View source for Saint Paul the Hermit

{{Saints
|SaintName= Saint Paul the Hermit
|SaintStage= Saint
|SaintBirthDate= c. 227 AD
|SaintBirthPlace= Thebes, Egypt, Roman Empire
|SaintBirthCoordinates= 25.6872° N, 32.6396° E
|SaintDeathDate= c. 341 AD
|DeathPlace= Desert near Thebes, Egypt, Roman Empire
|SaintDeathCoordinates= Approximately 25.7000° N, 32.6500° E
|SaintCauseOfDeath= Natural causes
|NotableAddress1= Desert cave near the Red Sea, Egypt
|NotableCoordinates1= Approximately 26.0000° N, 34.0000° E
|NotableAddress2= 
|NotableCoordinates2= 
|NotableAddress3= 
|NotableCoordinates3= 
|NotableAddress4= 
|NotableCoordinates4= 
|NotableAddress5= 
|NotableCoordinates5= 
|BeatificationDate= 
|Beatifier= 
|BeatificationLocation= 
|Canonized= Yes
|CanonizationDate= Pre-Congregation
|Canonizer= 
|CanonizationLocation= 
|SaintMiracle1= Fed by a raven bringing bread daily
|SaintMiracle2= Burial by lions digging his grave
|SaintMiracle3= 
|FeastDay= January 15
|Profession= Hermit
|ReligiousAffiliation= 
|Patronage= Weavers, hermits, basket makers
|Attributes= Raven, palm tree, two lions
|PrimaryShrine= Monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite, Eastern Desert, Egypt
|AdditionalVeneration= Eastern Orthodox Church, Coptic Orthodox Church
}}

Saint Paul the Hermit, born around 227 AD in Thebes, Egypt, is celebrated as one of the first Christian hermits, fleeing persecution to live a solitary life of prayer in the desert. A wealthy youth educated in Greek and Egyptian culture, he abandoned his inheritance during the Decian persecution (circa 250 AD) after his parents’ death, seeking refuge in the wilderness to avoid betrayal by relatives over his estate. For nearly a century, he dwelt in a cave near the Red Sea, sustained miraculously by a raven that brought him half a loaf of bread daily, a tale popularized by Saint Jerome’s *Life of Paul the Hermit*. His ascetic life ended around 341 AD, when, at the age of 113, he died peacefully, reportedly buried by two lions sent by God to dig his grave.

Paul’s encounter with Saint Anthony the Great, who sought him out late in life, underscores his significance as a pioneer of eremitic monasticism. Anthony found Paul just before his death, and their meeting—marked by the raven delivering a whole loaf for both—symbolized the unity of their spiritual paths. Venerated on January 15, Paul’s legacy as the “first hermit” endures, with his cave now part of the Monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite, a pilgrimage site that reflects his influence on desert spirituality across Christian traditions.