One cannot overestimate the importance of Pachomius and Pachomian monasticism upon the development of religious life in the Catholic Church. His emphasis on the importance of living together in community as the means for obtaining holiness will not only influence monasticism throughout the East and West, it will set the foundation for all religious communities up to the present day.

Links:

Image of the prayer rope.

Information on Pachomian monasticism including links to description of Pachomian monasteries

James E Goehring, “Withdrawing from the Desert: Pachomius and the Development of Village Monasticism in Upper Egypt”, The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 89, No. 3 (July 1996), pp. 267-285.

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