Saint Pambo

Life story

Most of what we know about Pambo comes from Palladius's Lausiac History and from the collections of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. He lived in the Nitrian desert in Egypt. Palladius, who never met him and relays accounts from Melania, from Pambo's steward Origen and from the monk Ammonius. Tradition says Pambo asked an old man to teach him a psalm but, after hearing only the first verse, asked him to stop and went away to practise it for a long time. This is a traditional anecdote.

Palladius names Dioscorus, Ammonius, Eusebius and Euthymius among his disciples; Dioscorus became a bishop. Melania the Elder brought him a casket of silver of about 300 pounds in weight; he did not look up from his work but told his steward Origen to distribute it among the poorer monasteries of Libya and the islands. A story in the Sayings tells that, when he went to Alexandria at the request of Bishop Athanasius, he wept at the sight of an actress, thinking that he was less eager to please God than she was to please wicked men. The sources portray him as a man of few words, who sometimes took three months to answer a question.

According to Palladius, he died at about seventy, while stitching a basket, without illness, and he gave the basket to Melania as a keepsake. The sources place his death somewhere between about 370 and 393, depending on how it is reckoned. His commemoration is on 18 July.

Works and witness

• Lived for many years in the Nitrian desert, known for silence and manual labour
• Taught disciples named by Palladius, among them the future bishop Dioscorus
• Had the silver brought by Melania the Elder distributed to poorer monasteries
• Went to Alexandria at the request of Athanasius (tradition in the Sayings)
• Died at about seventy while stitching a basket

Saints from the same country

Saint Anthony of Egypt, Saint Athanasius, Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Saint Catherine of Alexandria

References

• Palladius, Lausiac History, ch. 10 (Pambo) – tertullian.org translation, read: silver of 300 pounds, steward Origen, Libya and the islands, death at seventy while stitching a basket, disciples Dioscorus, Ammonius, Eusebius, Euthymius
• Mystagogy Resource Center (John Sanidopoulos), “Life and Sayings of Holy Abba Pambo of Nitria” – feast 18 July, Athanasius and the actress (seen via search)
• Oxford Cult of Saints database, Lausiac History entry on Pambo (ob. c. 370) – seen via search excerpt

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.