WELCOME! SAINT ALBIAN, HERMIT OF NITRIA Saint Albian ( Albianus ), hermit of Nitria in the Thebaid, was born in Ancyra in Galatia and, while still young, entered a monastery near Constantinople. Then he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and afterward went to the mountains of Nitria to conclude his life there in the strictest mortification. He drank only water and ate only bread that he had earned by his own labour. For he used to say that whoever eats another's bread is often tempted to flatter him, for fear of offending him. Instead of furnishings and belongings, he had only a goatskin to cover himself, and Holy Scripture to recover from his manual labour by reading the Word of God and singing the Psalms. When he met with other hermits or worldly people, he never spoke of worldly matters; his life was always in heaven. Saint Nilus , who wrote his eulogy, refers to him as a "saint." (Information from Stadler 's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 1, Augsburg, 1...