St. Piama of Egypt

Commemorated on March 3

St. Piama lived in asceticism in her mother’s home not far from Alexandria. She only ate food at the end of the day. After prayer, she spun flax.

St. Piama was granted the gift of insight. The people of a nearby village who were blinded with greed planned to destroy the small village where St. Piama lived in order to divert water to their own fields when the Nile overflowed its banks. St. Piama realized their wickedness and reported it to the village elders. The elders fell on their knees before Piama, and asked that she go to the neighboring village to stop them from their evil deeds.

St. Piama did not go to meet the villagers, as she shunned contact with people. She spent all night in prayer. The next morning, the people of the neighboring village armed themselves and set off to destroy St. Piama’s village. They suddenly froze in their tracks and were not able to proceed. The Lord revealed to them that the prayers of St. Piama were holding them back. The villagers immediately repented of their sins. They sent messengers to the village with a request for peace and said, “Thanks be to God, Who through the prayers of the maiden Piama has delivered us.”

The saint peacefully fell asleep in the Lord in the year 337.

By permission of the Orthodox Church in America (www.oca.org)