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Abba Pantelewon (also Pantalewon, Päntäléwon, Päntäléyon Zä-Soma’Et, Pentelewon, or Pantaleon) (c. 470 – 522) was a
Abba Pantelewon (also Pantalewon, Päntäléwon, Päntäléyon Zä-Soma’Et, Pentelewon, or Pantaleon) (c. 470 – 522) was a Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
monk who is traditionally credited with founding Pentalewon Monastery located on the top of Mai Qoho Hill northwest of Axum
Axum, also spelled Aksum (), 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.
Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Re ...
in Tigray
The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. He is one of the members of the group known as the Nine Saints
The Nine Saints were a group of missionaries who were important in the initial growth of Christianity in what is now Ethiopia during the late 5th century. The names of the Nine Saints are:
# Abba Aftse
# Abba Alef
# Abba Aragawi
# Abba Garima (Is ...
.
Abba Pantelewon was born in a noble Byzantine family. In 480 AD, Abba Pantelewon 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
The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...
of 451 AD, which had declared their Miaphysitism
Miaphysitism () is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one nature ('' physis'', ). It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. It differs from the Dyophysitism of ...
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, also spelled Aksum (), 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.
Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Regi ...
, the most famous of which is Dabra Damo
Debre Dammo (), Däbrä Dammo (with the geminated -''mm''-) in Tigrinya or Däbrä Damo in later Amharic language, Amharic appellations (also spelled Debre Damo, Dabra Dāmmo or Däbrä Dammo), is the name of a flat-topped mountain, or amba (geo ...
.
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, uncompromisi ...
, who had been the Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Patriarch of Ethiopia under Emperor Susenyos
Susenyos I ( ; –1575 – 17 September 1632), also known as Susenyos the Catholic, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1607 to 1632, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne names were Seltan Sagad and Malak Sagad III.
He was the son of '' ...
, cited the "Chronicle of Axum" as saying about the Nine Saints, "In the days of Amiamid .e., Ella Amida">Ella_Amida.html" ;"title=".e., .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 (, Latin: Caleb), also known as Elesbaan (, ), was King of Aksum, which was situated in what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Name
Procopius calls him "Hellestheaeus," a variant of the Greek version of his regnal name, (''Histories'', 1.20 ...
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
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pantelewon, Abba Nine Saints Ethiopian saints 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century Christian monks 470s births 522 deaths Christian missionaries in Ethiopia