Pachomius the Great

Saint Pakhom
Father of Spiritual Communal Monastic Life
Born	292 A.D Thebes, Egypt
Died	9 May 348(348-05-09) Egypt
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Coptic Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Catholic Churches Oriental Orthodox Churches Lutheran Church
Feast	9 May 14 Pashons (Coptic Orthodox) Roman Catholic Benedictines and the Eastern Orthodox celebrate his feast day on 15 May.
Attributes	Hermit in a garb, Hermit crossing the Nile on the back of a crocodile

Saint Pachomius (Greek: Παχώμιος, Coptic: Ⲡⲁϩⲱⲙ ca. 292–348), also known as Pachome and Pakhomius (/pəˈkoʊmiəs/), is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May, and Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches mark his feast on 15 May or 28 May. In the Lutheran Church, the saint is remembered as a renewer of the church, along with his contemporary (and fellow desert saint), Anthony of Egypt on January 17.

Saint Pachomius was born in 292 in Thebes (Luxor, Egypt) to pagan parents. According to his hagiography, at age 21, Pachomius was swept up against his will in a Roman army recruitment drive, a common occurrence during this period of turmoil and civil war. With several other youths, he was put onto a ship that floated down the Nile and arrived at Thebes in the evening. Here he first encountered local Christians, who customarily brought food and comfort daily to the impressed troops. This made a lasting impression, and Pachomius vowed to investigate Christianity further when he got out. He was able to leave the army without ever having to fight, was converted and baptized (314).

Pachomius then came into contact with several well known ascetics and decided to pursue that path under the guidance of the hermit named Palaemon (317). One of his devotions, popular at the time, was praying with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross. After studying seven years with Palaemon, Pachomius set out to lead the life of a hermit near St. Anthony of Egypt, whose practices he imitated until Pachomius heard a voice in Tabennisi that told him to build a dwelling for the hermits to come to. An earlier ascetic named Macarius had created a number of proto-monasteries called lavra, or cells where holy men would live in a community setting who were physically or mentally unable to achieve the rigors of Anthony's solitary life.