Saint Arsenius the Great

Life story

Arsenius was born between about 350 and 354 in Rome into a Christian senatorial family and was educated in rhetoric and philosophy, with a command of both Latin and Greek. Recommended to the emperor Theodosius I, he reached Constantinople about 383 and tutored the princes Arcadius and Honorius for about eleven years.

He grew increasingly drawn to renunciation, left Constantinople by sea for Alexandria, and fled into the desert. Around 400 he joined the monks at Scetis under John the Dwarf, who tested his humility before tonsuring him.

In 434 raids by the Mazices of Libya forced him out of Scetis. He settled at Troe near Memphis and spent time on the island of Canopus. He died at Troe, around 445 to 450, at about the age of 95.

He was known above all for silence. A saying attributed to him says that he had often regretted speaking but never regretted keeping silent. Works credited to him include a monastic guideline and a short commentary on Luke; the authorship of some texts is debated.

Works and witness

• Tutor of the princes Arcadius and Honorius in Constantinople for about eleven years
• Left the court for Scetis in Egypt around 400
• Settled at Troe after being forced out of Scetis in 434
• Sayings on silence preserved in the desert fathers literature

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Apophthegmata Patrum), Arsenius collection
• Catholic Online, "St. Arsenius the Great"
• Orthodox synaxarion notes on Abba Arsenios (johnsanidopoulos.com)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.