The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Peter II of Alexandria
d. 380 · Bishop of Alexandria · Athanasius’s successor · Alexandria ↔ Rome
The Nicene Age
Who Peter II of Alexandria was
Athanasius’s chosen successor, distinguished by numeral from the martyr-bishop Peter of the Great Persecution. Within months of his accession in 373 the Arian party, backed by the prefect, installed the rival Lucius with mob violence — the church stormed, virgins and clergy outraged, Peter’s own account of it preserved by the historians — and he fled to Rome, where Damasus sheltered him for five years. Restored under Theodosius’s dawn, he died in 380, having kept the Athanasian succession unbroken through its last exile.
Also listed in the bishops of Alexandria.
Common questions
When did Peter II die?
Peter II of Alexandria is dated d. 380 in the archive, which places Peter II in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Peter II?
Peter II of Alexandria is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Basil of Caesarea, Socrates Scholasticus and Theodoret of Cyrrhus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Peter II from?
The archive associates Peter II of Alexandria with Alexandria, Rome. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Peter II’s contemporaries?
The archive links Peter II of Alexandria to 4 other figures, including Athanasius of Alexandria, Timothy of Alexandria, Damasus I of Rome and Emperor Valens. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Letter 266 (Basil's correspondence with Alexandria)
c. AD 376Ecclesiastical History IV.21–22 (Socrates)
c. AD 439Peter, having escaped, fled to Damasus, bishop of Rome… and after Lucius had wearied the city with violence, Peter returned with letters from Damasus and was restored to his church.Socrates Scholasticus · IV.21–22 · source text
Ecclesiastical History IV.22 (his letter on the Arian terror quoted at length)
c. AD 449Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Peter II, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.