Born around 320 A.D. in the Nile Delta, Saint Pishoy was marked out early; his mother reportedly received a vision that one of her sons was chosen for God’s service before Saint Pishoy was even born. At twenty he entered the monastic life in Wadi El Natrun, becoming a disciple of St. Bimwa and a close companion of St. John the Dwarf. He prayed with such intensity that he is said to have tied his own hair to the ceiling of his cave to keep himself from falling asleep during the night hours.
Saint Pishoy became known above all for humility toward strangers, washing the feet of every visitor to his cell without exception, and without ever looking closely at their faces. In the best-loved story about him, Christ came to him disguised as a poor traveler; Saint Pishoy washed His feet as he always did, and only recognized who he’d served when he saw the wounds of the crucifixion. In another account, Christ appeared as an elderly man asking to be carried up a mountain, and told Saint Pishoy afterward that because of the depth of his love, his body would never see corruption after death, a promise the Coptic Church holds was fulfilled, since his relics are venerated as incorrupt to this day at the Monastery of St. Pishoy in Wadi El Natrun.
Iconography
The icon shows Saint Pishoy washing the feet of Christ.