Paul of Thebes
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Saint Paul of Thebes, commonly known as Paul the First Hermit or Paul the Anchorite (d. c. 345) is regarded as the first Christian hermit. He is not to be confused with Paul the Simple, who was a disciple of St. Anthony.
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[edit] Legend
The legend according to Saint Jerome's Vitae Patrum (Vita Pauli primi eremitae) is that Paul fled to the Theban desert during the persecution of Decius and Valerianus in c. 250. He lived in the mountains of the Theban desert in a cave near a palm tree. He ate only fruits and drank water; later a crow or raven brought him half a loaf of bread daily.
Jerome further relates the meeting of Saint Anthony and Paul, when the latter was aged 113. They conversed with each other for one day and one night. When Anthony next visited him, Paul was dead. Anthony clothed him in a tunic which was a present from Saint Athanasius and buried him with the help of two lions.
[edit] Veneration
His feast day is celebrated on January 10 in the west, and on January 5 or January 15 in the east. Saint Anthony described him as "the first monk". The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit was founded in his honour: see Pauline Fathers. He is usually represented with a palm tree and two lions.
[edit] References
- Oxford Dictionary of Saints, ed D. H. Farmer. OUP 2004.
