Venerable Peter of Mt. Athos

Peter was a Greek soldier. Taken prisoner in a war in Syria, he was held in chains at Samarra on the Euphrates. His Life tells that after long prayer St Nicholas and St Simeon the God-receiver appeared to him, freed him and led him home. He went to Rome to fulfil his vow, was tonsured there, and, according to his Life, the Mother of God showed him in a vision that his place was on Mount Athos.

Landed on the Athonite shore, he lived alone in a cave for 53 years, eating what grew around him. A hunter chasing a deer at last found him, and through him the hermit became known. Peter is counted among the first known hermits of Athos; he died c. 734.