Impressed by the example of St. Simeon Stylites, he retreated to a mountain cave in Palestine, but wound up building a monastery for holy monks nearby.

In case you’re wondering where he got his title Cenobiarch — and whether it might be a suitably tempting career path — the word means ‘Leader of a Cenobitical Society’.

These were like traditional monastries, but instead of hiding themselves away, the Cenobitical monks were free to socialize with the outside world, chat with passers-by and even nip into town for lunch.

That could explain how Theodosius’s place became so popular. Somehow even in the desert it spread to include three infirmaries and four churches.

Our hero was then banished from his own domain by a heretical emperor who died soon after, so our Saint soon returned to his old haunts and was eventually buried in his cave.

Incidentally, the word ‘Cenobiarch’ also pops up in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. It refers to somebody in charge of something-or-other. Clearly this is an amazing coincidence.

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Article last revised on April 07, 2019 by the Godchecker data dwarves.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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