02 — Scetis and the Desert
The desert world Macarius entered and the settlement he founded: the deep valley of Scetis with its semi-anchoritic pattern of scattered cells and weekend gatherings, and the wider fellowship of the Lower-Egyptian monastic colonies — Antony as living model, Amoun of Nitria, and the Cells.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Church Father)
This section places Macarius in the geography and the institutional history of early Egyptian monasticism. The first file treats the founding of Scetis itself — the most remote of the desert colonies, in the natron valley of Wadi al-Natrun — and the distinctive “middle way” of its life: neither the full solitude of the hermit nor the regimented common life of the Pachomian monastery, but clustered cells whose occupants lived alone through the week and gathered only for the weekend synaxis. The second file sets Macarius within the fellowship of the other desert pioneers: St. Antony the Great, whom the tradition makes his model and teacher; Amoun, the founder of nearby Nitria; and the relationship among the three centers — Nitria, Kellia, and Scetis — that together formed the heartland of Lower-Egyptian desert monasticism.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Founding of Scetis | The settlement of Wadi al-Natrun in the 330s; the semi-anchoritic pattern of cells, solitude, and weekend synaxis. |
| The Desert Fellowship | Antony as model and the visit to him; Amoun of Nitria; the relationship of Nitria, Kellia, and Scetis. |
See Also
- Lower Egypt and the Call — the withdrawal that led to Scetis
- The Monastic Centre — what became of Scetis after Macarius
- Macarius in the Sayings — the desert life as the Apophthegmata record it
- Orthodoxy: Spiritual Direction — the abba tradition of the desert
References
- Palladius. The Lausiac History. Trans. R. T. Meyer. Ancient Christian Writers 34. New York: Newman Press, 1964.
- The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward. Rev. ed. Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1984.
- Chitty, Derwas J. The Desert a City: An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and Palestinian Monasticism under the Christian Empire. Oxford: Blackwell, 1966.