The Holy Monks of Egypt and Other Lands

I will begin my account with Egypt and with the two men named Macarius, the famous leaders of Scetis and of the mountain near it. One was a native of Egypt. The other was called Politicus, because he was a citizen and came from Alexandria. Both were so wonderfully gifted with divine knowledge and with philosophy that the demons were terrified of them, and they performed many extraordinary works and miraculous cures. The Egyptian, the story goes, raised a dead man to life in order to convince a heretic of the truth of the resurrection of the dead. He lived about ninety years, sixty of them in the deserts. When as a young man he took up the study of philosophy, he made such rapid progress that the monks nicknamed him “the old child,” and at the age of forty he was ordained a presbyter. The other Macarius became a presbyter later in life. He was skilled in every exercise of the ascetic life, some of which he devised himself; and whatever practices he heard of among other ascetics he carried through successfully in every form, so that by thoroughly drying out his skin he stopped the hair of his beard from growing. Pambo, Heraclides, Cronius, Paphnutius, Putubastus, Arsisius, Serapion the Great, Piturion, who lived near Thebes, and Pachomius, the founder of the monks called the Tabennesians, flourished in the same place and at the same time. [a]

The dress and the rule of this sect differed in some respects from those of other monks. Its members, however, were devoted to virtue. They despised the things of earth, roused the soul to the contemplation of heaven, and prepared it to leave the body with joy. They dressed in skins in memory of Elijah, it seems to me, because they thought that in this way the prophet’s virtue would always stay in their memory, and that they would be able, like him, to resist manfully the lure of sexual pleasure, to be moved by the same zeal, and to be spurred on to sobriety by the hope of an equal reward. It is said that the distinctive dress of these Egyptian monks had to do with a certain hidden meaning in their philosophy, and that it did not differ from the dress of others without good reason. They wore their tunics without sleeves, to teach that the hands ought not to be ready to do presumptuous evil. On their heads they wore a covering called a cowl, to show that they ought to live with the same innocence and purity as infants nursed on milk, who wear a covering of the same shape. Their belt, and a kind of scarf worn across the waist, the shoulders and the arms, reminded them that they must always be ready for the service and the work of God. I know that other reasons have been given for their peculiar dress, but what I have said seems to me enough.

It is said that Pachomius at first practiced philosophy alone in a cave, but that a holy angel appeared to him and commanded him to call together some young monks and live with them. He had done well, the angel said, in pursuing philosophy by himself; now he was to train them by the laws that were about to be given to him, and as a leader of communities he was to gain and to benefit many. A tablet was then given to him, which is still carefully preserved. On this tablet were written instructions that bound him to let each man eat, drink, work and fast according to his strength. Those who ate heartily were to be given hard labor, and the more ascetic were to be assigned easier tasks. He was commanded to have many cells built, with three monks to live in each. They were to take their meals in a common dining hall, in silence, sitting around the table with a veil drawn over the face, so that they could not see one another or anything but the table and what was set before them. They were not to let outsiders eat with them, except travelers, to whom they were to show hospitality. Those who wished to live with them were first to undergo a trial of three years, during which they were to do the hardest tasks; in this way they could come to share in the community. They were to dress in skins, and to wear woolen caps adorned with purple nails, with linen tunics and belts. They were to sleep in their tunics and their garments of skin, reclining on long chairs specially made, closed in on each side, so that each could hold the bedding of a couch. On the first and last days of the week they were to approach the altar for communion in the holy mysteries, and then they were to loosen their belts and take off their robes of skin. They were to pray twelve times every day, as often again in the evening, and the same number of times during the night. At the ninth hour they were to pray three times, and when they were about to take food they were to sing a psalm before each prayer. The whole community was to be divided into twenty-four classes, each named by one of the letters of the Greek alphabet, so that each class would have a name fitting the level of its conduct and character. So the name Iota was given to the simpler, and Zeta or Xi to the crooked, and the names of the other letters were chosen according to how well the character of each group answered to the shape of its letter.

These were the laws by which Pachomius governed his own disciples. He was a man who loved people and was loved by God, so that he could foresee future events, and he was often admitted to converse with the holy angels. He lived at Tabenna in the Thebaid, and from this came the name Tabennesians, which is still in use. By adopting these rules for their life they became very famous, and in time they grew so greatly that they reached the number of seven thousand men. The community on the island of Tabenna, where Pachomius himself lived, numbered about thirteen hundred; the others lived in the Thebaid and the rest of Egypt. They all kept one and the same rule of life and held everything in common. They regarded the community on the island of Tabenna as their mother, and its leaders as their fathers and their rulers. [f]

At about the same time Apollonius became famous for his practice of the monastic philosophy. It is said that from the age of fifteen he gave himself to philosophy in the deserts, and that when he reached the age of forty he went, at a divine command he then received, to live in regions where people lived. He too had a community in the Thebaid. He was greatly loved by God and was given the power to perform miraculous cures and remarkable works. He was exact in keeping his duty, and he taught others philosophy with great goodness and kindness. His prayers were so acceptable to God that nothing he asked of him was refused; but he was so wise that he always made prudent requests, the kind that the Divine Being is always ready to grant. I believe that the godly Anuph lived at about this time. I have been told that from the time of the persecution, when he first openly declared himself a Christian, he never told a lie and never desired the things of earth. All his prayers and petitions to God were answered, and he was instructed in every virtue by a holy angel. But let what we have said of the Egyptian monks be enough.

The same kind of philosophy was practiced at this time in Palestine, after it had been learned in Egypt, and the godly Hilarion then became very famous. He was a native of Thabatha, a village near the town of Gaza, to the south of it, beside a stream that flows into the sea; the people of that country give the stream the same name as the village. While he was studying grammar at Alexandria, he went out into the desert to see the monk Antony the Great, and in his company he learned to take up the same philosophy. After a short time there he returned to his own country, because he could not be as quiet as he wished on account of the crowds that flocked around Antony. Finding his parents dead, he divided his inheritance among his brothers and the poor, and keeping nothing whatever for himself, he went to live in a desert near the sea, about two and a half miles from his native village. His cell was a very small hut built of bricks, chips and broken tiles, and it was of such a width, height and length that no one could stand in it without bending his head, or lie down in it without drawing up his feet; for in everything he strove to accustom himself to hardship and to master the love of easy comfort. In the heights of his modest and proven self-control he was second to none of the men we have known. He fought against hunger and thirst, cold and heat, and the other afflictions of body and soul. He was earnest in conduct and serious in speech, with a good memory and an accurate knowledge of holy Scripture. [g]

He was so loved by God that even now many who suffer and many who are possessed by demons are healed at his tomb. It is remarkable that he was first buried on the island of Cyprus, but that his remains now lie in Palestine. For it happened that he died while he was living in Cyprus, and the people there buried him with great honor and respect. But Hesychas, one of the most famous of his disciples, stole the body, carried it to Palestine and buried it in his own monastery. From that time on the people of the place held a splendid public festival every year. For it is the custom in Palestine to give this honor to those among them who have become famous for their goodness, such as Aurelius, Anthedonius, Alexion, a native of Bethagathon, and Alaphion, a native of Asalea. During the reign of Constantius these men lived devout and courageous lives in the practice of philosophy, and by their personal virtues they brought about a considerable growth of the faith in the cities and villages that were still under the pagan superstition.

At about the same time Julian practiced philosophy near Edessa. He took up a very severe way of life, as though he had no body, so that he seemed to be made of bones and skin without flesh. We owe the account of him to Ephraim, the Syrian writer, who wrote the story of Julian’s life. God himself confirmed the high opinion people had formed of him, for he gave him the power to drive out demons and to heal every kind of disease, without using drugs, by prayer alone. Besides these, many other philosophers of the church flourished in the territories of Edessa and Amida and around the mountain called Gaugalius; among them were Daniel and Simeon. But I will say nothing more now about the Syrian monks. Later on, God willing, I will describe them more fully. [j]

It is said that Eustathius, who governed the church of Sebaste in Armenia, founded a society of monks in Armenia, Paphlagonia and Pontus, and was the author of a strict discipline: what foods were to be eaten or avoided, what clothes were to be worn, and what customs and exact way of life were to be followed. Some say that he wrote the ascetic treatises commonly ascribed to Basil of Cappadocia. It is said that his great strictness led him into certain extremes that were altogether contrary to the laws of the church. Many people, however, clear him of this charge and lay the blame on some of his disciples. These condemned marriage, refused to pray to God in the houses of married people, despised married presbyters, fasted on the Lord’s days, held their meetings in private houses, declared the rich to have no share at all in the kingdom of God, and despised those who ate meat. They did not keep the customary tunics and stoles for their dress, but used a strange and unusual garb, and they brought in many other innovations. Many women were led astray by them and left their husbands; but, unable to live in self-control, they fell into adultery. Other women, on the pretext of religion, cut off their hair and behaved in a way unfitting for a woman, by dressing in men’s clothes. [k]

The bishops of the region around Gangra, the chief city of Paphlagonia, met together and declared that all who held these opinions were to be strangers to the catholic church, unless, according to the definitions of the synod, they renounced each of the practices just named. It is said that from that time Eustathius changed his clothing for the stole and traveled dressed like other priests, so proving that he had not brought in and practiced these novelties out of self-will, but for the sake of a godly asceticism. He was as famous for his preaching as for the purity of his life. To tell the truth, he was not eloquent and had never studied the art of speaking; but he had admirable good sense and a great gift of persuasion, so that he brought a number of men and women who were living in sexual immorality to take up a self-controlled and earnest way of life. It is told that a certain man and woman who, according to the custom of the church, had dedicated themselves to a life of virginity were accused of living together. He tried to make them break off their association. When he found that his warnings had no effect on them, he sighed deeply and said that a woman lawfully married had once heard him speak on the benefit of self-control, and was so deeply moved that of her own accord she abstained from lawful relations with her own husband; while the weakness of his power to convince was proved, on the other hand, by the fact that these two persisted in their unlawful course. Such were the men who began the practice of monastic discipline in the regions mentioned above.

Although the Thracians, the Illyrians and the other European nations still had no experience of monastic communities, they were not altogether without men devoted to philosophy. The most illustrious of these was Martin, descended from a noble family of Sabaria in Pannonia. He was at first a noted soldier and a commander of armies; but, counting the service of God a more honorable calling, he took up the life of philosophy and lived at first in Illyria. There he zealously defended the orthodox teaching against the attacks of the Arian bishops, and after being plotted against and often beaten by the people, he was driven out of the country. He then went to Milan and lived alone. But he was soon forced to leave his retreat by the schemes of Auxentius, the bishop of that region, who did not hold soundly to the Nicene faith; and he went to an island called Gallenaria, where he stayed for some time, living on the roots of plants. Gallenaria is a small, uninhabited island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Martin was afterward appointed bishop of the church of Tarracina, that is, Tours. He was so richly gifted with miracles that he raised a dead man to life and performed other signs as wonderful as those done by the apostles. We have heard that Hilary, a man godly in his life and conduct, lived at the same time and in the same country, and that like Martin he was forced to flee from his home because of his zeal in defending the faith. [m]

I have now told what I have been able to learn about the men who practiced philosophy in piety and in the rites of the church. There were many others who were noted in the churches at this time for their great eloquence. The most distinguished of these were Eusebius, who held the priestly office at Emesa; Titus, bishop of Bostra; Serapion, bishop of Thmuis; Basil, bishop of Ancyra; Eudoxius, bishop of Germanicia; Acacius, bishop of Caesarea; and Cyril, who governed the see of Jerusalem. The proof of their learning lies in the books they wrote and left behind, and in the many things in them worth recording. [p]