The prophet PACHOMIUS

Pachomius as a non-christian ascetic priest and "prophet"

Draft Research Notes

The following at present is simply a collation of research notes. It will be our argument in the future that Pachomius was never a christian in any way, shape or form, and that he foresaw the political necessity of establishing places of refuge in the desert for the ancient lineages of ascetic priests whom had been dispossessed of their heritage by Constantine 324 C . It will be argued that later christian ecclesiatical !historians! forged into the record that Pachomius was a christian in the sense that "sebius of Caesarea was a christian. It will be argued that #erome, and others, who preserved and translated the literature of Pachomius, fashioned Pachomius as an authodo$ christian !ascetic hermit!. It will also be argued that Life of Anthony by %nathausius is simply a romantic fiction that has served to establish an historical lin& and correspondence between the early fourth century desert dwelling ascetic movement 'such as Pachomius(, and a number of others) and the history of early christianity. Pachomius is the historical figure, and was a non*christian. %nthony was the sub+ect matter of the biography of a saint, and represents nothing but propaganda. It was an e$pedient means to !christianise! the great movement of the ascetic mon&s into their remote monasteries. %ristocracy, sub+ect to torture and e$cessive ta$ation at the hands of the christian emperors of the fourth century, found it a reasonable option to give away their lands and possessions, and flee to the refuge of the desert communities, far from , the roving spies '-ishops) of the emperor and his state. Pachomius forsaw this. Perhaps he witnessed Constantine(s destruction of the oblelis& of .arnac& in 324 C / Perhaps in the same year Constantine(s utter destruction of the ancient ma+or temples of %sclepius, in %egae and elsewhere, and the public e$ecutions of his chief priesthood.

The possibility that Pachomius was this &nown as !% Prophet! is presented first. It is by no means sure. -ut the 0uestion is at least supported ...

**************** Armarnd Veilleux Coptic fragment: Letter by a certain Paphnoute to a certain Pachomius. Pahpnoute(d.3 ! C"#$ brother of %heodore$ many years the ste&ard of the '()*+)+*A' residing in Pbbo&$ and of Pachomius. Address is ,ia the title: 'my prophet and father Pachomius'

****** -ays: Pachomius and %heodore anathematised the &ritings of )rigen.

***************** PALA/)+ %he Letter of Ammon and Pachomian /onasticism 0y 1ames ". 2oehring +umbers of Pachomians...... Ammon reports !33 at Pabau 345 C". Ammon reports easter gathering of 5333 Palladius lists 6333 at Pabau Palladius also 5337333 in each of other monasteries &ith a total around 8333. +umbers did increase after 3 ! C" (Pachomius died# Cassian (*nstitutes .6# numbers 4333 1erome (9eg. Pach$ Praefatio 8# suggests 43$333 at Pabau for easter

-):9C" ;hile -t Anthony stressed solitary life$ -t Pachomius (5<573 =# emphasied cenobitic life$ that is communal monastic life. Pachomius &as born to pagan parents in %hebaid (:pper "gypt#. %here he recei,ed an excellent secular education. At the age

of either 53 or 56$ he &as called to ser,e in the 9oman army. *t &as then that he stayed in a prison$ used to house the ne& conscripts$ &hich &as run by Christians. >e &as so impressed by their lo,e of their neighbor that he ,o&ed to become a Christian after his military ser,ice ended. %hus in 36 Pachomius &as bapti?ed and began to practice the ascetic life. %hree years later he &ithdre& to the desert under the guidance of the elder Palamon. According to tradition$ after ten years &ith Palamon he heard a Voice telling him to found a monastic community at %abbenisi (also %abenna$ %abbenisiot#. >e and Palamon tra,eled there$ and subse@uently Pachomius had a ,ision in &hich an angel came to him$ clothed in a schema (a type of monastic garment#$ and ga,e him a rule for the cenobitic life. %his is significant because up until this time ascetics had for the most part li,ed alone as hermits$ not together in a community. PachomiusA rule balanced the communal life &ith the solitary lifeB monCs li,e in indi,idual cells but &orC together for the common good.

1urthermore, Pachomius was strict with the community of mon&s that began to grow around him. 2e gave everyone the same food and attire. The mon&s of the monastery fulfilled the obediences assigned them for the common good of the monastery. The mon&s were not allowed to possess their own money nor to accept anything from their relatives. 3t Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with 4eal was greater than fasting or prayer. 2e also demanded from the mon&s an e$act observance of the monastic rule, and he chastised slac&ers. -y 345, Pachomius directed almost three thousand mon&s, housed in different monasteries. This, however, was also the year that he was infected by some form of plague or pestilence6 he died around the year 345, and was buried on a hill near the monastery.

%he 9edisco,ery of 2nosticism: Proceedings of the *nternational

'Pachomius certainly laid claim to ,isions of hea,enly mysteries (hence his troubles &ith the synod of Latopolis#$ and in correspondence &ith the superiors of his monastic houses he used an alphabetic cryptography &hich the recent disco,eries of Dr EuecCe ha,e much illuminated$ &hile

still lea,ing the cipher unbroCen. F65G F65H> EuecCe$ Die 0riefe Pachoms (9egensburg$ 6<84#G %he cipher is partly paralleled by the alchemist Iosimus &ho entitled each of the 5= booCs of his magnum opus &ith a letter of the 2reeC alphabet plus four Coptic letters$ each letter representing a god. %he parallel &ith Pachomius &as already e,ident to 9eit?enstein. -o the hypothesis of a gnostic sympathiser among PachomoniusJ monCs is not rediculous. Papyri fragment: Published Dr. C> 9oberts )xford collection 6<3< (/emorial Vol for Carl -chmidt$ I+; 38 for 6<3=# Dated early th century 'Catalogue of a christian library$ including 0iblical booCs$ a Jgreat booCJ &hich is e,idently a gospel booC$ the -hepherd of >ermas$ t&o &orCs of )rigen and one by JKather Val ...' Kor heretical penetration into orthodox monasteries &e ha,e plentiful e,idence during the )rigenist contro,ersies in "gypt and during the long struggles to contain /essalianism in Asia /inor. %exts of )rigen could be brought into a monastery near 2a?a about 433 AD and prompted some risCy speculations that caused anxiety F63G F63 H -ee the '"rotapoCriseis of 0arsanuphius and 1ohn <<<' (p.5=3 ed -chionas$ Volos$ 6<!3#G *n a &ord$ the bi?arre nature of PachomiusJ cyrptographic letters$ the proximity of the +ag >ammadi find to the great Pachomian monastery together &ith the no& demonstrated connection of the codices &ith the nearby Pachomian house$ the suddenclamp7do&n on the apochyphal texts resulting from AthasiusJ Paschal Letter for 3!8 (&hich may be the cause of the cache#$ add up to maCe it probably enough that until 3!8 C" gnostic material &as easily infiltrated into the monastic houses of PachomiusJ foundation.

Palladius, The Lausiac History '7875) pp. 39*75:. nglish Translation.

CHAPT R !!!II" -- PACHOMIUS AND TH TA# NN SIOTS

;7, T%- <<I3I 785 is a place, so*called, in the Thebaid, in which there lived a certain Pachomius, one of those who have lived in the straight way, so that he was counted worthy both of prophecies and angelic visions. 2e was e$ceedingly devoted both to his fellow*men and his brethren. %ccordingly, to him as he sat in his cave 788 an angel 2:: appeared and said6 !=ou have successfully ordered your own life. 3o it is superfluous to remain sitting in your cave. "p> go out and collect all the young mon&s and dwell with them, and according to the model which I now give you, so legislate for them?! and he gave him a brass tablet on which this was inscribed****
F5G '%hou shalt allo& each man to eat and drinC according to his strengthB and proportionately to the strength of the eaters appoint to them their labours. And pre,ent no man either from fasting or eating. >o&e,er$ appoint the tasCs that need strength to those &ho are stronger and eat$ and to the &eaCer and more ascetic such as the &eaC can manage. /aCe a number of cells &ithin the enclosure and let three d&ell in each cell. 0ut let them all go to one building for their food. F3G Let them sleep not lying do&n full length$ but let them maCe sloping chairs easily constructed and put their rugs on them and thus sleep in a sitting posture. And let them &ear at night linen lebitons and a girdle. Let each of them ha,e a &orCed goatsCin cloaC$ &ithout &hich they are not to eat. ;hen they go to Communion on -aturday and -unday$ let them loosen their girdles and lay aside the sCin cloaC and go in &ith the co&l only.' And he prescribed for them napless co&ls$ as for children$ on &hich he ordered an imprint$ the marC of a cross$ to be &orCed in darC red. F G And he ordered that there should be t&enty7four sections$53! and to each order he assigned a letter of the 2reeC alphabet7777 alpha$ beta$ gamma$ delta$ and so on.538 -o &hen the -uperior asCed @uestions$ or L66 &ith the affairs of the great multitude$ he asCed the second: '>o& is the Alpha section.' or$ '>o& is the Ieta.' or again: '2reet the 9ho$' and they follo&ed a pri,ate meaning assigned to the letters. busied himself

'And to the simpler and more un&orldly thou shalt gi,e the *ota$ and to the more difficult and per,erse thou shalt assign the Mi.' F4G And so$ in correspondence &ith the nature of their dispositions and manners and li,es$ he fitted the letters to each section$ only the spiritual Cno&ing &hat &as meant. And it &as &ritten on the tablet: 'A stranger of another monastery &hich has a different rule is not to eat &ith them$ nor drinC$ nor enter G into the monastery$ unless he happens to be on a (genuine# Nourney.'53= >o&e,er$ the man &ho has come to remain &ith them they do not allo& to enter into the sanctuary for three years.53< 0ut after a three yearsJ probation and performance of the more toilsome labours$ then he enters. F!G 'As they eat let them co,er their heads &ith their co&ls lest one brother see another che&ing. A monC is not allo&ed to talC at meals nor let his eye &ander beyond his plate or the table.' And he ordered them during the &hole day to maCe t&el,e prayers$ and t&el,e at the lamp7lighting$ and t&el,e at the night7 ,igils$ and three at the ninth hour. 0ut &hen a group &as about to eat he ordered a psalm to be sung before each prayer.563 L664 F8G ;hen Pachomius obNected to the angel that the prayers &ere fe&$ the angel said to him: '* ga,e this rule so as to maCe sure in ad,ance that e,en the little ones Ceep the rule and are not afflicted.566 0ut the perfect ha,e no need of legislation$ for by themsel,es in their cells they ha,e surrendered the &hole of their life to the contemplation of 2od. 0ut * ha,e legislated for as many as ha,e not a discerning mind$ in order that they$ liCe house7ser,ants fulfilling the duties of their station$ may li,e a life of freedom.'

<ow there are a number of these monasteries which have observed this rule, amounting to @::: men.272 -ut the first and great monastery is that where Pachomius himself dwelt, which itself also is the parent of the other monasteries? it has 73:: members.273

;5, %mong them there was also the noble %phthonius, who became my intimate friend, and is now second in the monastery. 2im they send to %le$andria, since nothing can ma&e him stumble, in order to sell their produce and buy necessaries. ;8, -ut there are also other monasteries two hundred or three hundred strong. Ane of these, with 3:: mon&s, I found when I entered the city of Panopolis. ;In the monastery I found fifteen tailors, seven smiths, four carpenters, twelve camel*drivers, and fifteen fullers., 274 -ut they wor& at every &ind of craft and with their surplus output they provide for the needs both of the women(s convents and the prisons. ;7:, ;They &eep pigs too, and when I blamed the practice, B77C they said6 !In our tradition we have received this, that they are to be &ept because of the chaff, and the refuse of the vegetables and other scraps that one throws away, lest they be wasted.279 %nd the pigs are to be &illed and their meat sold, but the tit*bits are to be devoted to the sic& and aged, because the neighbourhood is poor and populous? for the tribe of the -lemmyes live near., ;77, -ut those who are to serve that day rise early and get to their wor&, some to the &itchen, others to the tables. They spend their time then until the meal*hour in arranging and preparing the tables, putting loaves on each, and charloc&, preserved olives, cheese of cows( mil&, ;the tit*bits of the meat,, and chopped herbs. 3ome come in at the si$th hour and eat, others at the seventh, others at the eighth, others at the ninth, others at the eleventh, others in the late evening, others every other day, so that each letter &nows its own hour.27C ;72, 3o also is it with their wor&. Ane wor&s on the land as a labourer, another in the garden, another at the forge, another in the ba&ery, another in the carpenter(s! shop, another in the fuller(s shop, another weaving the big bas&ets, another in the tannery, another in the shoema&er(s shop, another in the scriptorium, another weaving the young reeds. %nd they learn all the scriptures by heart. $ootnotes
6<=. 6 +ear Denderah on the +ile. -ee *ntroduction$ p. 53$ and Ladeu?e$ "tude sur le COnobitisme paChomien$ passim. %he error that %abennisi &as an island goes bacC to some /--. of -o?omen$ ***. 6 $ &hich ha,e %abePnnh nhQsoN. 6<<. 5 >e &as &ith Palaemon at the time.

533. 3 Ladeu?e considers the 2reeC Vita Pachomii the source of the other ,ersions$ and the 9ule in its ,arious recensions to be inferior in authority to the Li,es. %he angel here seems to him legendary$ since he is not mentioned in the Li,es (p. 548#. 0ut cf. 2ennadius$ de ,ir. illus.$ 8. 536. 6 *t is clear from the Li,es that the brethren li,ed in houses$ &ithin &hich each had a separate cell: Ladeu?e$ p. 5!3 f. 535. 5 Pachomius himself obser,ed neither the sleeping nor clothing regulations as gi,en here$ Ladeu?e$ p. 5! . -ee Cassian$ *nst. 0ooC *. for the dress of the "gyptian monCs. 533. 3 %he lebit&Rn &as a slee,eless garment$ aCin to or identical &ith the ColRbion. 53 . mhl&thSn ai3geiPan ei3rgasmePnhn.

534. 4 CouCouRlion. ':n trTs court mantelet ' (Ladeu?e#. A hood &as attached$ for it &as used to co,er the head at meals: see belo&. 53!. ! taRgmata.

2:@. @ Dadeu4e, pp. 2C4 ff., throws doubt on this classification. It is derived from the Eree& alphabet, of which Pachomius was probably ignorant. There is no trace of it in #erome(s Datin version of the Fules. #erome indeed tells of a special alphabet used by Pachomius in his correspondence with the superiors of the monasteries? but these signs stood for other things besides the classes of mon&s. !Peut*Gtre est*ce trompH par une mauvaise interpretation de ces lettres de Pa&hIme et des supHrieurs de ses couvents, 0ue Pallade, superficiellement renseignH d(ailleurs sur les moines de Tabennisi, a inventH la rJgle 0ue nous avons e$aminHe.! -utler is not convinced by Dadeu4e(s depreciation of Palladius( version of the Fules 'II. 2:C), and in the Cambridge Kedieval 2istory, I. 924 '7877), spea&s of it as !probably the most authentic epitome.!
53=. 6 %o exclude professional &anderers$ gyro,agi. *n the Li,es Pachomius recei,es ,isitors from other forms of monasticism freely$ Ladeu?e$ p. 5! . 53<. 5 +o trace of this in the Li,es or 1erome: Ladeu?e$ p. 5=6. 563. 3 -ee 0utler$ **.$ p. 538 f.$ for a discussion of these prayers. PalladiusJ ,ersion conflicts &ith CassianJs. 566. 6 Cf. the 0enedictine 9ule$ &hich &as intended only to be 'a little rule for beginners$' minima inchoationis regula.

565. 5 Cassian$ *nst.$ *V. *$ says more than 4333B 1erome$ in prologue to the Latin ,ersion of the 9ule$ 43$333. 563. 3 Cf. MV***. 63$ &here the number is gi,en as 6 33. %he monastery &here Pachomius d&elt &as Pabau$ not %abennisiB Palladius is in error. 56 . %he passages in s@uare bracCets are apparently genuine$ though omitted in some /--. 564. 6 2eorge >erbertJs Country Parson Ceeps pigs for the same reason (Priest to the %emple$ Ch. M.#. 56!. 5 *n point of fact$ says Ladeu?e (p. 5<= f.#$ they ate together t&ice a day at the same time.