June 6 -- Feast of Saint Nilammon

died in Egypt; honored in Rome

I have written before about folks not wanting to become bishop, abbot, cardinal, or pope.  There is an obligatory statement of humility -- the ecclesiastical equivalent of "Aw, shucks, fellas.  Do you really think I'm up to it?" -- and then there are the folks who really don't want to be promoted.

Nilammon falls into the latter group.  He was a fifth century Egyptian hermit who got wind that he had been appointed bishop.  Knowing they would be coming for him, and once they put their hands on him he would be obligated to serve, he walled himself up inside his cell.  A delegation of bishops, hands at the ready to consecrate him as soon as he peeked out, blockaded the cell.  Inside, the monk knelt in prayer.  Outside, the bishops laid siege. 

The desert is a tough place for a stand-off.  Lacking food and water (but not resolve), Nilammon died pretty quickly.  The bishops went home and looked for another candidate.

Nilammon, martyr to his own Church's version of the Peter Principle, is honored with a statue in Saint Peter's Basilica.