Pior

Venerable Pior was an Egyptian monk and hermit of the desert of Scetis in the fourth century, one of the Desert Fathers and a disciple of Saint Anthony the Great. He lived to a great age, nearly a hundred years, and died toward the end of the century.

The stories of the desert say that he left his home in secret, vowing never to enter it again nor to see his relatives; he became a hermit in the desert of Nitria. After many years his sister, now an old woman, learned how he lived and begged the hermits of Nitria to let her see him. Pior came to her house, but stood in the doorway with his eyes shut; he spoke with his sister, without seeing her and without entering, and returned to the desert.

Another story comes from a council held in the desert of Nitria, where a brother who had sinned was to be judged. While all were quarrelling, Pior came out before the fathers with a sack full of sand tied behind him and a basket half full of sand on his chest. When they asked what he was doing, he answered that the full sack was his own sins, which he cannot see and therefore cannot judge, while the basket was the small sins of the accused brother, which he sees before him and so is ready to condemn. Better to hang one's own faults in front, to remember them always and ask forgiveness for them. Hearing this, the assembly dispersed, saying that this is the way of salvation.

The Greek Church commemorates him on 17 June, and the Slavic calendar on 28 February (new style).