Born into a noble Tatar family, Prince Peter was the nephew of Berke, the khan of the Golden Horde. The Lord touched the young prince’s heart when Saint Cyril, Bishop of Rostov, visited the Horde. The bishop interceded with the khan for his eparchy and spoke of the wondrous healings worked at the relics of Saint Leontius.
When Khan Berke’s son fell ill, he remembered the bishop’s account and sent for the saint to visit the sick boy. Saint Cyril prayed for his healing, and a miracle took place. The khan, overjoyed, showered the bishop with gifts and gave him leave to return to his eparchy. As Saint Cyril was returning home, the young prince caught up with him, fell to his knees, and begged him to take him along. The hierarch consented.
Having settled in Rostov, the young prince received Holy Baptism with the name Peter. In time he married, but even in marriage he lived a life of prayer and contemplation. Once he was granted a vision of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul. After this visitation, the blessed Peter built a monastery on Lake Nero and dedicated it in honour of the apostles.
The saint outlived his wife, and when she reposed, he embraced the monastic life and was tonsured. He spent the remainder of his days in the monastery he had founded and reposed in the Lord in 1290. His veneration began in the fourteenth century, and in 1547, at a council, it was resolved that the feast of the venerable Peter, Prince of the Horde, should be kept throughout the Church.
