monks, Martyrs, Soldiers and Saracens; Papers on the Near East in Late Antiquity (1962-1993), published by The Israel Exploration Society in association with New York Univer- sity (Jerusalem, 1994), 347-351, here p. 347. It would be interesting to know whether or not also the jars in question here belong to that group. Given that the rise of Palestinian monasticism in the Gaza area had a very positive and stimulating effect on increasing the production of and trading in wine in the early Byzantine era, as discussed above, p. 103 and n. 30, and if the jars in question could be identified as wine-jars, one would have a further indicator pointing to the likelihood that the mosaic in question could have been part of a monastery, and especially the Maiuma monastery of Peter the Iberian. 126 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM of John of Hephaestopolis indicates that the “Monastery of Peter the Iberian” flourished until the second generation after Peter. Then the community moved to Egypt.94 What happened to the buildings of Peter's Maiuma monastery is not known. Yet given the likelihood of a connection between the cult of the martyr Victor and Peter's anti-Chalcedonian followers as discussed above, would it not be intriguing to suggest that the discovered mosaic fragment once belonged to the structures that made up Peter's Maiuma monastery, possibly including a sanctuary of the martyr Victor?

ANTI-CHALCEDONIANS AND CHALCEDONIANS AT PEACE AND IN CONFLICT WITH ONE ANOTHER IN THE GAZA AREA

Simply to say as I just did that two generations after Peter the community of his followers moved to Egypt is only half the truth. If one reads John of Eph- esus carefully, one notices that he says that “[the community] of father Peter the Iberian, the doer of great and apostolic signs… was expelled with the rest, and came into the territory of Alexandria; and there it lived in a place called Ennaton.”95 It very likely was Chalcedonian pressure exerted by Emperor Justin which forced the rest of the Palestinian anti-Chalcedonians who had survived and for a time had prospered in the Gaza area to seek refuge in Egypt. At a few instances in the literary sources considered for this paper,96 one can catch glimpses at how the relationship between Chalcedonians and anti-Chal- cedonians in the Gaza area developed. For the time prior to Chalcedon, when Peter and John the Eunuch first joined the monastic community of Abba Ire- nion, Rufus indicates that the three considered one another as neighbors and as being on excellent terms.97 The aftermath of Bishop Juvenal's finally success- ful return to his throne in Jerusalem and the subsequent expulsion of anti-Chal- cedonians from Palestine, however, severly affected the inhabitants of the Maiuma monastery as well as local lay anti-Chalcedonians. It seems that the religious climate in Maiuma became unfavorable for zealous anti-Chalcedo- nians. Rufus knows of a certain Cyril who had been driven away from Maiuma because of his anti-Chalcedonian orthodoxy. This Cyril had to settle in Ashkelon, and there earned a living as keeper of a tavern.98 Also Pelagius of

94 John of Ephesus, “Life of John of Hephaestopolis,” in John of Ephesus, Lives of the Eastern Saints, part 2, edited and translated by E. W. Brooks, Patrologia Orientalis 18.4 (Paris, 1924), 527. 95 John of Ephesus, “Life of John of Hephaestopolis,” 527. 96 I.e., Rufus's Vita Petri Iberi and the Plerophoriae, and Zachariah's Vita Severi. 97 Vita Petri Iberi 51. 98 Plerophoriae 6. C.B. HORN 127

Edessa, one of the regular visitors to Peter, had to flee and keep in hiding in Ashkelon. Interestingly enough, he found refuge with Cyril, the tavern keeper.99 Yet apparently not all anti-Chalcedonians had to leave Maiuma. Per- haps the less zealous ones among them were those who were able to stay in Maiuma.100 In the Vita Petri Iberi Rufus creates the impression that after twenty years of exile in Egypt, Peter returned to Palestine because the local population of Maiuma desired to regain their former bishop. Yet judging from what Peter actually did when he returned to Palestine, one is led to believe that Rufus may have exaggerated a bit with his description of warm and welcoming sentiments of the local population. When Peter returned to Palestine, he arrived at Ashkelon where he was welcomed by the anti-Chalcedonian community. Then “he abode in a village which is called Palaea, about ten stadia from the city [of Ashkelon],”101 at quite some distance to the north of Maiuma. He stayed in several places in the larger Gaza area, which does indicate that there were pockets of his supporters in the area. Yet Rufus never directly says that Peter functioned again as local bishop of Maiuma or even set foot into his former monastery there. Only rarely, if indeed more than once, did Peter return to Maiuma.102 The center for his operations had clearly moved to Palaea, i.e., to the north in the Ashkelon area. Moreover, according to Rufus, it was Peter's express wish to die as a pilgrim and thus never to return to his home monastery.103 A less tendentious reading of the fact that Peter did not settle again in the community at Maiuma has to take into account that perhaps Peter felt that as a zealous anti-Chalcedonian he with his followers would not really have found a warm welcome in Maiuma. Only for a period of roughly thirty years right after Peter's death did the situation seem to have changed somewhat. Emperor Anastasius (491-518) eased the lot of anti-Chalcedonians in Palestine. It is obviously only by mere chance that the year of Peter's death coincides with the year in which Anastasius ascended to the throne. Nevertheless, after Peter's death and under the patron- age of Anastasius, Peter's anti-Chalcedonian followers returned to their monastery between Gaza and Maiuma and repossessed it. Still, how secure and confident they really felt is debatable. The fact that the monks under the leadership of Theodore of Ashkelon on their return to the Maiuma monastery quickly built a wall around their monastery may indicate that they still felt a

99 Plerophoriae 6. 100 Plerophoriae 6. 101 Vita Petri Iberi77. For a discussion of the precise location of Palaea, see Clermont-Gan- neau, “Sur quelques localités de Palestine,” 2-9. 102 At Vita Petri Iberi 78 Rufus says that “[o]nce… [Peter] was migrating to the places which are at the shore of Gaza, also that [place] which is called Maiuma.” 103 For a discussion of the importance of pilgrimage in Peter's life, see Horn, “Beyond Theology,” chapter 2; and Horn, “Weaving the Pilgrim's Crown.” 128 PETER THE IBERIAN AND PALESTINIAN ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN MONASTICISM need to protect themselves and their property against intruders or outside attacks of various sorts. Perhaps tensions slowly calmed down after an initial period of discomfort, since John of Ephesus afterall describes that period as one during which the community even flourished for a while. Yet in the end, it was again imperial intervention which determined the des- tiny of anti-Chalcedonians in Palestine. With the accession of Justin I in 518, the fate of Peter the Iberian's followers, i.e., the last remnant of zealous anti- Chalcedonians in the Gaza area, was sealed. The whole community, as John of Ephesus says, “was expelled.” Whether or not there were any lay people from Maiuma who joined the monks on their flight to Egypt cannot be determined.