In the twentieth year of their reign, this patriarch Peter was beheaded in Alexandria.
He said: Peter had two disciples—the first named Ashila and the second Alexandros. In Alexandria there was also a man called Arius who asserted, “The Father alone is the one, singular God, while the Son is a created, fashioned being; the Father existed when the Son did not.”
Peter the patriarch said to his two disciples, “The Messiah has cursed Arius, so beware of accepting his teaching. I saw the Messiah in a dream with His garment torn. I asked Him, ‘My lord, who tore Your garment?’ He answered, ‘Arius.’ Therefore be on guard: do not admit him, nor let him enter the church with you—the church of God.”
He said: Five years after Peter’s death, Ashila was made patriarch of Alexandria; he served for six months and then died. Arius, having secured the support of his friends against Ashila, gave the impression that he had renounced that doctrine, so Ashila accepted him, admitted him into the church, and appointed him a presbyter.