c. 227–341
Saint Paul of Thebes
Regarded as the first Christian hermit, who lived for decades in the Egyptian desert.
Biography
Paul came from a wealthy family in Lower Thebaid in Egypt and was orphaned at fifteen, when the persecution of Decius broke out. To escape the persecutors he fled to the desert, where he found quiet for prayer and study and chose to remain forever.
Word of his virtue reached Anthony the Great, who visited him; when Anthony returned a few months later he found Paul dead, with two lions guarding the grave they had dug. He is regarded as the first Christian hermit and died at the age of a hundred and thirteen.