It is said about those who resided in Mount Nitria…. “He never told a lie in his life, and he never used oaths; he never
uttered a curse, and beyond what was necessary he never spoke at all.” Such was the greatness of those who made the
desert their homes...
The History of the Blessed Man Pambo
(died AD 393) In this mountain
there also lived the blessed man
Pambo who was the teacher and
master of the Bishops Dioscorus,
Ammonius, Eusebius, and Origen
the nephew of Dracontius, a
marvelous man. Now this man
Pambo possessed the power to
utter words of prophecy, and
splendid triumphs, yet with all
these he despised gold and silver,
even as the Word demandeth.
Now the following things
concerning him were related unto
me by the blessed woman Melha:
When I first came from Rome
to Alexandria I heard concerning
the life and deeds of Pambo, inasmuch as the blessed
man Isidore, who also brought me unto him in the
desert, told me about him. And I brought unto him a
basket which was filled with stamped silver (coined
money) three hundred pounds (in weight) and I
begged him to accept some of my possessions for his
needs. He was sitting and plaiting the leaves of palm
trees, and as he was doing this he merely blessed me,
and said, “God give thee thy reward!” Then he said
unto his steward, whose name was Origen, “Take and
distribute this among all the brethren who are in the
“Island” and “Libya”; for these monasteries are
exceedingly poor, and he commanded the steward not
to give unto any man who dwelt in Egypt, for those
who dwell therein have abundant means of
subsistence. Now I stood there and I expected to be
treated with honour or to be praised for the greatness
of the gift, but when I heard nothing from him, I said
unto him, “Master, knowest thou how much money it
is, and that there are three hundred pounds in the
basket?” Then Pambo, without lifting up his gaze said unto me, “My daughter, He
unto whom thou hast offered thy
money hath no need to know the
weight. For He who weighed
the mountains in a balance
knoweth how much the weight
of thy silver. If thou hadst given
the money unto me thou wouldst
have done well to have informed
me concerning the weight
thereof; but since thou hast
given it to God, Who did not
despise the two mites of the
widow, what need hast thou to
tell Him? Hold thy peace.”
Now our Lord so directed that
in the day on which I entered the
mountain this blessed man died without having been
ill, for he died whilst he was sewing together the palm
leaves for mats, without fever and without sickness.
And he was seventy years old. Now he was sewing
together palm leaves for a mat, and coming to the
end of it he sent and called me. And when he had
finished sewing it, he said unto me, “Take this mat
from my hands, so that thou mayest keep me in
remembrance, for I have nothing else whatever to
leave thee.” And having given it unto me he
straightway died. And I wrapped his body in linen
swathing, and buried him, and then I departed from
the desert; and I shall treasure the mat as a sacred
relic until the day of my death.
Now at the time of the death of this holy man
Pambo there were standing before him certain famous
men, Origen the priest and steward, and Ammounius,
together with the remainder of the brethren, and they
told me that at the time of his death, he said, “From
the day wherein I came into this desert and built this cell in which I have lived until this day I know not
that I have ever eaten the bread of idleness or bread
which did not come from the labour of mine own
hands; and my soul repenteth not that I have ever
spoken an empty word in my life; thus I go to God
like one who hath as yet, not made a beginning in the
fear of God.” And Origen and Ammonius, the
servants of Christ, in telling us the story of his life,
bore witness concerning him that he was never asked
a question by any man about a saying from the Book,
or about the rules and labours of the ascetic life which
he did not either answer immediately or say, “I have
not as yet understood the matter.” Now there were
times when he spake these words only after three
months’ consideration of a matter; and he used to
make answer with such understanding that every man
received the things which were said by him with great
reverence as if they had been said by God. Now this
excellence was also attributed to Anthony the Great
and to the rest of the holy men. Among other things
which are said concerning the holy man Pambo is the following. The blessed man Pior once went to
Pambos’ cell and took with him some bread and
Pambo made a compliant, saying unto him, “Why hast
thou done this?” Then Abba Pior made answer saying,
“Let this thing be not grievous unto thee” but Pambo
was silent and sent him away. And after some time
Rabba Pambo went to the cell of Abba Pior and he
took with him bread which had been dipped in water;
and being asked, “Why hast thou done this?” the
blessed man Pambo said unto him, “Let it not be
grievous unto thee that “I have also dipped the bread
in water.”
(Budge, E.A., 1994, The Paradise of the Holy Fathers,
p.103,104.)
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