Paul of Thebes
The first hermit, officially.
![Paul of Thebes](https://heaven247.info/content/images/2020/01/https-_bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com_public_images_93151888-fe94-4d44-900d-f9019cee1400_2460x3200.jpg)
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.