Horus of the Thebaid, also transmitted under the name Or, was an Egyptian ascetic of the fourth century counted among the desert fathers. In his youth he withdrew into the Thebaid desert and lived for many years in complete solitude as a strict hermit, sustaining himself by extreme abstinence. According to his life he received in old age the visitation of an angel, who announced that the Lord had destined him for the salvation of the many who would come to seek his guidance.
After this calling he left his seclusion and began to receive all who came to him for counsel and help. A large community of monks gathered around him, and he is remembered as the founder of several monasteries that together housed as many as a thousand monastics. He reposed in about the year 390 at roughly ninety years of age, and is commemorated on August 7.
Timeline 4 moments
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Early 4th centuryBirth in EgyptHorus is born in Egypt in the early fourth century; according to the Coptic synaxarium he was a native of the city of Abraht in the district of Ashmunein.
YouthWithdrawal to the ThebaidHe withdraws into the Thebaid desert and lives for many years in complete solitude as a strict hermit.
Old ageAngelic visitationAn angel appears to him, announcing that the Lord has destined him to guide the many who will come seeking his counsel; he then begins to receive all who come to him.
c. 390ReposeAfter founding several monasteries housing as many as a thousand monastics, he reposes at about ninety years of age.
Contributions & Legacy
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Life in the Desert
Horus belonged to the generation of Egyptian monastics who populated the Thebaid in the fourth century. His life relates that in his youth he withdrew into the desert and struggled in complete solitude for many years, leading the life of a strict hermit. The accounts describe a regime of severe asceticism, sustained on roots, herbs, and water with extended periods of fasting.
Though he had received no education in childhood, his life holds that the Lord granted him the gift of reading the Holy Scriptures. Even after a community had formed around him he maintained his strict discipline, never eating in the common dining hall and fasting on the days of Holy Communion. On one occasion, preparing for Holy Pascha together with a single disciple, he is said to have stood for three days under the open sky in unceasing prayer.
Spiritual Fatherhood and Legacy
Following the angelic visitation of his old age, Horus became a spiritual father to large monastic communities. His life relates that the thoughts and deeds of his disciples were revealed to him, so that none dared lie to him. He is remembered as the founder of several monasteries comprising altogether as many as a thousand monastics.
He is reckoned among the lesser-known but esteemed desert fathers. The documentary basis for his life lies in the early literature of Egyptian monasticism: he is named by Jerome's History of the Monks of Egypt as the father of a thousand cenobitic monks, and he is mentioned in Palladius's Lausiac History and in the broader collections of the sayings and lives of the desert fathers. As a saint of the undivided pre-Chalcedonian Church, he is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Roman Catholic traditions.
