John Rufus: The Lives of Peter the Iberian, Theodosius of Jerusalem, and the Monk Romanus.

• Author: Reymond, Eric D.
• Position: Book review

John Rufus: The Lives of Peter the Iberian, Theodosius of Jerusalem, and the Monk Romanus. Edited and translated by CORNELIA B. HORN and ROBERT R. PHRNIX JR. Writings from the Greco-Roman World, vol. 24. Atlanta: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE, 2008. Pp. xcii + 370. $51-95 (paper).

Peter the Iberian, whose ancient biography makes up the majority of the present book, was born (ca. 413 or 417 CE.) to aristocracy of the Iberian kingdom in what is today the eastern part of the country of Georgia, and became, by the end of his life, a champion of anti-Chalcedonian Christianity in Palestine. His biography narrates the story of his parents' piety, his own childhood and adolescence, as well as the various events of his mature years that took place throughout Syria-Palestine and Egypt, including a variety of miracles associated with him. One major theme of this biography is Peter's desire to separate himself (together with his monastic partner. John the Eunuch) from political and ecclesiastical responsibilities. Thus, Peter flees the court of Theodosius II in Constantinople for Jerusalem; he flees Jerusalem for Gaza (attempting to avoid Eudocia and any requests she might make of him). In Gaza, Peter refuses to be appointed bishop of Maiuma, resisting to the point that he attempts to throw himself from a rooftop before being stopped by a divine voice; and then, once ordained. Peter refuses to "celebrate the holy Eucharist," only relenting when the people of Maiuma threaten to set him on fire. The narration also includes other legends (e.g., how the burial of Moses was discovered) and accounts of important individuals of the region, like Melania the Younger, who, with her husband, endowed monastic residences in Jerusalem.

Theodosius, whose "life," is really an account of his death (cf. its title: "On the Memory of How the Blessed Theodosius, Bishop of Jerusalem, Departed to Our Lord" and its abbreviation "On the Death of Theodosius"), was the only bishop of Jerusalem to espouse anti-Chalcedonian ideas. The account of Peter's life and Theodosius's death were originally conceived as a single work, according to the editors (p. liii), and their collection together here, thus, is entirely apposite. Romanus, who is called (along with three other individuals [p. 111 n. 11]) "father of the monks," is not the subject of a separate work or biography; rather, his story is incorporated into the account of Theodosius's death and makes up a substantial portion of...