The Desert Fathers

In the third and fourth centuries, something extraordinary began to happen in the Egyptian desert. Men and women — inspired by the example of prophets like Elijah and John the Baptist — left the cities to live alone in caves and huts in the wilderness. They wanted nothing between them and God. They prayed for hours, fasted regularly, fought against their own pride and desires, and learned to love God with single-hearted devotion.

The most famous of these was St. Anthony the Great, who at eighteen years old heard the Gospel about the rich young ruler and gave away everything he owned to go into the desert. He lived in the desert for decades, battling evil and growing in holiness. People began to seek him out for wisdom and healing, and soon, others came to live near him. The monastic movement was born — and Egypt gave it to the world.

St. Pachomius organized these monks into communities with rules, schedules, and communal life — the first monasteries. This Egyptian model spread to Palestine, Syria, Europe, and every corner of the Christian world. Today, monasteries everywhere follow rules descended from what began in the Egyptian desert. Coptic monasteries in Egypt still continue this ancient tradition, with thousands of monks and nuns living lives of prayer and service.