Hierarch Peter, Bishop of Argos

IMPORTANT DATE CORRECTION: the previous date "January 3" was erroneous — that date actually belongs to a completely different saint, St. Peter of Moscow (see the separate peter_moscow card), which apparently was the source of confusion between the two different hierarch-saints named Peter. The correct date is May 3/16, independently confirmed by multiple sources.

HONEST CAVEAT: an episode mentioned in some retellings about repelling an Arab pirate raid through prayer could not be confirmed in any source checked — all emphasize famine relief, ransoming captives, and healing, but not a pirate episode; this detail has not been included in the vita as insufficiently attested.

Saint Peter was born in Constantinople to a noble, devout family with several brothers, including Paul, Dionysius, and Plato. The whole family embraced monasticism. Paul became Bishop of Corinth, and Peter, seeking silence, settled near him. Patriarch Nicholas I Mystikos of Constantinople, learning of his holiness, wished to consecrate him bishop, but Peter long refused out of humility.

After the death of the Bishop of Argos, the city's envoys asked Paul to send Peter as their bishop; after repeated entreaties he consented. As bishop, he was renowned for extraordinary mercy — caring for widows and orphans, miraculously feeding the starving during famine, ransoming captives, healing the sick and possessed, and possessing the gift of foresight.

He foretold the day of his death and died peacefully in old age. His relics rested in Argos, were translated to Nafplion in 1421 (where they exuded fragrant myrrh), and were partly returned to Argos in 2008.