The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Abba Or of Nitria
d. c. AD 390 · Father of the Nitrian settlements · Nitria, Egypt
The Nicene Age
Who Abba Or of Nitria was
The white-bearded patriarch of Nitria's thousand cells, an angel of a man to Palladius's eyes, who founded monasteries for the crowds his solitude attracted and of whom the desert testified one thing above all: 'he never lied, nor swore, nor cursed any man, nor spoke without necessity.' Melania the Elder had known him; the tradition kept his rule of the tongue as his whole biography.
Common questions
When did Abba Or die?
Abba Or of Nitria is dated d. c. AD 390 in the archive, which places Abba Or in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Abba Or?
Abba Or of Nitria is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from The seven pilgrims' record and Palladius of Galatia. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Abba Or from?
The archive associates Abba Or of Nitria with Nitria, Egypt. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Abba Or’s contemporaries?
The archive links Abba Or of Nitria to 2 other figures, including Cronius of Nitria and Ammonius the Tall. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
History of the Monks of Egypt 2 (the father of a thousand monks)
c. AD 400The Lausiac History 9
c. AD 420Of him the fathers testified that he never lied, nor swore, nor cursed any man, nor spoke at all except of necessity.Palladius of Galatia · 9 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Abba Or, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.