Primary source · Koine Greek
The Canonical Epistle (On Penance)
Peter of Alexandria · c. AD 306
What this text is
The martyr-bishop's fourteen canons on how to receive back those who fell in the Great Persecution — graded penance, written with a pastor's precision and a confessor's authority.
Profile of Peter of Alexandria →
Public-domain translations
ANF translation (1886)
For those who fell and were dragged forward, yet endured torments before yielding — for these a shorter penance may suffice; for the will did not consent, though the flesh was overcome. But those who ran to sacrifice unforced must weep longer.
Manuscript witnesses
Byzantine canonical collections
medievalThe fourteen canons carried in the eastern canon-law books, ratified by the Council in Trullo.
Patrologia Graeca, vol. 18 (Migne)
1857Standard pre-critical text of the corpus.
Provenance
Alexandria, AD 306 — penance rules for the lapsed of the Great Persecution
Editions & scholarship
Critical editions and standard translations behind the text above.
- St. Peter of Alexandria: Bishop and MartyrTim Vivian, 1988The standard study with translations of the canons and fragments.
- The Canons of the Councils (in: NPNF II/14)Henry R. Percival (ed.), 1900Public-domain translation within the conciliar corpus.