Abraham the Simple, St.

views updated

ABRAHAM THE SIMPLE, ST.

Called also Abraham the Child; fourth-century desert father. He is identified by John Cassian as one of the great desert fathers known for his simplicity of manner and innocence and for miracles of healing. He was dead by the end of the fourth century. He may be the Abraham who relates Cassian's last Conference, a man of strictest austerity. He is not to be confused with the disciple of Pachomius and Theodore, but he may be the Abraham whose three maxims are given in the Apophthegmata Patrum PG 65: 129132.

Feast: Oct. 27.

Bibliography: j. cassian, Conlationes, ed. m. petschenig (Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum 13; 1886) 430431, 672711. s. salaville, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques 1: 171172. b. kÖtting, Lexicon für Theologie und Kirche 1:63. s. le nain de tillemont, Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire ecclésiastique des six premiers siècles (Paris 1693-1712) 10:3032.

[m. c. mccarthy]

About this article

Abraham the Simple, St.

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article