08 — East and West
Euthymius is not a solitary figure but one of a trio — with Sabas the Sanctified and Theodosius the Cenobiarch — remembered as the founding fathers of monasticism in the Judean desert, and the Palestinian model they shaped (the lavra-cenobium synthesis of the Egyptian heritage) stands at the headwaters of the Byzantine and Sabaite liturgical tradition. This section sets Euthymius within the wider monastic tradition of East and West and traces the veneration in which the Orthodox world holds him.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Desert Father; father of Palestinian monasticism)
This section steps back from the events of Euthymius’s life to ask two larger questions. First, where does he belong in the history of monasticism — both beside his Palestinian contemporaries and heirs (Sabas and Theodosius the Cenobiarch, with whom he forms the founding trio of the Judean desert), and in relation to the Egyptian root from which all of it grew (Antony the hermit and Pachomius the cenobiarch) and to the Western tradition into which John Cassian carried that root? Second, how is Euthymius venerated across the Orthodox world today — in the Synaxarion, in the liturgical books, and in the cult of the Greek, Slavic, and Georgian churches?
The distinctive Palestinian contribution, worked out by Euthymius and brought to its classical form by Sabas, is the lavra — a settlement of solitary cells gathered around a common core, a deliberate middle way between the full solitude of the anchorite and the full common life of the cenobium. Theodosius the Cenobiarch governed the complementary pole, the great coenobium, and the two offices — archimandrite of the hermits and archimandrite of the cenobites — were established together (c. 494) to govern the whole desert. Out of this synthesis came the Sabaite Typikon of Mar Saba, which became the basis of the received Byzantine liturgical order; here the desert of Euthymius reaches East and West.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| the-palestinian-monastic-trinity.md | Euthymius, Sabas, and Theodosius the Cenobiarch as the founding trio of the Judean desert; the lavriot line and the great cenobium; the relation of the Palestinian model to the Egyptian (Antony/Pachomius) and its distinctive lavra-cenobium synthesis; the place of these fathers in the monastic tradition East and West, from Cassian’s carrying of Egypt westward to the Sabaite liturgical legacy of Byzantium |
| veneration.md | The veneration of Euthymius across the Orthodox world: the Synaxarion entry; his commemoration with the other Judean fathers; the troparion and hymns; his cult in the Greek, Slavic, and Georgian churches; relics and dedications; and the iconography of the aged abba with the long, full beard |
See Also
- Sabas and the Next Generation — the disciple through whom Euthymius’s lavriot pattern passed to the classical Judean monasticism of the sixth century
- The Monastic Pattern — the lavriot pattern of solitary cells around a common core, the Palestinian synthesis at the heart of this section
- Feast and Cult — the feast on 20 January and the liturgical office, treated in detail in the following section
- Legacy and Assessment — the historical assessment of Euthymius’s place in the monasticism of the Christian East
- Orthodoxy: Monasticism — the ascetic tradition Euthymius and the Judean fathers helped to found
- St. Sabbas the Sanctified — the lavriot heir, lawgiver of Palestinian monasticism
- St. Pachomius the Great — the Egyptian cenobiarch, root of the cenobitic pole of the synthesis
- St. Antony the Great — the hermit, the Egyptian root of the desert ideal
References
- Cyril of Scythopolis. The Lives of the Monks of Palestine (Life of Euthymius, Life of Sabas, Life of Theodosius). Translated by R. M. Price. Cistercian Studies 114. Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1991.
- Binns, John. Ascetics and Ambassadors of Christ: The Monasteries of Palestine 314–631. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994.
- Chitty, Derwas J. The Desert a City: An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and Palestinian Monasticism under the Christian Empire. Oxford: Blackwell, 1966.
- Perrone, Lorenzo. La chiesa di Palestina e le controversie cristologiche. Brescia: Paideia, 1980.
- The Menaion for the month of January (the office and synaxarion notice for 20 January).