Pachomius

Pachomius (d. 346), founder of Christian community monasticism. Born in Upper Egypt of pagan parents, he was conscripted into the army and became a Christian on his release in 313. For a few years he lived as a hermit, but then organized monastic life for the many, using to the full his exceptional powers of administration. His first monastery was founded in 320, but others followed until at his death he ruled over nine monasteries for men and two for women. These are reputed to have been very large in size. Their internal organization was based on a division into houses, according to the particular craft practised by the monks, such as agriculture, tailoring, baking; they also sold their produce to Alexandria. Pachomius' military training influenced the organization of his monasteries: he himself, like a general, could transfer monks from one monastery to another: there were also local superiors and deans in charge of the houses. All in authority met at Easter and again in August for presenting the annual accounts. This centralized rule, which emphasized total obedience, was matched by an austere regime, in which food, drink, and sleep were carefully regulated, but whose standard was both less severe and less erratic than that of some of the hermits. Meditation consisted of learning by heart and frequently repeating the Psalms and other biblical passages. His Rule, which survives in Jerome's Latin translation, influenced those of Basil and Benedict; in the latter, thirty-two passages can be attributed to Pachomian influence. In recent years much work has been done on Pachomian sources in Eastern languages. Feast: 9 May in the West; 15 May in the East.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

• A. Boon, Pachomiana Latina (1932); F. Halkin, S. Pachomii Vitae Graecae (1932); T. H. Lefort, Oeuvres de S. Pachôme et de ses disciples (1965); A. J. Festugière, Les Moines d'Orient, vi. 2 (1965); L. T. Lefort, Les vies coptes de saint Pachôme et de ses premiers successeurs (1943); Rule and letters of Pachomius translated by St. Jerome in P. L., xxiii. 61–99; see also Pachomiana (1955), A. de Vogüé, ‘Études récentes sur S. Pachôme’, R.H.E., lxix (1974), 425–53; id., De saint Pachôme à Jean Cassien (1986); F. Halkin, ‘Une vie inédite de saint Pachôme’, Anal. Boll., lxxxvii (1979), 5–55 and 241–79; P. Rousseau, Pachomius (1985). D. J. Chitty. The Desert a City (1977); B.L.S., v. 47–8