John the Dwarf

Abba John the Dwarf was one of the Desert Fathers quoted in the Apophthegmata Patrum (Sayings of the Desert Fathers).

Quotes

Ward, Benedicta (1984). The sayings of the Desert Fathers: the alphabetical collection. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications.

• It was said of Abba John the Dwarf that he withdrew and lived in the desert at Scetis with an old man of Thebes. His abba, taking a piece of dry wood, planted it and said to him, 'Water it every day with a bottle of water, until it bears fruit.'
  Now the water was so far away that he had to leave in the evening and return the following morning. At the end of three years the wood came to life and bore fruit. Then the old man took some of the fruit and carried it to the church saying to the brethren, 'Take and eat the fruit of obedience.'
  • Saying 1

• It was said of him that one day he was weaving rope for two baskets, but he made it into one without noticing, until it had reached the wall, because his spirit was occupied in contemplation.
  • Saying 11

• They said that when he was given his wages for all the work he had done in the harvest, he took it to Scetis, saying, 'My widows and my orphans are in Scetis.'
  • Saying 47