PIMENIO, saint. — His true name was Poemen (= Shepherd); born in Egypt around 340. From his youth he devoted himself to the penitential life, and at the age of fifteen entered the monastery on Mount Scete in Libya, where some of his brothers were already living.
There survive 187 apophthegms attributed to him, filled with wisdom and acumen, in which his perspicacity and spiritual maturity shine through. On two occasions, in 395 and 430, he had to leave the monastery, driven out by barbarian incursions. He died around 450, esteemed and venerated by all. He is commemorated in the Greek and Latin Martyrologies on 27 August.
BIBL.: Tillemont, XV, pp. 147–71; PG 65, 317–68; Acta SS. Augusti, VI, Paris 1868, pp. 25–43; Synax. Constantinopolitanum, p. 927; Martyr. Romanum, p. 364. Agostino Amore