died 337
An Egyptian virgin raised in piety by her Christian mother, she lived an ascetic life of fasting and prayer and was numbered among the desert saints recorded in the Lausiac History.
Our Venerable Mother Piamoun the Virgin
Piamoun was an Egyptian virgin ascetic of the fourth century whose life is recorded in the Lausiac History of Palladius. Raised in piety by her Christian mother after the early death of her father, she devoted herself to fasting, prayer, and labor, eating only a little food in the evening and keeping vigil through the night.
She supported herself by weaving linen and joined her mother in charitable works on behalf of the poor and weak of their community despite their limited means. The sources record that she received the gift of foresight. She is commemorated on March 3 and died in 337, mourned throughout her village.
(Podoben: “Having received the grace of healing...”) Having discarded a bed for rest, for the sake of your love for God,
O Mother Piamoun,
and illuminating your spirit with fasting,
you completely vanquished your enemies;
and by your intercessions you destroyed the evil schemes of our adversaries.
Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).
In you, O Mother, was preserved with exactness what is according to the image;
for you took up the Cross and followed Christ.
By so doing, you taught us to disregard the flesh, for it passes away;
but to care for the soul, since it is immortal.
Therefore, O Venerable Piamoun, your spirit rejoices with the Angels.
Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).
The principal account of Piamoun's life appears in the Lausiac History, the early-fifth-century collection of monastic biographies compiled by Palladius of Galatia, which preserves the memory of many figures of fourth-century Egyptian asceticism. Her account is also carried in the Orthodox Church in America's synaxarion for March 3, where she is described as an Egyptian holy virgin of the fourth century.
Piamoun combined a strict personal discipline with active charity. The sources record that she ate sparingly, taking a little food in the evening, and kept constant vigil at night, while supporting herself by weaving linen.
With her mother she labored on behalf of the poor and weak members of their community, giving from limited means. After her mother's death she continued this ministry alone, visiting the homes of her neighbors, comforting them, and strengthening their faith until her own repose.
The sources relate that Piamoun received the gift of foresight. The most prominent episode in her life concerns a dispute between rival villages over Nile water rights, when one village prepared to attack her settlement with armed men. An angel is said to have warned her of the coming attack; when the priests declined to intervene, she went up to her roof and stood in prayer through the night, petitioning that the attackers be halted. According to the account, the armed men became immobilized three miles away and, on learning of her prayers, sought peace instead.
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