4th–early 5th century
A desert ascetic of Egypt whose sayings are preserved among the Fathers, remembered for wisdom and monastic discernment.
Our Venerable Father Lot of Egypt
Abba Lot was a Desert Father of Egypt who lived in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, remembered among the early monastics for his ascetic discipline, spiritual discernment, and compassion. He is distinct from the Righteous Forefather Lot of the Old Testament (OS-1985).
He settled in a monastery near Arsinoe (modern Al-Fayoum) in lower Egypt, by a marshy lake, where he pursued a life of prayer, fasting, vigil, and silence. His sayings are preserved in the Alphabetical Sayings of the Apophthegmata Patrum (the Sayings of the Desert Fathers), where his name appears among the 131 fathers and mothers recorded there.
He reposed in peace in the early fifth century. He is commemorated on October 22.
Lot lived during the era of the Desert Fathers in Egypt, residing in a monastery near Arsinoe (modern Al-Fayoum) in lower Egypt, situated beside a marshy lake.
He was a disciple of Abba Joseph of Panephysis and a companion of Saint Arsenius the Great and Saint Agathon. His own disciple was Saint Peter the Pionite (died c. 400). He is recorded as having opposed Origenist teachings.
Lot described his rule of life in simple terms: he prayed a little, fasted a little, studied, kept silence, and sought to keep his mind free of evil thoughts. When he asked Abba Joseph of Panephysis what more he should do, Joseph responded with a wordless demonstration: the synaxarion relates that he stretched out his hands toward heaven and his fingers became like flames, and he instructed Lot that if he wished he could become entirely like a flame through prayer.
Among the teachings attributed to him are counsels on repentance and compunction: that no sin is beyond God's mercy and repentance is always possible, and that compunction is the master without which one cannot guard oneself.
He is remembered for his spiritual compassion: by tradition he offered to bear half the spiritual burden of a monk struggling with grave sins, which enabled the man to confess and submit to lifelong spiritual guidance.
Lot's sayings are preserved in the Apophthegmata Patrum, in its Alphabetical Sayings section, which records the words of 131 Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers. His teachings also appear in the Paradise of the Fathers, a compilation describing desert monasticism associated with such figures as Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, Saint Palladius of Helenopolis, and Saint Jerome.
He is commemorated on October 22 in the Orthodox Church, including the Greek tradition, and is honored together with the other ascetic Desert Fathers on Cheesefare Saturday at Matins (Ode 4 of the Canon). He is also recorded in The Prologue of Ohrid by Saint Nikolaj Velimirovic.
Not the Righteous Forefather Lot (OS-1985).