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 ea ...

of the fourth century. Saint Pambo is venerated by the Oriental Orthodox 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. He lived in the Nitrian Desert 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, 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. He was also the spiritual father of many saints, including

Saint Pishoy Pishoy of Scetis ( Coptic: ''Abba Pišoi''; 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 of our Good Savior'', was a Co ...

and Saint John the Dwarf. 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 ...

''.

References

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