Ammon (monk)

Ammon (also: Amun, Amus; Greek Αμοῦν) (* around 288 in Egypt ; † before 356 in the Kellia ) was a Christian monk from Egypt, of whose miracles a . a. Athanasius , Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomenos report. He is venerated as a saint in Catholicism on October 4th .

Ammon comes from a wealthy Egyptian family. When he was supposed to take a wife against his will, he married without consummating the marriage with his wife. After 18 years without fulfilling their marital duties, the two separated amicably and Ammon first lived in Nitria ("at Lake Natron") southeast of Lake Mareotis (Soc., Hist.eccl. I 14.3) . Here he became the founder of one of the first Christian monk colonies. Around 338 AD he and his teacher Antonius founded a new hermit colony, the Kellia , further south , where he lived until the end of his life. On a hike with his student Theodor he is said to have crossed a canal called Lycus with dry feet (Soz., Hist.eccl. I 14,5) . Another time, Ammon, who was also said to have demonological skills, is said to have healed a child bitten by a dog by exposing an injustice previously committed by the parents (Soc., Hist.eccl. I 14,6) . When Ammon died, Antonius is said to have seen his ascension to heaven in a vision (Soc., Hist.eccl. I 14,7; Athanasius, vit. Ant. LX) .

swell

• Athanasius , Vita Antonii , chapter 60
• Socrates Scholasticus , historia ecclesiastica IV 23.3-11
• Palladius , historia Lausiaca 8
• Sozomenos , historia ecclesiastica I 14.1-8

literature

• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Ammon. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 148.
• Stephan Schiwietz, The oriental monasticism , 3 parts., Part 1: The asceticism of the first three Christian centuries and the Egyptian monasticism in the fourth century , Mölding b. Vienna (Mission Printing Office St. Gabriel) 1904, p. 94

Web links

• Entry in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
• Entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia