Abba Pantelewon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Abba Pentelewon (Pantaleon) (c. 470 – 522) was a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
monk who is traditionally credited with founding Pentalewon Monastery located on the top of Mai Qoho Hi

northwest of Axum in Tigray,
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. He is one of the members of the group known as the Nine Saints. In 480 AD Abba arrived in Axum, the first great capital city of Ethiopia, as well as other 9 saints from different parts of the Rome Empire. They were escaping the impositions of the Chalcedonian Council of 451 AD, which had declared their
Monophysitism Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the incarn ...
to be a heresy. They contributed greatly to the spread and flourishing of Ethiopian Christianity. They built churches in different parts of ancient Ethiopia, organized Christian centers. They also learned the Ge’ez language that was spoken in Ethiopia and made the first translations of Bible into Ge'ez. They establish many monasteries in the Tigre region and in the area outside
Aksum Axum, or Aksum (pronounced: ), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire, a naval and trading power that ruled the whole region ...
, the most famous of which is Dabra Damo. The bishop
Afonso Mendes Father Afonso Mendes (18 June 1579 – 21 June 1659), was a Portuguese Jesuit theologian, and Patriarch of Ethiopia from 1622 to 1634. While E. A. Wallis Budge has expressed the commonly accepted opinion of this man, as being "rigid, uncompromis ...
, who had been the
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Patriarch of Ethiopia under Emperor Susenyos, cited the "Chronicle of Axum" as saying about the Nine Saints, "In the days of Amiamid .e.,_Ella_Amida.html"_;"title="Ella_Amida.html"_;"title=".e.,_Ella_Amida">.e.,_Ella_Amida">Ella_Amida.html"_;"title=".e.,_Ella_Amida">.e.,_Ella_Amidamany_monks_came_from_Rum,_who_fill'd_all_the_Empire;_Nine_of_them_stay'd_in_
.e.,_Ella_Amida.html"_;"title="Ella_Amida.html"_;"title=".e.,_Ella_Amida">.e.,_Ella_Amida">Ella_Amida.html"_;"title=".e.,_Ella_Amida">.e.,_Ella_Amidamany_monks_came_from_Rum,_who_fill'd_all_the_Empire;_Nine_of_them_stay'd_in_Tigray_province">Tigre,_and_each_of_them_erected_a_Church_of_his_own_Name."_Bishop_Mendez_adds_another_tradition,_which_tells_that_when_King_Kaleb_of_Axum.html" "title="Tigray_province.html" ;"title="Ella_Amida">.e.,_Ella_Amida.html" ;"title="Ella_Amida.html" ;"title=".e., Ella Amida">.e., Ella Amida">Ella_Amida.html" ;"title=".e., Ella Amida">.e., Ella Amidamany monks came from Rum, who fill'd all the Empire; Nine of them stay'd in Tigray province">Tigre, and each of them erected a Church of his own Name." Bishop Mendez adds another tradition, which tells that when King Kaleb of Axum">Kaleb Kaleb (), also known as Saint Elesbaan, was King of Aksum, which was situated in modern-day Eritrea and Ethiopia. Procopius calls him "Hellestheaeus", a variant of grc-koi, Ελεσβόάς version of his regnal name, gez, እለ አጽብ ...
was asked to cross the Red Sea and overthrow the Jewish king Dhu Nuwas, who had slaughtered some 340 local Christians for their beliefs, his first step was to go to Pentelewon for his blessing on the adventure. Pentelewon was said to have shut himself in a tower for 45 years, which Mendez identifies with Pentalewon Monastery near Axum. Mendez also uses the information in this traditional story to date Pentelewon's arrival at the court of the king of Axum to "between 470 and 480." Tradition also states that when Kaleb abdicated the throne to become a monk, it was Abba Pantelewon's monastery he retreated to.David W. Phillipson, ''Ancient Churches of Ethiopia'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), p. 42


References


External links

* Ethiopian saints 6th-century Christian saints Year of death unknown 470s births 522 deaths {{Saint-stub