Pachomius' Successors

When St. Pachomius was dying, his followers at the monastery were concerned because he had not yet chosen a successor. Many of them wanted Theodorus of Tabennese (c.314 - 368).

Born into a wealthy Christian family, Theodorus joined a monastery at 14 in Egypt until he heard about the success of Pachomius from a friend and determined that he wanted to go there. He was told that his wealthy background made him unsuitable for the atmosphere that Pachomius was creating in his monasteries, but Theodorus went anyway to Tabannese, one of the Pachomian monasteries.

Admired by Pachomius and his fellow monks, Theodorus came to be called the "brothers' comforter" because of his kindness and support toward his peers. Pachomius eventually made him the steward of Tabennese when Pachomius retired to another of his monasteries, Pbow. While keeping tabs on Theodorus, Pachomius saw that monks who did not follow the strict rules set down by Pachomius were being allowed to do so without any discipline, so Pachomius demoted him from authority.

Theodorus became Pachomius' assistant, behaving himself and maintaining the popularity he had with his fellow monks.

When Pachomius became ill, several monks wanted Theodorus to agree to assume control of the monastery. Theodorus agreed that he would do so, but Pachomius recovered and found out that Theodorus had been ready to take control. He exiled Theodorus, but eventually forgave him and allowed him to return without any special rank.

When Pachomius died in 348CE, he had named as his successor Petronius, who had been overseeing some of the Pachomian family of monasteries. Petronius died three months after Pachomius, however, and appointed Horsiesius, who had been overseeing the monastery at Sheneset. Horsiesius, however, resigned in 350, and finally Theodorus was placed in charge.

Tomorrow I'll tell you a little more about Theodorus, and that the story of Horsiesius wasn't finished when he resigned.