May 9th St. Pachomius

Pachomius is the founder of Christian monastic life in community, as opposed to hermitages. An Egyptian, he served in the army before becoming a Christian, and then taking to the life of the hermit, as was so popular in the Egyptian desert. In 320, however, he founded a monastery, which was followed by various others. Pachomius obviously put his military experience to good effect and grouped communities in patterns, based on the skills or crafts of the inmates of each. Each house had its own superior, but Pachomius exercised overall supervision, and arranged for transfers between communities as appropriate. He wrote a monastic Rule, regulating a pattern of life according to an austere model, though less haphazard and subject to extremes than that typified by the hermit life. The Rule of Pachomius influenced both St. Benedict in the West and St. Basil in the East in the formation of their monastic Rules. He died in 346.