Peter of Galatia

Saint Peter of Galatia, venerable, also called Peter the former soldier, lived in the ninth century. Before becoming a monk he was a distinguished officer in the emperor's service, and he ended his life in Constantinople, in the monastery of Saint Phocas. He is commemorated on 9 October.

He was born in the province of Galatia in Asia Minor in the reign of the iconoclast Emperor Theophilos, to parents named Theophilos and Eudokia. In the world he was called Leo, and the Slavonic Prologues give his name as Leontius. He was handsome, physically strong and of sound judgement, so the emperor made him a count, one of the officers of his immediate following, and honoured him with military ranks. For many years he fought in wars and showed great courage, but in the end he came to despise all this glory.

He left the army and became a monk in the monastery called Daphnon, where he received the name Peter. He then went to Mount Olympus in Bithynia and from there to Jerusalem. He did not stay there either, but travelled to Laodicea and Attaleia, bearing bravely the hardships of the road and of ascetic struggle and the dangers from the Arabs he met along the way. At last he returned to Olympus.

The fame of his life reached the imperial court. Emperor Basil the Macedonian, who came to the throne in 867, persuaded him to settle in the monastery of Saint Phocas. There Peter struggled to the end and gave up his soul in peace into the hands of the Lord.

He should not be confused with Saint Peter of Galatia who lived in the fifth century and is commemorated on 1 February.