Paul of Thebes

Saint Paul, "The First Hermit", Jusepe de Ribera, Museo del Prado (1640)

Paul of Thebes (c. 227 – c. 341) was an Egyptian saint regarded as the first Christian hermit. According to hagiographies, he lived in the desert of Thebes, Roman Egypt from the age of 16 to the age of 113.

Quotes about Paul of Thebes

• When [Antony] entered the cave he saw the lifeless corpse in a kneeling position, its head erect and its hands stretched out toward heaven. At first he thought that Paul was still alive and so he knelt down beside him to pray, but when he heard no sighs from the praying man, as he usually did, he fell upon him in a tearful embrace, realizing that even as a corpse the holy man, by means of his reverent posture, was praying to God for whom all things live.
  • Jerome, Vita S. Pauli 14–15. Translation from Harmless, William (2004). Desert Christians: An Introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-516222-6.