Ammonius, Hermit

Today the Church commemorates Ammonius, a hermit and spiritual father of the Egyptian desert.

Ammonius lived in the fourth century among the monks of Nitria, south of Alexandria. He and his three brothers became disciples of Pambo, one of the great teachers of the desert. Their unusual height earned them the name of the Tall Brothers. Two sisters also embraced the ascetic life, living separately from the men. The family sought a common end: to surrender their lives to God and be perfected in his love.

Ammonius brought considerable learning into the desert. He knew the Old and New Testaments by heart and studied Christian teachers such as Origen and Didymus. Under Pambo, he also learned patience in answering those who came for counsel. When asked to interpret Scripture, Pambo would sometimes wait months before answering. Ammonius remembered those long silences and bore witness to his teacher’s care in speaking.

During a persecution of the Egyptian monks, Ammonius was banished to Palestine with Pambo and other fathers. Melania the Elder followed the exiles and supported them from her own resources. When servants were forbidden to attend them, she dressed as a young slave and brought them what they needed in the evening. Ammonius later recounted her service to them.

After his return to the desert, Ammonius’s reputation drew a community that wanted him as its Bishop. The people appealed to Timothy, Bishop of Alexandria, who agreed to ordain him if they brought him. They went to Ammonius and tried to take him away.

Ammonius refused. He had resolved to remain in the desert before God and would not consent to leave it for episcopal office. When the people would not release him, he took scissors and cut off his left ear. He appealed to the law, saying that it forbade a man with his ear cut off to be raised to the priesthood.

The people returned to Timothy. The Bishop answered that this restriction did not govern Christian ordination: a man worthy in character could be ordained even if he had lost his nose. They approached Ammonius again. This time he swore that if they used force, he would cut out his tongue. They finally left him in peace. He became known as Ammonius the Earless.

His brother Dioscorus became a Bishop, and his other two brothers became Priests. Ammonius remained a monk. Evagrius of Pontus remembered him for his freedom from the passions that disturbed the soul, and Palladius found in him an exceptional comforter of the brethren. The man who had refused episcopal office continued to give his learning and counsel to those around him.

Toward the end of his life, the controversy over the writings of Origen divided the Egyptian monasteries. Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, accused Ammonius and his companions of heresy. Driven from their communities, they went first to Palestine and then to Constantinople, where they appealed to John Chrysostom for help. John welcomed them and appealed to Theophilus for their reconciliation, but withheld Eucharistic communion pending investigation.

Ammonius also approached Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, who had accepted accusations against the brothers. Addressing him as father, Ammonius asked whether he had read their writings or heard their teaching. Epiphanius admitted that he had not. Ammonius asked how he could condemn men whose teaching he had never examined. The brothers themselves had read and defended Epiphanius’s books, honoring him as their father.

Ammonius fell ill during the ensuing dispute and died about the year 403. He was buried among the monks at Rufinianae, near Chalcedon, across the water from Constantinople. The monk who had resisted leaving his desert had ended his life in exile.

When Theophilus heard that Ammonius had died, he reportedly wept, declaring that, despite their bitter disagreements, no monk of more exalted character could be found.

As we remember Ammonius, may God give us patience in counsel and freedom from the desire for honor. May he heal the divisions by which Christians wound one another, and teach us to recognize the gifts he has given to our brethren.