Petros 1 (Peter of Sicily) was the author of a work on the history and beliefs of the Paulicians, sometimes known as the Historia Manichaeorum, more recently styled the Historia Chreiodes.

A native of Sicily (according to the heading of his book), Petros 1 was sent to the Paulicians at Tephrike in the second year of the emperors Basil I (Basilios 7), Constantine (Konstantinos 141) and Leo 25 (i.e. in 869); he was sent by the emperor Basil I on a mission to exchange captive officers; the mission was successful but during the nine months when he remained in Tephrike he sought information about the beliefs of the Paulicians (whom he calls Manichees) from, among others, Basilios 2 and Zosimos 2, both former disciples of Sergios 1, as well as from others there whom Petros 1 regarded as orthodox believers; from the information which he gathered he compiled a report (the extant Historia Chreiodes) at the request of the emperor; the work is described as by τοῦ αὐτοῦ Πέτρου Σικελιώτου and is addressed to the unnamed archbishop of Bulgaria; Petros 1 stated his intention to write more about their heresies in due course (but there is no evidence that such a work was actually written): Peter of Sicily, 4-5, 187-189. See further the discussion by P. Lemerle, "L'Histoire des Pauliciens d' Asie Mineure d' après les sources grecques", in TM 5 (1973), pp. 1-113.

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