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Icon of Pachomius the Great

Pachomius the Great

Venerable

Commemorated May 15

Our venerable father Pachomius the Great (c. 292-346 A.D.) was an early Egyptian ascetic, both a Desert Father and a founder of cenobitic monasticism in Egypt. He is celebrated by the Church on May 15 and is one of the few (non Biblical) saints to be venerated by Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism and some Protestant Churches.

Troparion

With the streams of thy tears thou didst irrigate the barren desert,
and with sighs from the depths of thy soul thou didst render thy labors fruitful an hundredfold.
Thou wast a beacon for the whole world, radiating miracles.
O our father Pachomius, entreat Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion

Thou wast shown to be a radiant luminary for the ends of the earth,
and didst populate the desert with multitudes of monastics, as with cities.
And crucifying thyself, taking thy cross upon thy shoulders,
thou didst lay waste to thy body with asceticism,
praying unceasingly for us all.

Hymns