The Instructions of St. Pachomius (b. ca.286 CE d. ca. 346 CE)

A Brief History

Pachomius was born in southern Egypt to pagan parents. As a youth he was conscripted into the local regiment of the army. This was a devastating blow to him and thus he was a reluctant soldier. A local group of Christians sought to console him. He was so moved by their kindness that he vowed that if he were ever able to leave the army, he would seek baptism. Surprisingly enough, a short time later he was able to leave the army and sought instruction in the faith. Afterward, he went into the desert to seek solitude where he resided with an old anchoritic monk studying the disciplines of the desert monastics. While in prayer he heard the voice of God calling him to service to the world. Again, as when he was called to military service, he was reluctant but did God’s bidding.

Pachomius is credited with the formation of various communities in Upper Egypt and northward. His first effort, founded with his younger brother John in Tabenna , was a dismal failure. The monastics were too undisciplined and quarrelsome to manage life together. The monastics claimed that Pachomius was too demanding on them. His rule was too strict. His response with his second attempt, also in Tabenna, was to become even more so.

The monks were to give up all their belongings and promise obedience to their seniors. “The basic rule was mutual service, so that even those in authority, in spite of the vow of absolute obedience which all had made, had to serve those under them. ” During Pachomius’ lifetime, nine communities were established. Each was large, with several hundred cenobites. Mary, the sister to Pachomius and John, established her own communities for women as well. Two of these were established on the opposite side of the Nile from the men’s communities.

The communities kept a discipline of prayer, devotion and work. They were to “pray without ceasing” as Paul exhorted. They produced enough food to support them well and sold the rest at market. The income was to buy other foodstuffs and to be used as alms for the poor and for travelers or pilgrims.

There was a clearly defined hierarchy. Each monastery had its own superior. Each superior reported to the Abbot, Pachomius. His sister’s communities, too, reported to him. At his death he chose a successor whom the other monks were to obey. This began a tradition where the Abbot would choose his own successor. The other monastics were to obey this newly appointed abbot.

As in other monastic communities, the followers of Pachomius did not pursue ecclesiastical office. For this reason, some of the monks would visit nearby churches on Saturday. On Sundays a priest would visit to celebrate communion.

There are many historically remarkable aspects to the Pachomian Koinonia. Perhaps the most important was the sheer popularity of it. Thousands of people were going into the deserts to seek solitude or a community of saints like the ones Pachomius is credited with founding. Many were not even Christian when they arrived at the doors of a monastery. Some more famous people influenced by Pachomius and other similar communities were St. Jerome, Basil the Great and St. Martin of Tours. St. Benedict as well borrowed much of his own Rule from the Rule of the Pachomian Koinonia.

After Pachomius’ death, the preeminence of the monastery at Tabenna waned, and Pbow began to flourish. Pachomius had kept residence at both monasteries throughout his tenure but died at Tabenna. It is not exactly clear why the monastery in Pbow grew to preeminence. Perhaps because it was very near to Thebes and, like most Egyptian urban areas, near the Nile River, the major artery of travel and trade in Egypt. More than likely this was the very monastery visited by Athanasius and other prominent church leaders.

As early as 350’s the Easter celebration at Pbow would have upwards to 2,000 of the Pachomian Koinonia. By about 430 a total of 1300-1400 monks lived at Pbow, with an average of 200 at the satellite monasteries. The Emperor Leo I had a basilica built there as well in the fifth century. According to James Goehring,

The 75 x 37 meter structure had massive exterior walls. The interior was divided into five aisles with a return aisle in the west end. Four rows, each consisting of eighteen rose granite columns of Roman and Byzantine origin separated by five aisles. The basilica floor was composed of uneven limestone pavers of approximately 25-30 cm. square. Although the destruction of the basilica was thorough, several examples of decorated stone have surfaced which add to the impression which one gains of the beauty of this church and the wealth that lay behind it.

The political importance of the Egyptian church was great. During the Chalcedonian controversies, Egypt did not support the prevailing church views of the nature of Christ. This held true for the Pachomian Koinonia as well. By the mid sixth century the political struggle had come to a head and the Emperor Justinian brought his armies to Pbow to enforce the Chalcedonian edict. This was the end of the Pachomian Koinonia. It is a sad irony that the purpose of bringing the troops was to gain the support, though through force, of the Koinonia but by doing so, Justinian destroyed the movement with which he hoped to ally himself. The great basilica in Pbow was destroyed in the eleventh century by the “Islamic fundamentalist” al-Hakim. Though the legacy of the Pachomian Koinonia exists within the monastic rules that are obeyed even today, it was, in my opinion, a sad ending to such a wonderful and integral ministry of the church.


Instruction Concerning a Spiteful Monk

This long response to a conflict was for a brother of the order who held a grudge toward another brother within the order. The translator divides the instructions into numbered paragraphs, which are summarized below. The translator also notes that the document is typically defended as being the instruction of Pachomius himself. He suggests that this may not be entirely true. It is definitely “Pachomian in flavor” but there are large quotations from a sermon of Athanasius and suggests that it may simply be a conglomeration of ideas pieced together from one within the Koinonia.

1. An exhortation to listen. Pachomius refers to the brother as ‘son.’
2. The brother monk is asked to obey God as Abraham did, who gave up everything to follow his God in order to gain the great inheritance.
3. Isaac’s example of candor is essential as well. We must submit to God as a lamb.
4. The humility of Jacob is accented in the same way. Submission is essential.
5. Joseph and another exhortation to submission and humility.
6. The brother is to “emulate the lives of the saints.” There are rewards of grace for such an effort.
7. “Patience is the pride of the saints.” There is the saints’ reward waiting for the brother monk if he endeavors to be patient.
8. The brother is reminded again of patience, fasting and the importance to pray always. Prayer is something between the monk and God. It is a solitary activity. The brother monk is also the have “One single heart with [his] brother.” In this section we are introduced to the idea of ‘virginity’ as a state of purity to be attained through prayer, fasting and the judicious exercise of patience.
9. Again, the monk is reminded that if a spiteful thought should plague him he should turn to God in prayer. He is to take courage. “For the ways of God are humility of heart and gentleness.” The monk is reminded to be meek.
10. The monk is warned of the spirits of deceit, and cowardice and their various cohorts. They can take control of the monk’s soul, removing it from the presence of God.
11. Pachomius begs the monk to obey him. He sites the various struggles he has had with the same ‘spirits’ since childhood. The spirits are personified as a dragon that has plagued Pachomius always. His only salvation lies in God’s help, discernable through patience, prayer and fasting.
12. The monk is reminded not to condemn anyone. It is an act of pride. Only hell awaits such a man. Heaven’s rewards await the humble monk.
13. The monk is reminded that strangers, non-monastics, will not understand his lifestyle. The monk should not allow himself to be provoked to justify his vocation. He is to take courage and to trust God. The saints lived in the poverty of the desert.
14. The monk is reminded to “Recite constantly the words of God.” Persevere in them.
15. The monk is given more instruction in how he is to interact with his brothers. Jesting is a sin. God will not respond to those who jest.
16. The brother monk is to be ever vigilant having faith that God will reward him for all the sufferings and agitations he endures for the love of God.
17. Again the monk is warned to be ever vigilant. Pride is a cunning adversary. The monk seeks humility. He is to be like Elijah or Elisha; either strong or listening to one who is strong in the Lord.
18. The monk is given Biblical mentors in the saints and prophets who have come before him. He can live among men or alone in the desert. Either choice allows for a rich peerage.
19. Concupiscence
20. The brother monk is to love God. He is to flee the enemy and be wary of pride. Pride hardens the heart. Keep vigilant and wait for Christ.
21. Be merciful and steadfast. “Approach God as one who sows or reaps, and into the granary you will gather God’s goods.” Do not give into passions. Be valiant and strong of heart.
22. Do not listen to either curse or praise. Keep you hope in heaven and not on the whims of humankind.
23. Do not place value in comfort. Be aware of your own sin.
24. Scorn vanity.
25. Do not wander from place to place. God is in all places. God is within.
26. Pachomius wants to know how long the ‘spiteful monk’ will be negligent in all his disciplines. God judges us for our actions. We must be strong.
27. Shun the devil.
28. Do not pay any attention to the insults of others. Be cheerful.
29. Take the courage of the saints. To not hide in fear.
30. “Do not make the members of Christ the members of a prostitute.” Flee fornication.
31. Run from evil and flee to God.
32. Run from sin.
33. Do not look for glory in this world. Stand fast and await God’s coming glory.
34. Be wary in this world. Follow the Lord in all things.
35. Again, keep away from fornication.
36. Seek peace and purity. “Do not be at enmity with anyone, because he who is at enmity with his brother is an enemy of God.”
37. Do not hate your enemy. You endanger your own soul. We are all the body of Christ. To hate your enemy is to hate yourself and to hate God.
38. Keep focused on the Judgment Day. Do not condemn. We must pardon in order to be pardoned.
39. Be faithful to the promise we have made in the monastic life.
40. We must mortify ourselves.
41. We must make amends with one another lest every sin be paid back on the Day of Judgment.
42. We do all this in memory of Jesus’ sacrifice. It was made for all of us.
43. We must practice what we have been taught.
44. We have been taught charity and joy and peace. They are the weapons of a monk.
45. We must follow the examples of those monks who went before us.
46. Stay away from wine. It causes great evil.
47. Humility is a gift that guards all virtue.
48. We are not to rest at times of struggle.
49. Pachomius laments on the state of the world. “…, and we have become like orphans; the humble are crushed underfoot; and blows are showered upon the head of the poor.”
50. We must struggle. There is great reward in heaven. We must love men.
51. We have promised God the monastic life and we must fulfill it.
52. We are to avoid the temptation of wealth.
53. Fight passion. Make supplication to God.
54. Another greeting and blessing from Pachomius.
55. Another call to vigilance.
56. Be wary of demons. Pachomius even goes so far as to say that demons attack from the right and not from the left.
57. Be humble.
58. God will be your refuge.
59. We must forgive.
60. Pachomius laments again, this time about the state of the churches and monastic communities.
61. Pachomius wishes peace for our ‘spiteful monk.’ He asks for the brother’s prayers as well. He too is tormented by his desires.

endnotes
See Gonzalez, Justo. The Story of Christianity vol. 1 pp. 144-47.
Pachomius had been drafted into a unit of Maximinius’ army. With Constantine’s victory in 312, the armies were disbanded and Pachomius and his fellow soldiers were freed.
Tabenna (Tabennisi) was a city in Upper Egypt and the site of the first successful Pachomian monastery. Pachomius would die there of a plague on May 15, ca. 346-348. After his death, the growing community on Pbow (Pabau) would overshadow the original monastery. www.users.erols.com/saintpat/ss/0509.htm#pach There are several good online listings like this one for St Pachomius. www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/PACHOMI.htm and www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/EGYPTMNK.HTM
Gonzalez, Justo p.145
Gonzalez, Justo p.146
Gonzalez, Justo p 147
Goehring, James E., “Chalcedonian Power politics and the Demise of Pachomian Monasticism, Occasional Papers. no. 15 p. 11 (April 1989)
Goehring p. 11
Goehring p. 12
Goehring p. 20
Goehring p. 12
Veilleux, Armand. Pachomian Koinonia, Vol. 3: Instructions, letters and other writings of St Pachomius and His Disciples Cistercian Publications Inc. 1982.