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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
[email protected]
St. Pachomius (292-348) is often regarded as the founder of cenobitic monasticism, which is a form of communal monasticism. Unlike the eremitic monks who followed St. Anthony, cenobites lived together in organized buildings. St. Pachomius did not necessarily establish his own groups of monks, but brought existing groups together into one location. Pachomius' monks were known for their intellectual prowess and were responsible for both producing and accumulating large numbers of religious texts. The Nag Hammadi Library, which was discovered in 1945, belonged to a nearby Pachomian monastery. This library housed rival gospels, most notably the Gospel of Thomas. However, it is unclear as to whether or not these texts were produced by the monks themselves or imported from elsewhere.
Posted at Nov 30/2010 04:17PM:
ian: Its been postulated that the Nag Hammadi Library came from the monastery but I don't think that this has been conclusively demonstrated. Certainly monks of this tradition were engaged in wide ranging interests regarding issues of spirituality and doctrine. In essence centers for learning and production of knowledge in the religious sciences.