Paul of Thebes, commonly known as Paul the First Hermit or Paul the Anchorite, was an Egyptian saint regarded as the first Christian hermit, said to have lived from about 227 to 341. Tradition holds that he withdrew alone into the desert of Thebes in Roman Egypt from the age of sixteen and lived there until his death at the age of 113. He was canonized in 491 by Pope Gelasius I and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
Facts
Classification
NationalityRoman Empire (Historical) 2 Veneration StatusFormally Canonized or Sainted 2 Life
Lifespan or Floruit Attestation
Traditions Revering This Figure Connections
Revered In
Entity-backed identity for the revered-in enum value this member already carries, resolved by exact or single-candidate near-exact live entity name match against a same-atlas religion, denomination or organization entity, per the phase 3 revered-in pilot (docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md, owner decision 2026-09-28, w-bucketpilot-reveredin-0929). The revered-in fact itself, with its own citation, remains on the member entity unchanged; this relationship only adds the durable entity identity the enum value already names.
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Paul of Thebes, Structured Record (Wikidata Q313798)
2. Paul of Thebes (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, WikipediaNationality, from source article
Paul of Thebes, commonly known as Paul the First Hermit or Paul the Anchorite, was an Egyptian saint regarded as the first Christian hermit and grazer, who was claimed to have lived alone in the desert of Thebes in Roman Egypt from the age of 16 to the age of 113 years old.
lead paragraph
(Coptic: Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲉ; Koine Greek: Παῦλος ὁ Θηβαῖος, Paûlos ho Thēbaîos; Latin: Paulus Eremita; c. 227, c. 341)
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.