Poemen Quotes

Egyptian monk and desert father

Abba (c. 340–450) was an Egyptian Christian monk and early Desert Father who is the most quoted Abba (Father) in the Apophthegmata Patrum (Sayings of the Desert Fathers).

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ward: A brother asked Abba Poemen, "How should a man behave?"
The old man said to him, "Look at Daniel: no-one found anything in him to complain about except for his prayers to the Lord his God."

Ward: "Even if a man were to make a new heaven and earth, he could not live free of care."

Ward: "The victory over all the afflictions that befall you, is, to keep silence."

Ward: Abba Poemen said, "If a man has sinned and denies it, saying: 'I have not sinned,' do not reprimand him; for that will discourage him.
But say to him, 'Do not lose heart, brother, but be on guard in future,' and you will stir his soul to repentance."