PETROS III (D. 1607) Petros Was Certainly the Successor Of
PETROS III (d. 1607) Petros was certainly the successor of Krestodolu I, but in Ethiopian documents, information about his episcopate is fragmentary and scant, perhaps explained by the fact that the annals of the sovereigns of his time do not survive. Only the manifesto issued around 1624 by Negus Susenyos (1607-1632) in an effort to explain his joining the Catholic church gives a summary view of this episcopate. Denouncing the conduct of certain metropolitans in Ethiopia, this negus wrote: Abuna Petros [III], who succeeded this metropolitan [Krestodolu I], had relations with the wife of a Melchite, and when this fact became public, he paid the fine levied against any adulterer who corrupts the wife of another; certain witnesses having knowledge of this are still living, such as Joseph and Marino, who are foreigners not Ethiopians. Moreover, to this sin the metropolitan added other misdeeds. In the seventh year of Negus Ya‘qob's reign, Petros [III] issued a general excommunication which caused the people to depose Yaqob, exile him to Ennarya, and replace him with Za-Dengel. Later, he [Petros III] issued a second general excommunication in order to persuade the Ethiopians to get rid of Negus Za-Dengel, who was in fact killed [and replaced by Ya‘qob]. And as if that were not enough, when we [Susenyos] decided to fight against Negus Ya‘qob, the metropolitan [Petros III] went to war with him and fell with him on the battlefield. The essential facts referred to in this passage from Susenyos' manifesto must be summarized. Sarsa Dengel had had no male offspring by his wife Maryam Sena, but at his death he did leave some illegitimate sons.
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