Venerable, Recluse Pior the Recluse of the Kiev Caves

Venerable Pior labored at the Kiev Caves Monastery no later than the 12th century (claims of the 13th century as his lifetime are considered unfounded). He was distinguished by fasting and diligence, serving as an example for ascetics and hard workers. Unwilling to behold the temptations and vanity of this world, he shut himself in a dark cave, where he labored in unceasing prayer. His relics rest in the Far Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra. A 1638 map of the Far Caves states: "the relics of the blessed elder and our father Pior — only his feet are visible, the rest of the body is hidden by earth." His memory is kept on October 4/17, and also on August 28/September 10 within the Synaxis of the Fathers of the Far Caves and the general Synaxis of All Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves.