Rule of St. Pachomius

[Stone]

PART II

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. An ordinance and command of the holy Abba Pachomius. This is the first ordinance as a foundation: When thou hearest that they call thee to the psalm-singing, arise quickly; and while thou goest, read until thou comest to the door of the church, or else, pray. And no one shall turn and look around while the brethren are praying. And if any one has conversed or has laughed during the psalm-singing, let him be rebuked before the altar. And if any one has omitted a single prayer during the day, let him be rebuked; and if any one has omitted three of those at night, let him be judged. And let no one go out of the church while the brethren are praying, except he ask. And after the psalm-singing has ceased, while ye are returning to your dwelling-places, read what ye have recited from the Gospels, until ye come to your houses. And no one shall veil himself while he reads.

And no one shall look around while the brethren eat, and no one shall put down his hands on the table before him who is older. And no one shall wrangle or converse; but if he laugh, he shall be judged. And if any one does not come to the prayer at table at the time when the brethren eat, he shall be judged; or else let him return fasting and not eat anything. And when thou desirest anything at table, do not speak, but whisper. And after thou hast gone out from where thou eatest, do not make many words. And let no one, while he is eating, turn his head to the table of his brethren, to see how they prepare their food. Let the prior do the will of the brother who is sick, asking what is desired. And at the place of the sick brethren let no one eat a bite or drink any wine except he that is sick. Let no one bring the food of the sick into the kitchen of the brethren, where they cook for themselves, but let them prepare food for the sick separately. And they shall not prepare it abundantly in giving to those that are sick.

And when there is any one who comes out of the world that he may become a monk, let them teach him first the prayer of the Gospel, and after that let them teach him psalm-singing; and let him accordingly remain in the vestibule while he is being taught and tried in regard to the ordinance of the brethren and the statutes, and then let them remove his worldly garments and clothe him with those of the monks. But his worldly garments, which he has removed, and whatever else he had, they shall give to the guardian of the fruit which is under the tree. And the following command is equal to it: No one shall live in his house, indeed not at all, and no one shall at all accumulate anything whatever, except what is given to him by his superiors, except his clothes; and this consists of two undergarments and a covering and a shaggy cloak of leather and shoes and two hoods and a girdle and a staff.

And let no one go anywhere without the knowledge of the prior. And let no one sleep outside of his couch. And let no one go outside of the cloister without the knowledge of the prior. And let no one converse with his neighbor at the place where he sleeps. And let no one spread upon his couch anything except the mat alone. And let no one anoint or wash his whole body, except in his sickness. Let no one converse with his neighbor in the dark. Let no one seize the hand of another, nor at any part of his body. And when they stand and when they walk, there shall be distance between them of one ell, and thus they shall do while they sit. And no one shall cut his hair without the knowledge of the prior, and no one shall cut the hair of any one unless he has been commanded. And no one shall take anything whatever from his brother without the knowledge of the prior. No one shall ride on an ass alone, or without garments, with another. And no one shall enter upon an act to undertake a work without the knowledge of the prior. No one shall take a vessel, as though to preserve it, until he receive it as his own. And let no one converse in the bakery while the brethren are making bread; but they shall read until they have finished: no one shall speak [aloud], but shall whisper. Let no one be deserted by the brethren when a brother is dead, that they accompany him unto the hill. Let no one go into the presence of the prior. Let no one knead clay without the knowledge of the prior; and whenever anything is done let it not be done without the knowledge of the prior. Let no one go into the woman’s cloister to visit a sister from among them, except a short time with him who is appointed priest and with those that serve him. And if while a garment is hung up the sun rises over it three times, the owner of the garment shall be judged on account of it, and he shall prostrate himself in the church, and shall stand while the brethren eat. And if it be the shaggy covering or the shoes or the girdle or anything else they shall do to him according to this first judgment. He who disregards this [law] and does not observe it, let him be judged without any trial concerning it; so that they inherit the Eternal Kingdom.

[This is] the second word of the holy Pachomius. And his sister in the flesh loved monasticism, and he cut her hair and put a girdle around her, and made a dwelling-place for her alone on the opposite side of the river at the distance of a mile. And at her instigation virgins and widows collected together and became exceedingly good. And none went over except those that had been ordained by Abba Pachomius and chosen ones on the fixed festival days of our Lord. And when any one of these went in to her rest, they sang psalms and adorned her in holiness and wrapped her in linen, and the brethren received her on a raft and buried her in their place. But neither did these [the men] see their [the women’s] faces nor did the latter see the faces of the former. And [the women] reached the number of one hundred and eighty, and these [the men] three hundred and forty; and he commanded them that they should be exceedingly careful not to see their [the women’s] faces nor hear their voices.