Saint Pachomius
Saint Pachomius was a significant figure in the early Christian monastic tradition, born in Upper Egypt to a pagan family. His transformation began during his service as a conscript in the Roman army, where he encountered acts of Christian charity directed towards imprisoned soldiers, leading to his conversion to Christianity. After dedicating time to solitary ascetic practices inspired by earlier hermits like Saint Anthony of Egypt, Pachomius experienced a vision in 323 CE that compelled him to establish a monastery. This event is often recognized as the origin of cenobitic monasticism, which emphasizes communal living and worship.
Under his guidance, Pachomius founded multiple monasteries—nine for men and two for women—along the Upper Nile, which collectively housed approximately three thousand individuals by the end of his life. While he may not have been the first to create celibate communities, he is traditionally acknowledged as the pioneer of communal monasticism, a movement that significantly shaped the Christian Church and Western civilization. His legacy includes a set of rules and guidelines for monastic life, which informed later monastic traditions, notably those of Saint Basil and Saint Benedict.
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Subject Terms
Saint Pachomius
Related civilizations: Egypt, Imperial Rome
Major role/position: Religious figure
Life
Born a pagan in upper Egypt, Pachomius (peh-KOH-mee-uhs) served as a conscript in the Roman army. After witnessing Christian charity toward imprisoned soldiers in Thebes on the Upper Nile, Pachomius converted and later returned to the area near Thebes. There he practiced the eremitic or anchoritic (solitary) asceticism pioneered by hermits such as Saint Anthony of Egypt, until 323 c.e., when, according to the tradition recorded in the various hagiographies of Pachomius, he received a vision to create a monastery. This has been taken as the beginning of cenobitic or communal monasticism, which grew quickly and spread widely. By the end of his life, there were nine monasteries for men and two for women along the upper Nile under his control, with a population of perhaps three thousand.
Influence
Although Pachomius may not have actually been the first to create celibate Christian communities, he is regarded in the Church’s tradition as the founder of communal monasticism, as opposed to the solitary monasticism associated with Saint Anthony of Egypt. This grew rapidly into a powerful force in the life of the Christian Church and a crucial institution in the development of Western civilization. Pachomius left behind instructions and a rule for monasticism and its life of common food, work, and prayer, which influenced the later Rules of Saint Basil of Cappadocia and Saint Benedict of Nursia.
Bibliography
Rousseau, P. Pachomius: The Making of a Community in Fourth-Century Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
Veilleux, A., ed. Pachomian Koinonia: The Lives, Rules, and Other Writings of Saint Pachomius and His Disciples. 3 vols. Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cistercian Publications, 1980-1982.