How Egypt Learned the Date of Easter

In the land of Egypt this custom is kept by ancient tradition: when Epiphany is past, letters are sent from the bishop of Alexandria through all the churches of Egypt, announcing the beginning of Lent and the day of Easter, not only in all the cities but also in all the monasteries. The priests of that province regard Epiphany as the time both of our Lord’s baptism and of his birth in the flesh. So they celebrate the remembrance of both mysteries not separately, as in the Western provinces, but on the one festival of this day. In keeping with this custom, a very few days after the earlier conference with Abbot Isaac had been held, the festal letters of Theophilus, the bishop of that city, arrived. Along with the announcement of Easter, he dealt at great length with the foolish heresy of the Anthropomorphites and refuted it thoroughly. [a]

Because of their simplicity and error, almost the whole body of monks living throughout the province of Egypt received this with such bitterness that most of the elders decreed that, on the contrary, the bishop ought to be abhorred by the whole body of the brothers as tainted with heresy of the worst kind. For he seemed to attack the teaching of Holy Scripture by denying that Almighty God was formed in the shape of a human figure, though Scripture teaches with perfect clearness that Adam was created in his image. Lastly, the letter was rejected also by those living in the desert of Scete, who surpassed all who were in the monasteries of Egypt in perfection and in knowledge. Except for Abbot Paphnutius, the presbyter of our congregation, not one of the other presbyters who presided over the other three churches in that desert would allow it even to be read or repeated at all in their meetings.