Euthymius the Great (c. 377–473) was an ascetic of the Palestinian desert and one of the principal fathers of early Eastern monasticism. Born at Melitene in Armenia, near the Euphrates, he settled in the wilderness east of Jerusalem and, over a long life, founded a series of monastic communities whose organization helped shape the lavra tradition of Palestine. He is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on January 20.
According to his life, Euthymius was born to a pious family of noble birth named Paul and Dionysia, who had long been childless. After his father's death he came under the care of the local church at Melitene, where the bishop educated him, received him among the clergy, and in time ordained him to the priesthood, placing him in charge of the monasteries of the diocese. Seeking greater solitude, he departed for Jerusalem around the age of twenty-nine, venerated the holy sites, and withdrew to the desert, supporting himself by the weaving of baskets.
In the wilderness he formed a lasting bond with the ascetic Theoctistus, and the two settled together in a cave near Jericho. As disciples gathered, a communal (coenobitic) monastery took shape under the administration of Theoctistus, while Euthymius later established his own lavra northeast of Jerusalem toward Jericho. The sources record that the church of this lavra was consecrated by Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem, in 429. Among the many who came to him was the young Sabbas, the future Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, who would become one of the most renowned organizers of Palestinian monasticism in his own right.
Euthymius was also remembered as a missionary and a defender of the faith. By his example and through the healing of the chief Aspebet and his son Terebon, he brought a number of nomadic Saracen Arabs to baptism; Aspebet, baptized as Peter, is said to have afterward become a bishop among the Arabs. A firm supporter of the Council of Chalcedon (451), Euthymius is credited with helping to keep many Palestinian monks within the Orthodox confession during the Christological controversies of the fifth century. He died on January 20, 473, at an advanced age, and his relics remained at his monastery in the Palestinian desert.
