Saint John the Dwarf
Desert monk of Scetis remembered for obedience and humility
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Religious, Mystic
- Life
- ~339 – 409
- Era
- 5th century
- Feast
- 9 November
- Countries
- Egypt
Life story
John is called Colobos, meaning “short” or “little”, because of his small stature. According to the Bose community's martyrology he was born around 339 at Bahnasa in Egypt and came to Scetis before the age of eighteen. What else we know comes from the monastic tradition and the collections of sayings, not from a contemporary biography.
He learned obedience among the desert fathers. In the Orthodox tradition his elder Pambo tested his obedience by ordering him to water a dry stick; after three years it bore fruit and Pambo brought the fruit to the church. Other accounts name Abba Ammoes as his spiritual father. This is a traditional story, not an established event. An early saying remembers him as a man whose humility had all of Scetis “hanging from his little finger”, which points to his standing among the monks.
His sayings are preserved in the collections of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers as a small compendium of spiritual life. According to the Bose entry, at seventy he was warned in a dream by Antony, Macarius and his spiritual father Ammoes that he would die soon, and he sent his disciple away so that he could prepare alone. Bose gives his dates as about 339 to 409. The Coptic Church commemorates him on 20 Babah (30 October) and the Eastern Orthodox Church on 9 November.
Works and witness
- Lived for many years in the desert of Scetis from his youth
- Remembered for obedience through the tradition of the dry stick
- His sayings on humility are preserved in the Desert Fathers collections
- Commemorated by several churches on different days
Saints from the same country
References
- Monastero di Bose, Ecumenical Martyrology, entry for 30 October (Giovanni Colobos), read in full – c. 339 at Bahnasa, age 70, dream, Coptic commemoration
- Orthodox Menaion for 9 November, “Our Holy Father John the Dwarf” (orthodox.net) – Pambo and the dry stick, feast 9 November
- Oxford Cult of Saints record (portal.sds.ox.ac.uk) – death dated 409, seen via search excerpt
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.