Or (monk)
Or | |
|---|---|
| Abba Or | |
| Born | Early 4th century Egypt |
| Residence | Nitria |
| Died | c. 390 Egypt |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church & Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | August 7. Troparion: "'From the earth Or departed to me,' said grace, 'On behalf of Or begotten by you O law.'" |
| Attributes | Love, Generosity, Kindness, Abstinence |
| Influenced | St. Sisoes the Great, Theodore of Enaton, Abba Pistos. |
Overview[]
Abba Or (died c. 390[1]) was an Egyptian Eastern Orthodox Christian monk who lived around the 4th century in Nitria, Lower Egypt. He is one of the lesser-known Desert Fathers. He is associated with Abba Theodore and St. Sisoes the Great.[2][3]
Life[]
Abba Or is canonized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox tradition.[4] He was known for his extreme love for mankind and hospitality.[3] Abba Or received a vision from an angel who told him to leave his desert seclusion in extreme old age to become a teacher of other monks outside of Nitria.[3] The angel said to him, "You will be a great nation, and a numerous people will be entrusted to you. Those who will be saved through you will be ten myriads. For however many people you win in this world, that is the number you will lead in the age to come. Do not hesitate at all. Provided you call upon God, you will never lack anything you need to the end of your life.”[3] He did as the angel commanded and became the father of many saints in the Egyptian Desert. His spiritual children attest to his virtue, saying that Abba Or never lied, nor swore, nor hurt anyone, nor spoke without necessity. [3]
Abba Or, after his vision from the angel, gathered a great many monks as his followers. According to St. Jerome, Their numbers were so many, that the resident monks had to devote much of their time to making huts to accommodate all of the incoming monks. [4] Abba Or taught his disciples to be always ready for Christ to take their souls. It was said of Abba Or and Abba Theodore that as they were building a cell out of clay, they said to one another, "If God should visit us now, what should we do?" Then, weeping, they left the clay there and each of them went back into his cell. [4]
One day, a charitable nobleman by the name Longinos desired to visit Abba Or. Longinos sought out one of Abba Or's spiritual children and asked him to take him to the elder. The monk immediately went to Abba Or, saying that Longinos indeed was a very charitable man. The monk then asked Abba Or to permit the nobleman to come see him. However, Abba Or discerned the true reason why the monk praised Longinos. If Longinos came to their dwelling, he would surely give money to them, and in doing so incite them to avarice. With this discernment, Abba Or refused the nobleman and would not compromise his God-given grace for financial gain.[3] He said, "Truly, there is no need for him to cross this valley in order to see me." [4]
On another occasion, "Paul, Abba Or's disciple, went to buy some reeds one day. He ascertained that others had been before him and had paid deposits. But Abba Or never paid deposits for anything at all, but paid the full price at the proper time. So his disciple went in search of palm-branches somewhere else. Then a farmer said to him, 'Someone has given me a deposit, but he has not come. So why don't you take these palm-branches.' He took them and he went back to the old man and told him all this. The old man clapped his hands and said, 'Or is not going to work this year.' He did not allow the palm-branches to come inside his cell, but waited for them to be taken to where they belonged." [4]
Because of his many ascetic struggles which ailed his body, Abba Or was constantly sickly. As St. Sisoes said, "Abba Or was ill for eighteen years." [4]
His feast day is August 7 in the Orthodox Church.[4]
Sayings[]
Abba Or is known for the spiritual guidance that he gave to his disciples. His teachings are quoted in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
On Humility[]
"The crown of the monk is humility." [1]
He gave this counsel, "Whenever you want to subdue your high and proud thoughts, examine your conscience carefully: Have you kept all the commandments? Have you loved your enemies and been kind to them in their misfortunes? Have you counted yourself to be an unprofitable servant and the worst of all sinners? If you find you have done all this, do not therefore think well of yourself as if you had done everything well but realize that even the thought of such things is totally destructive." [3]
"He who is honoured and praised beyond his merits, will suffer much condemnation, but he who is held as of no account among men will receive glory in heaven." [3]
When Sisoes asked Abba Or for some guidance on the spiritual life, the old man said, "In my own opinion, I put myself below all men." [1]
He would often say, "Do not speak in your heart against your brother like this: 'I am a man of more sober and austere life than he is,' but put yourself in subjection to the grace of Christ, in the spirit of poverty and genuine charity, or you will be overcome by the spirit of vainglory and lose all you have gained. For it is written in the Scriptures: 'Let him who stands take heed lest he fall.' (1 Corinthians 10:12) Let your salvation be founded in the Lord." [1]
Abba Or taught that if you slander your brother, you must say to him, "I have spoken badly of you; let this be my surety that I will not spread this slander any further." [3]
Other quotes[]
"In all temptation, do not complain about anyone else, but say about yourself, ‘These things happen to me because of my sins.’" [1]
"If you see that I am thinking adversely about someone, know that he is thinking in the same way about me." [1]
Abba Or said to his disciple Paul, "Be careful never to let an irrelevant word come into this cell." [4]
He often recited this proverb, "If you are fleeing, flee from men; or the world and the men in it will make you do many foolish things." [4]
From Others About Or[]
By Palladius (bishop of Helenopolis), "Now in Mount Nitria there was a certain man whose name was Or, concerning whom men, especially all the brotherhood, testify to many of his triumphs, and also that marvelous and excellent woman Melania, the handmaid of Christ, who went into this mountain before I did. As for me, I never became acquainted with this man. And in his history they say this one thing: “He never told a lie in his life, and he never used oaths; he never uttered a curse, and beyond what was absolutely necessary he never spoke at all." [5]
From St. Jerome:
"And this blessed man had for a very long time lived a life of the utmost austerity at a remote place in the desert, but subsequently he took certain monasteries in the desert which was near Shaina, and gathered together a brotherhood, and he planted so many wild trees at that spot that they formed a dense wood in the wilderness." [4]
"And when the man of God saw us, he rejoiced in us, and saluted us, and straightway he offered up a prayer; and he washed our feet with his own hands, and began to teach us, for he was exceedingly well acquainted with the Scriptures, even as a man who had received the gift from God, and he expounded to us many chapters of the Scriptures, and delivered to us the orthodox faith; moreover, he urged us to prayer, and to partake of the Mysteries." [4]
"Now this man was more glorious in his life than very many of the fathers." [4]
Abba Pistos related that which follows: "We were seven anchorities who went to see Abba Sisoes who lived at Clysma, begging him to give us word. He said to us, "Forgive me, for I am a very simple man. But I have been to Abba Or and to Abba Athre. Abba Or was ill for eighteen years. I made a prostration before him and asked him to give me a word. Abba Or said to me, 'What shall I say to you? Go, and do what you see is right; God comes to him who reproaches himself and does violence to himself in everything.' Abba Or and Abba Athre did not come from the same part of the country, yet until they left their bodies, there was great peace between them. Abba Athre's obedience was great, and great was Abba Or's humility. I spent several days with them, without leaving them for a moment, and I saw a great wonder that Abba Athre did. Someone brought them a little fish and Abba Athre wanted to cook it for the old man. He was holding the knife in the act of cutting up the fish and Abba Or called him. He left the knife in the middle of the fish and did not cut up the rest of it. I admired his great obedience, for he did not say, 'Wait till I have cut up the fish.' I said to Abba Athre, 'Where did you find such obedience?' He said to me, 'It is not mine, but the old man's.' He took me with him, saying, 'Come and see his obedience.' He took the fish, intentionally cooked some of it badly, and offered it to the old man who ate it without saying anything. Then he said to him, 'Is it good, old man?' He replied, 'It is very good.' Afterwards he brought him a little that was well cooked and said, 'Old man, I have spoiled it,' and he replied, 'Yes, you have spoiled it a little.' Then Abba Athre said to me, 'Do you see how obedience is intrinsic to the old man?' I came away from there and what I have told you, I have tried to practice as far as I could." [4]
Physical Appearance[]
St. Jerome said of him, "He looked just like an angel. He was about ninety years old and had a snowy white beard down to his chest. And his face was so radiant that the sight of him alone filled one with awe." [4]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f Ward, Benedicta (1984). The sayings of the Desert Fathers: the alphabetical collection. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications. ISBN 0-87907-959-2.
- ^ "Abba Or". Pitts Digital Image Archive. Emory University. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Abba Or". Wind Ministries. 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Life and Sayings of Holy Abba Or of Nitria". Orthodox Christianity Then and Now. 2004-02-27. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ "Palladius, The Lausiac History (1918) pp.1-34. Introduction". www.tertullian.org. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
 | This Christianity-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 4th-century births
- 390 deaths
- Egyptian Christian monks
- Saints from Roman Egypt
- Eastern Catholic saints
- Coptic Orthodox saints
- Desert Fathers
- Christianity stubs
- Eastern Orthodox saints
- Monks
- Saints