Saint Pambo (also known as Pemwah and Bemwah - Όσιος Παμβώ in Greek) (died c. 375) is a Coptic

Desert Father The Desert Fathers or Desert Monks were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt, beginning around the third century AD. The is a collection of the wisdom of some of the earl ...

of the fourth century. Saint Pambo is venerated by the

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...

Churches, the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Churches and the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Veneration day is 18 July. Pambo was a disciple of

Saint Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

. He lived in the

Nitrian Desert The Nitrian Desert is a desert region in northwestern Egypt, lying between Alexandria and Cairo west of the Nile Delta. It is known for its history of Christian monasticism."Nitrian Desert", in F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., ''The Oxfor ...

where he founded many

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. He was renowned for his wisdom, and was consulted by many, including

Saint Athanasius Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

, Saint Melania the Elder,

Saint Rufinus According to legend, Rufinus of Assisi (Italian ''Rufino''), was the first bishop of this city and a martyr. Sources concerning the life of Saint Rufino are a sermon of eleventh century Peter Damian, (''Miracula Sancti Rufini Martyris''), and a ...

, and

Ammonas of Egypt Ammonas of Egypt (also ''Amtnonas'', ''Ammon'', ''Ammonius'', ) was an eastern Christian anchorite, monastic, and Desert Father who was born around the early 4th century. He is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Ammonas was a disciple of ...

. He was also the spiritual father of many saints, including

Saint Pishoy Pishoy of Scetis (Coptic language, Coptic: ''Abba Pišoi''; Greek language, Greek: Ὅσιος Παΐσιος ὁ Μέγας; 320 – 417 AD), known in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria as the ''Star of the Desert'' and the ''Beloved ...

and

Saint John the Dwarf Saint John the Dwarf (Greek: Ἰωάννης Κολοβός; Arabic: ابو يحنّس القصير (Abū) Yuḥannis al-Qaṣīr c. 339 – c. 405), also called Saint John Colobus, Saint John Kolobos or Abba John the Dwarf, was a Coptic Desert ...

. A founder of the Nitrian Desert monastery in Egypt and a famed disciple of St. Anthony. Having served and studied under Anthony in his youth, Pambo later became a pioneer in establishing the eremitical life in the Nitrian Desert and was much respected for his wisdom. According to tradition, he was regularly visited by some of the most powerful and prominent figures of the time, including Sts. Athanasius, Melania the Elder, and Rufinus. St. Melania was with him when he died. As a youngster, Saint Pambo once asked Saint Anthony "My Father, teach me to live well." To which the great Saint Anthony answered "My son, to live well, one must have a great distrust of oneself, with every effort watch over one's heart and mind, and in all things seek God alone."Translation from Jugendspiegel Ludwig Donin, Amberg 1876, Saint Pambo 6 September He died in 375 of natural causes. A fictional version of him appears in the 6th-century ''

Legend of Hilaria The ''Legend of Hilaria'' is a Coptic romance, possibly a Christian version of the pagan '' Tale of Bentresh''. It was written between the 6th and 9th centuries AD. During the Middle Ages, it was translated into Syriac, Arabic and Ethiopic. It t ...

''.

References

375 deaths Saints from Roman Egypt Egyptian Christian monks 4th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown {{Egypt-reli-bio-stub