Paul of Thebes

In the year 245, when was just 16 years old, Paul moved into the ideal cave in Egypt’s Theban desert, furnished with a clear spring and a large hall open to the sky, shaded by the wide-spread branches of an ancient palm. He was, officially, the first hermit, and subsisted entirely on fruit from that palm tree for almost 30 years — at that point, a friendly raven began delivering him a daily loaf of bread. In this beautiful way, Paul lived to be well over 100. When he died, two lions helped dig his grave.

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