Saint Horsiesius | |
---|---|
Born | early 4th century AD Egypt |
Residence | Sheneset |
Died | c. 387 Upper Egypt |
Venerated in | Coptic Orthodox Church |
Influences | Pachomius the Great |
Horsiesius (also spelled Horsiesios) was a 4th-century Egyptian Christian monk who served as the head of the Pachomian monasteries from 346 to 350 AD, and again from 368 to 387 AD. He is canonized as a saint by the Coptic Orthodox Church. [1]
Immediately before the death of Pachomius the Great, Horsiesius served as the superior of Sheneset Monastery. After Pachomius's death, Petronius appointed Horsiesius as the superior of the Koinonia until 350, when he resigned and was replaced by Theodorus of Tabennese. When Theodorus died in 368, Horsiesius again became the superior of the Koinonia. Horsesius remained as the superior until his death in 387 or sometime afterwards. [2]
The Testament of Horsiesius is Horsiesius's best-known work. In 404, Jerome translated the Testament of Horsiesius into Latin (titled Liber Horsiesii). In Coptic, there are also 7 catecheses and 4 letters attributed to Horsiesius. [2] : 158
The Testament of Horsiesius has been translated into English by Armand Veilleux (1982). [3]
Anthony the Great was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony, such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets: Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. His feast day is celebrated on 17 January among the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Coptic calendar.
Pachomius, also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May, and Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches mark his feast on 15 May or 28 May. In Lutheranism, he is remembered as a renewer of the church, along with his contemporary, Anthony of Egypt on 17 January.
The Rule of Saint Benedict is a book of precepts written in Latin c. 530 by St Benedict of Nursia for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt, beginning around the third century AD. The Apophthegmata Patrum is a collection of the wisdom of some of the early desert monks and nuns, in print as Sayings of the Desert Fathers. The first Desert Father was Paul of Thebes, and the most well known was Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in AD 270–271 and became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism. By the time Anthony had died in AD 356, thousands of monks and nuns had been drawn to living in the desert following Anthony's example, leading his biographer, Athanasius of Alexandria, to write that "the desert had become a city." The Desert Fathers had a major influence on the development of Christianity.
The Acts of Peter and the Twelve or the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles is a Christian text from about the 4th century. It is the first treatise in Codex VI of the Nag Hammadi library texts, taking up pages 1–12 of the codex's 78 pages. The writing extends the Parable of the Pearl from Matthew 13:45–46. In the text, Peter the Apostle meets a pearl merchant named Lithargoel, who is later revealed to be Jesus. Jesus commands the apostles to care for the poor.
Shenoute of Atripe, also known as Shenoute the Great or Saint Shenoute the Archimandrite was the abbot of the White Monastery in Egypt. He is considered a saint by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and is one of the most renowned saints of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The Coptic White Monastery, also The Monastery of Abba Shenouda and The Athribian Monastery is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite. It is located near the Upper Egyptian cities of Tahta and Sohag, and about two and a half miles (4.0 km) south-east of the Red Monastery.
Tabenna is a Christian community founded in Upper Egypt around 320 by Saint Pachomius. It was the motherhouse of a network of monasteries known as the Koinonia. At the time of Pachomius's death in 346, there were nine establishments for men and two for women, along with two or three thousand "Tabennesites". It is considered the first major model of cenobitic monasticism in early Christianity.
Coptic literature is the body of writings in the Coptic language of Egypt, the last stage of the indigenous Egyptian language. It is written in the Coptic alphabet. The study of the Coptic language and literature is called Coptology.
Coptic monasticism was a movement in the Coptic Orthodox Church to create a holy, separate class of person from layman Christians.
Theodorus of Tabennese, also known as Abba Theodorus and Theodore the Sanctified was the spiritual successor to Pachomius and played a crucial role in preventing the first Christian cenobitic monastic federation from collapsing after the death of its founder.
Monasticism is a way of life where a person lives outside of society, under religious vows.
St. Mother Irini was the Coptic Abbess of the St. Philopateer Mercurius’ Convent in Old Cairo, Egypt and an influential figure in the Coptic Christian community of Egypt.
al-Qasr wa as-Sayyad is a village in Nag Hammadi district of Qena Governorate, Egypt.
Pbow was a cenobitic monastery established by St. Pachomius in 336-337 AD. Pbow is about 100 km (62 mi) north of Luxor in modern Upper Egypt. It was one of the nine Pachomian monasteries.
Tbew was an Egyptian Coptic Orthodox monastery that was established in the mid-4th century. It was one of the Pachomian monasteries.
The Pachomian monasteries or the Koinonia of Upper Egypt were a group of Christian cenobitic monasteries founded by Pachomius the Great during the 4th century A.D. Altogether, by the mid-300s A.D., nine Pachomian monasteries formed a network or federation of monasteries known as the Koinonia. All of the nine historical Pachomian monasteries are now defunct.
Phnoum was a cenobitic monastery established by Pachomius the Great during the 4th century A.D. Located near Latopolis in Upper Egypt, it was the southernmost of the nine Pachomian monasteries.
Tsmine was a cenobitic monastery established by Pachomius the Great during the 4th century A.D. It was one of the nine Pachomian monasteries.
Petronius, also spelled Petronios, was a 4th-century Egyptian Christian monk who served as a superior of the Pachomian monasteries.