PACHOMIUS The Rule Prescriptions from our Father Pachomius. Man of God ho Founded the Coeno!

itic "ife In Its Ori#ins $% the Order of God The precepts start here: Whoever comes for his first time to the sinaxis of the saints, will be introduced by the doorman as it is he who will normally accompany visitors from the door of the monastery and will make him sit in the assembly of the brothers; he will not be allowed to move, nor modify his rank; he will wait for the oikiakos, namely: the purpose of the house, that will install him in the position that is convenient for him to occupy. He will sit with all decorum and modesty, placing underneath him the bottom part of his goat skin that he ties to his shoulder, and closing his dress very carefully, this is the sleeveless linen tunic, so that he has his knees covered. When the voice of the trumpet is heard that calls the sinaxis, in the same moment they will go to the cell, meditating a passage of cripture until they reach the door of the place of the sinaxis. When they go to church to take the place where they have to sit or stand, they will be careful to not smash the steeped rushes prepared for the fabric of the strings, so that the negligence does not cause any damage, even if minimum to the monastery. !n the evening, when they hear a sign, do not delay next to the fire that is usually lit to warm up the body to defend from the cold. "o not stay sitting without doing anything during the sinaxis, but prepare with a watching hand the rushes that will serve to weave the strings of the dorm mats. #evertheless, avoid being tired, he who has a weak body, will be given a permission to interrupt his duty from time to time. When the one that has the first place has clapped his hands, repeating a memori$ed passage from cripture, to give a sign of the end of the prayer, none will delay in getting up, but everybody will get up at the same time. #o one should watch the other brother who would be prancing a string or praying; his eyes should be focused on his own %ob. &ehold the precepts of life that the elders have transmitted. !f during the chanting, the prayers, or the readings, someone talks or laughs, he will untie his girdle instantly and will go before the altar with his head bowed and downfallen arms. 'fter the father of the monastery had reprehended him there, he will repeat this same penitence in the refectory, when all of the brothers had gathered. "uring the day, when the trumpet had rung for the sinaxis, the one who gets there after the first prayer will be lectured by his superior with a reprimand and will stay standing in the refectory. &ut, during the night, since (at those hours) we are more understanding to the weakness of the body, the one who arrives after the first three prayers, will be corrected in the same way at church and at the refectory.

When the brothers are praying during the sinaxis, no one will leave without orders from the elders, or without having asked and being given the permission to leave for the natural needs. #o one will distribute the rushes that are to weave the strings, unless he is the one who is on duty during the week to do that. !f someone is not allowed to do it because of a %ustified work, he will wait for the orders of his superior. *or the service during the week in each house, they will not choose the ones who have the first places who recite passages from cripture in the assembly of all the brothers. They will choose by the order of the brothers who are sitting and standing, the ones who were capable to repeat by heart whichever thing has been commanded to them. !f the weekly person in charge of officiating the choir or the altar forgets or hesitates when reciting something, he will get the correction that negligence and forgetfulness deserve. #one of them will be absent on undays, or when they make the oblation because he must have the place of the singer to respond to the one who chants. This regards to at least the ones who belong to the house that is on duty of the great week. &ecause in each house there is a service of a small week assured by a smaller number of brothers. !f this number were to increase, the chief of the house of the great week will call other brothers of the same group that his house belongs to. &ut without his order no one who belongs to another house of the same group will chant. 'nd it is absolutely forbidden to a brother from a house to participate in the service of another house, unless it is a part of the same group, or tribe, as his. We call tribe the group of three or four houses (this number varies) it depends on the number of brothers and the importance of the monastery, which we could call families or clans of a same nation. #one will receive permission of chanting on undays or during the sinaxis in which he should offer oblation, except the chief of the house and the elders of the monastery or the ones which function is incumbent on. !f an elder makes a mistake when he chants, namely: when he reads the +salter, he will submit to the point, before the altar, to the ritual of penitence and of the reprimand. He who abandons the sinaxis of the offering of the oblation without the permission of its superior, will be rebuked instantly. &y the morning, in each house, after finishing the prayer, the brothers will not go back immediately to their cells. They will first have a collo,uy about what was exposed by the chairman in the conferences and then they will return to their rooms. The ones who govern the houses will give three conferences a week; in these conferences, when the brothers sit or stand, they will take their own seats, according to the order of the houses and the individuals. !f anyone who is sitting falls asleep during the conference, the chairman of the house or the father of the monastery, will commanded to him to stand up immediately and will remain standing until he has received the order of sitting again. When the signal had rang for getting together to listen to the precepts of the elders, no one will stay where they were and will not stir the fire up, until the end of the conference.

Whoever omits one of these precepts, will be reprimanded with what we had mentioned before. The one who is on duty during the week will not be able to give the -musical. strings or any other ob%ect without the order of the father of the monastery. Without it he would not even be able to give the sign to gather for the sinaxis at noon or the six prayers in the afternoon. 'fter the morning prayer, the officer of the week whom has been trusted the work, will ask the father of the monastery about all the things that he consider necessary and about the moment in which the brothers should go to work in the fields; and, according to the order that he had received, he will traverse each house and will teach each one what they have to do. !f anyone asks for a book to read, he will receive it. &ut on the weekend he will return it to its place because of the brothers that succeed in the service. !f they weave door mats, the weekly person in charge of the choir and the altar will ask in the afternoon the chiefs of each house which is the amount of rushes that they need in their house; depending on the answer he will wet the amount of rushes needed, to distribute them the next morning to each one by their order. !f during the morning he reali$es that he is going to need more, he will wet them and take them to each house, until they give the sign for lunch. The chief of the house who finishes the week and the one who relieves him, as well as the father of the monastery, will take care of checking what has been omitted or neglected from the work. He will also make the door mats shake that are extended ordinarily on the floor of the church and will count the strings of each week that are to be weaved. They will write the result on the wooden tablets that they will keep until the time of the annual reunion, in the course of which they settle accounts and give absolution of the faults. When coming from the sinaxis, the brothers, who are leaving one by one, to their cells or to the refectory, will meditate about any passage of cripture and no one will have their heads covered when they meditate. 'nd when they had come to the refectory, they will sit by order of the places that have been given and will cover their head. When an elder tells you to change tables, you will not resist him in the least. /ou will not dare to serve yourself before the chief of the house. /ou will not observe the ones who eat. 0ach of the chairmen will teach the members of their house how to eat, with discipline and modesty. !f anyone talks or laughs during the meals he will make penance and will be rebuked instantly in his place. He will stand and will stay standing until some of the other brothers that are sitting stand. !f anyone gets to the table late, unless it was because the order of a superior had caused the tardiness, he will make the same penance or will go back to his house without having eaten. !f at the table they need something, no one will dare to talk; but rather, through a sound will make a sign to the ones who serve.

!f you leave the table, you will not speak when you come back, until you have come back to your place. The ones who serve will not eat any other thing but that which has been prepared for all the brothers in general and will not be permitted to make different dishes. The person in charge to call the brothers to the refectory will meditate while he does it. That one who, at the doors of the refectory, distributes the dessert to the brothers who leave the table, will meditate about any passage from cripture while he does his duty. The person that receives the given dessert, will not put it in his cowl but in his skin (of goat) and will not eat before having come to his house. The one who distributes the dessert to the brothers will receive his portion from the hands of his chairman, which the other servers will also do. Whatever they have received should be enough for three days. !f at the end of those three days they have some in excess, they will take it back to the chief of the house who will reintegrate it in the pantry, where it will remain until, mixed with others, will be given to all the brothers. #obody will give more to one than to another. !f one is sick, the chairman will go to see the servants of the sick and will receive from them whatever is necessary. !f the sick is one of the servants of the table, he will not have permission to enter into the kitchen or in the pantry with the purpose of withdrawing anything. The other servants will be the ones who will give him whatever he needs. He will not be allowed to cook for himself if he wants to, but the chairmen will receive from the other servants whatever they consider necessary. #o one will enter the infirmary without being sick. Whoever is sick will be conducted by the chairman of his house to the infirmary. !f he needs a robe or other things like dresses or food, the chairman will be the one who will receive from the hands of the servants and will give them immediately to the sick person. ' sick brother won1t be able to enter into the place where they eat, nor consume whatever he desires, without being taken there to eat by the servant in charge of that duty. He will not be allowed to take anything to his cell from which he had received in the infirmary, not even a fruit. The ones who cook will serve by turns to the ones who are in the table. #obody will receive wine or soup out of the infirmary. !f anyone from the ones who are sent on a trip gets sick on the way or on a boat and has the need or desires to eat soup of fish or other things that are eaten usually in the monastery, he will not eat with other brothers but apart from them, and the ones who serve will give him abundantly, so that that sick brother is not contrite in anything. #o one will dare to visit a sick person without the permission of his superior. #ot even someone of his relatives or his brothers will be able to see him without the order of the chairman. !f anyone transgresses or neglects some of these prescriptions, he will be rebuked with the usual reprimand. !f anyone who comes to the door of the monastery with the purpose of ,uitting the world and to be considered among the brothers, he will not have the freedom to enter.

They will start by informing the father of the monastery. The candidate will stay some days in the exterior, at the door. They will teach him the 2ord1s +rayer and the psalms that he is able to learn. He will send carefully the proofs to show that his will motivates him -to %oin.. This is to make sure that they haven1t committed a crime, and troubled by fear, had fled without delay to the monastery; or that he is a slave of someone. This will allow us to discern if he will be able to ,uit his relatives and to undervalue material richness. !f he satisfies all of these exigencies, they will teach him all of the disciplines of the monastery, and what he should carry on and that which he has to accept, whether it is in the sinaxis that gathers all of the brothers together, in a house where he would be sent or in the refectory. !nstructed like that and consumed in every good deed, he will be able to be with the brothers. Then he will be divested of his dresses from the century and dressed with the habit of the monks. Then he will be trusted to the doorman who, during the time of prayer, will take him to the presence of all the brothers and will make him sit in his assigned place. The clothes that he brought will be received by the ones in charge of this duty, kept in the clothier1s trade and at the disposition of the father of the monastery. #o one who lives in the monastery will be able to receive somebody in the refectory; but will send him to the doorman of the hostel so that he is received by the ones in charge of this duty. When people come to the door of the monastery, if it is about clergymen or monks, they will be received with samples of the highest honor. They will wash their feet, according to the evangelic precept (3ohn 45) and will be taken to the hostel where they will supply them with all the things that are used by the monks. !f, at the moment of the prayer or the sinaxis, they desire to participate in the reunion with the brothers, if they belong to the same faith, the doorman or the servant of the hostel will warn the father of the monastery; then they will be taken to the prayer. !f they are laymen, sick or weaker persons (4 +eter 5:46) we mean women by weaker persons, the ones who come to the door will receive them in different places, depending on their sex and the direction of their purpose. 7ver all women will be treated with a higher respect, including attention and fear of 8od. They will host them totally separated from men, so that immoral things will not happen. 'nd even if they arrived in the evening, it would look bad if they did not receive them. !n this case they will receive them in the separate and closed lodging which we have mentioned before, with all the discipline and precautions re,uired so that the multitude of the brothers can be freely busy in their works and we don1t give a motive so anyone is denigrated. !f anyone shows up at the door of the monastery, asking to see his brother or a relative, the doorman will let the father of the monastery know, and this one will call the chief of the house and will ask him if the brother is part of it, and with his permission,

the brother will receive him with a safe companion and will send him to see his brother or relative. !f by any chance this one has taken some of the kind of food that it is allowed to eat in the monastery, the monk will not be able to receive them directly but will call the doorman who will receive the gift. !f this gift is something that can be eaten with bread, this will not be allowed to be eaten anywhere by the monk, except in the infirmary. &ut if they are snacks or fruits, they will give them to the doorman so that he can eat them and the rest will be taken to the infirmary. The doorman will not be able to eat anything that he has received. He will recompense the donor with cabbage, breads or some vegetables. That one who had been given the food which we have mentioned, the ones that are brought by relatives or friends and are to be eaten with bread, will be taken by his chairman to the infirmary and he will eat them %ust once. What is left will be to the disposition of the servant of the sick, but not for his personal needs. When letting a brother know that one of his relatives or friends is sick, the doorman will first tell the father of the monastery. This one will call the chairman of the house which that brother is a part of, he will interrogate him, and together will think of a man they trust and is observant of the rules no matter how hard the trial and will send him with the brother to visit the sick person. (*or the trip) they will take the amount of provisions that the chief of the house had disposed. !f the need obligates them to stay longer (from what they had planned) out of the monastery and to eat with his parents and relatives, they will not accept it, but rather they will go to a church or a monastery of the same faith. !f the relatives or friends prepare or offer food they will not accept them or eat them unless they are the same that are usually eaten in the monastery. They will not taste brine9pickle, nor wine, nor other thing out of the ones they usually eat at the monastery. When they have accepted a thing from their relatives, they will eat only enough for the trip, the rest they will give it to the chief of the house, who will take it to the infirmary. !f the father or brother of one of the brothers dies, this person will not be able to attend the funeral rites unless the father of the monastery allows him to. #o one will be sent alone to take care of a matter of the monastery, but he will be given a companion. 'nd when they come back to the monastery, if they find someone in front of the door that wants to see someone from the monastery that they know, they will not be able to look for him, or tell him that someone is waiting outside for him or call him. They will not be able to say anything in the monastery of what they had seen outside. When they ring to leave for work, the chief of the house will march ahead of the brothers and no one will remain at the monastery without having been told to do so by the father of the monastery. The ones that leave for work will not ask where they are going. When all the houses get together, the chief of the first house will march ahead of everybody else according to the order of the houses and individuals. They will not speak, but each will meditate over a passage from cripture.

!f somebody happens to encounter the brothers and wants to speak to one, the doorman of the monastery will go ahead of them that is in charge of this duty and will reply to him. They will be served by him as an intermediate. !f the doorman is not there, the chief of the house or some other brother that has received the order for it, will reply to the ones that are with the brothers. "uring the work of the brothers they will not utter any worldly word; they will meditate in the holy things, or, at least, will keep ,uiet. #o one is allowed to take their mantle of linen for going to work, unless their superior has allowed him to. !n the beginning, no one will dress in his mantle when they are walking around the monastery after the sinaxis. #obody will sit during the work without the order of his superior. !f the ones that guide the brothers by the way have the need of sending someone for any kind of business, they will not be able to do it without the order of the chairman. 'nd if the same that guides the brothers is compelled to go to a certain place, he will trust his obligations to the one that, according to the order, comes after him. !f the brothers that are sent to work in the exterior of the monastery need to eat outside of the monastery, a weekly worker will accompany to give them their meals that do not need baking and to distribute them water, as it is done in the monastery. #o one will be able to stand up to take out or to drink water. When coming back to the monastery (from their %ob) they will do it in the order that is correspondent to each of them by their rank. When they return to their houses, the brothers will give the supplies back, and their shoes will be given to the second after the chief of the houses. &y the afternoon this one will take them to a separate cell where he will keep them. &y the end of the week, all of the supplies will be taken and put in order %ust in one house so that the ones that take their turn every week know what they will provide for each house. #o monk will wash the robes and all that is a part of their outfit on a day other than unday, except the sailors and the bakers. #o one will go do the laundry if they have not given the order for everybody to do so; they will follow their chairman; the laundry will be done silently and with order. When doing the laundry, no one will roll up their clothes more than what is allowed. When they finish washing, everybody will come back at the same time. !f anyone is absent or at the monastery, he will let his chairman know who will send another brother. 7nce he has washed his clothes he will return to his home. The brothers will pick up their robes in the afternoon when they are dry, and will give them to the second (namely, the one that is next to them up to the chairman), who will send them to the clothing room. &ut if they were not ready, they will hang them in the sun until the next they or until they are dry. They will not be exposed to the sunbeams any later than nine a.m.. 'fter they pick them they will soften them lightly. They will not be kept by the brothers in their cells, but they will hand them in so they are put in order in the clothing room until aturday. #o one will take vegetables from the 8arden; they will receive them from the gardener.

#o one will %ust decide to pick up the leaves of the palm tree that are used to weave the baskets, except the person in charge of the palm trees. #o one is supposed to eat grapes or ears of corn that are not ripe yet, this is to be careful to keep everything in order. 'nd in general, no one that eats in private can find it in the field or in the garden patch before the products are presented to all of the brothers. The cook will not eat before the brothers. The person in charge of the palm trees will not eat of its fruits before the brothers had tasted them. The ones that had been told to reap the fruits of the palm trees will receive each from their chairman, in their same work place, some fruits to eat, and when they have come back to the monastery, they will receive their part like the rest. !f they find fallen fruits from the trees they will not dare to eat them, and the ones on their way will put them at the foot of the trees. The one that distributes the fruits to the workers will not be able to eat them. He will take them to the curator9trustee that will give him his part at the moment of the distribution to the other brothers. #obody will store food in their cells, except he had received it from the economist9 trustee. :egarding the bread the chiefs of each house receive to give them to the ones who don1t want to eat in the common refectory with the brothers, because they are dedicated to a more austere abstinence, the chairmen will take care to give them to them without making any difference, not even with the ones who leave (to travel). They will not place them in a common place because then everybody could take anything they want. They will give them to each brother in their cell, respecting the order of periodicity with which they want to eat. With these pieces of bread, the brothers will not eat anything other than salt. The food will be cooked only at the monastery and in the kitchen. !f the brothers go to the exterior, namely, if they go to work in the fields, they will receive seasoned vegetables with salt and vinegar. !n the summer these vegetables will be prepared in an abundant amount so there is enough (food) for the prolonged works. #obody will have in their house or cell anything beyond what it is prescribed in general in the rule of the monastery. Therefore, the brothers will not have a linen robe, nor a softer skin ;the one for the lamb that has not been sheared 9, nor money, nor pillows of feathers for their head, nor other effects. They will not have anything but what the father of the monastery distributes to the chiefs of the house, which is two robes, plus another worn out by the use, a garment big enough so as to roll the collar and the back, and a skin of goat, that is buttoned on one side, shoes, two cowls, and a cane. 0verything they find beside this they will put away without protesting. #o body will have for their particular use twee$ers to remove the thorns that he sticks himself with when walking. They are reserved for the chairmen of the house and their second9in9command; he will hook it in the window where they place the books on.

!f anyone passes from a house to another one, he will not be able to take more than what we have said above. #obody will be able to go to the fields, walk around the monastery or go beyond their place without having been allowed by the chairman of the house. !t is necessary to restrain from bringing stories from one house to the other, or from a monastery to the other, or the monastery to the fields, or from the fields to the monastery. !f a brother is traveling, on land or by ship or works outside the monastery he will not tell anyone at the monastery what he has seen people doing outside it. They will always sleep upon the sidewalk prepared for this reason, or in the cell, on the terraces (where one settles at night to avoid the high temperatures), or in the fields. When they have settled to sleep they will not speak with anybody. !f after being laid down they awake during the night and they are thirsty, if it is a day of fasting they will not be allowed to drink. 7utside the door mat, nothing will be extended on the sidewalk. !t is prohibited to enter in the cell of the neighbor without having knocked first on the door. #obody will go eat without having been called by the general sign. They will not circulate around the monastery before they have been given a signal. <onks do not walk by the monastery to go to the sinaxis or to the refectory, without their cowl and their goat skin. They are not allowed to soften their hands after work without the company of a brother. #obody will anoint the body completely, except in the case of sickness; nor would take a shower or wash completely with water without being manifestly sick. #o one will be allowed to shower or anoint a brother without being told to do that. "on1t let anyone talk to their brother in darkness. "o not let any brother sleep with another brother on the same door mat. 2et no one hold another1s hand. When the brothers are standing, walking, or sitting, there will always be between them the distance of an elbow. #o one will be allowed to remove the thorn of another1s foot, except the chairman of the house, their second or the one that has received that order. #obody will cut their hair without his superior1s order. !t will not be allowed to exchange the things that are received from the chairman. "o not accept something better in place of something not as good. 'nd vice versa, do not give something better in change of something not as good. :egarding the attires and habits, they will not procure anything that is newer than what they have over the other brothers, wanting it because of its elegance. 'll of the skins will be ad%usted and will be pinched in the back. 'll of the cowls of the brothers will have a mark of the monastery and their house. 2et no one leave their book opened when going to the church or the refectory. The books that are placed underneath the window in the evening, in the void of the wall, will be under the responsibility of the second in command, who will count them and take them according to the custom. #obody will go to the sinaxis or to the refectory covered with their linen robe, whether at the monastery or the fields.

The ones who leave their clothes exposed to the sun beyond the sixth hour when the brothers are called to the refectory, will be lectured for their negligence. 'nd if anyone scornfully breaks this by re%ecting the mentioned rules, he will be lectured with a proportional punishment. #o one will be allowed to anoint their shoes or to take care of any ob%ect, unless the chairman of the house has received this order. !f a brother has in%ured himself, but has the need to stay in bed, if he walks with difficulty and needs something ; a pawn, a garment, or anything that can be useful 9, the chairman of his house will go to the people in charge of the clothes room and will take whatever is necessary. When the brother has healed, he will give whatever they lent him without any delay. #o one will receive anything from another brother without the order of the chairman. #o one will sleep in a locked cell, and will not have a cell in which he can lock himself, unless the father of the monastery has given that permission to a brother in reason to his age or illnesses. 2et no one go to the farm without being told, except the shepherds, the cowherds, and cultivators. "o not let two brothers ride the same donkey, and do not sit over the pole of a cart. !f anyone rides a donkey without being sick, he will dismount before the door of the monastery, and then will go on ahead of his donkey having the reins in his hand. 7nly the chairmen will go to the different workshops to receive there what is needed. They will not be allowed to go after the sixth hour, in which the brothers are called to the refectory, unless there is an urgent need; in this case, they will send a weekly brother (in charge of the altar and singing) to the father of the monastery to warn him and let him know that it is urgent. !n general, without the order of the superior, nobody will be permitted to enter in the cell of another brother. #o one will receive anything lent, not even from his own flesh and blood brother. "o not let anybody eat anything inside his cell, not even a common fruit or other foods of the same type without the permission of the chairman. !f the boss of a house is on a trip, another chairman that belongs to the same nation and to the same tribe will take responsibility of the one that leaves. He will use his powers and will be in charge of everything with solicitude. :egarding the catechesis, on the days of fasting, he will give one in his house and the other one at the house of the one that is being substituted. 2et1s talk about the bakers. When they pour the water in the flour and when they dough the pasta, nobody will talk to their neighbor. !n the morning, when they take the bread to the ovens and hearths, they will be as silent and will chant psalms or passages from cripture until they have finished their %ob. !f they need anything, they will not talk, but they will make a sign to the ones that are able to take that which they need. When they make a sign to the brothers to dough the pasta, no one will stay in the place where the bread is being baked. &esides the ones that are enough to boil and that have received the order to make it, no one will stay in place where it is baked. =oncerning the ships, the rule to follow is the same.

Without the order of the father of the monastery no one will untie a boat from the edge of the water, not even a little boat. "o not let anyone sleep in the bilge9sink nor any other place of the boat; the brothers will rest on the bridge. 'nd no one will tolerate the laymen to sleep with the brothers from the embarkation. Women will not sail with them, unless the father of the monastery has allowed it. #o one will be allowed to light a fire in their house without everybody else being able to do it. The one who is late, after the first of the six prayers in the evening, as well as the one who had whispered with his neighbor or laughed secretly, will do penance according to the established way, during the rest of the prayers. When the brothers are sitting in their houses, they will not be allowed to say worldly words. 'nd if the chairman teaches any word from cripture, they will repeat it between themselves taking turns, and will take advantage of what each of them has learned and memori$ed. When they are trying to memori$e they will not be allowed to do any work, nor take water, nor to weave cords, until the chairman has given an order to do it. #obody will take by himself the rushes put to soak by the workers, if the servant of the week does not give them to them. 'nyone who breaks a %ar of clay or had soaked the rushes three times will make penance during the six prayers in the evening. 'fter the six prayers, when everybody separates to go to sleep, no one will be allowed to leave their cell, except in case of necessity. When a brother had slept in the 2ord, the community of the brothers will accompany him. #o one will stay at the monastery without the order of their chairman. #o one will chant but the one that had been told to do it. #o one will add any other psalm to the one that he finished reciting without the approval of their superior. !n the case of a duel, they will not chant by two; they will not take the garment of linen. "o not let any brother restrain from replying to the one that chants, but every brother will be in concord in the same position and at unison. The one that is sick during a funeral will be sustained by a servant. !n general, anywhere where the brothers are sent, the servants will go with them during the week to assist the sick, in case that any bad thing happened during the trip or in the fields. "o not let anyone march ahead of the chairman, nor the conductor of the brothers. "o not let anyone separate from their lines. !f anyone loses anything will be punished publicly before the altar; if what he lost was part of his trosseau9layette, he will be three weeks without receiving what he lost, but on the fourth week, after having made a penance, he will receive a similar effect similar to the one he lost. The one who finds any ob%ect, he will suspend it during three days before the place where the brothers celebrate the sinaxis, so that the one who recogni$es it as of his own can take it.

The chiefs of the houses will be enough to reprimand and exhort about the matters that we have indicated and established. &ut if they are before a fault that we have not anticipated, they will refer it to the father of the monastery. The father of the monastery is the only one who will %udge the matter; and it will be his decision to rule of the new cases. 'ny punishment will be fulfilled like this: the ones who suffer any correction will be without a belt and will stay standing during the great sinaxis and in the refectory. The one who has abandoned the community of the brothers and then had come back, will not return to his place, after having made penance, without the order of the superior. The same we establish for the chief of the house and the trustee9economist: if any night they leave to sleep outside, far from the brothers, but they change their mind and return to the assembly of them, they will not be allowed to enter in their houses, nor to occupy their places without the order of the superior one. <ay the brothers be seriously compelled to review among them all of the teachings that they have listened to in the common meeting, do this mainly on the days of fasting in which their chairmen teach the catechesis. The new arrivals to the monastery will be taught first of all about what they have to observe; then after this first instruction and they has accepted everything, they will be told to learn twenty psalms, or two epistles of the 'postle, or a part of another book from cripture. !f he is illiterate, he will go, at the first, third and sixth hour, to meet the one who can teach him and was assigned for that. He will keep standing before him and will learn with the greatest attention and gratitude. #ext to that, he will write the letters and syllables, the verbs and nouns, and will be forced to read even if he refuses to do it. !n general, no one at the monastery will stay without being able to read or memori$e something from cripture, at least the #ew Testament and the +salter. "o not let anyone find excuses for not going to the sinaxis, to the chanting or the prayer. They will not skip the prayer time and chanting time for any reason, even if they are sailing or at the monastery, or in the fields or on their way. 2et1s talk finally about the monastery of the virgins. "o not let anyone visit them, unless she has their mother there, or a sister, or a daughter, relatives or cousins or the mother of his children. !f it is necessary that those who had not ,uit the world, nor entered the monastery see the virgins, a necessity caused by the death of the father (whose inheritance they have the right to have), or rather by other un,uestionable reason, they will send the visitors to a man of age and proven virtue. They will see her together and will return. Therefore, let anyone go to see the virgins, except those who we have mentioned above. 'nd when they go to visit them, they will first of all let the father of the monastery know. This one will send them to the elders who have received the ministry of the virgins.

The elders will go with them to visit the virgins whom they need to see, with all of the discipline that the fear of 8od demands. When they see them they will not talk about secular things. 'nyone who breaks any of these dispositions will make public penance without any delay, due to their negligence and contempt, to be able to enter possession of the kingdom of heaven. The trustee9economist should take care of not losing any ob%ect in the monastery, nor any ob%ect in any of the offices where the brothers work. !f they lose or destroy something by negligence, the father of the monastery will reprimand the one responsible for that service, who at the same time, will reprimand the one who lost the ob%ect in ,uestion, but this will be done only by the will and determination of his superior, because without his order, no one will have the power to reprimand a brother. !f they find a piece of clothing exposed to the sun for three days, the one who was using that piece of clothing will be reprimanded, and will make public penance during the sinaxis and will remain standing in the refectory. (...) !f anyone looses a skin of goat, or shoes or a belt, or another effect, he will be reprimanded. !f anyone took something that is not their own, they will put it on his back, he will make penance publicly in the sinaxis and will remain standing in the refectory. !f they find anyone that is doing anything whispering or is against the order of a superior, will be lectured according to the measure of his sin. !f it is stated that a brother lies or hates someone, or it is proved that he is disobedient, that he is given to telling %okes more than what convenient, that he is la$y, or that he has hard words or the habit of whispering about his brothers or strangers 9 things absolutely contrary to the rule of cripture and to the monastic discipline 9, the father of the monastery will %udge him and will punish him according to the gravity and the kind of the sin that he has committed. When an item has been lost on the way, in the fields or in the monastery, the chief of the house will be responsible of that fault and put under reprimand if during three days he did not inform the father of the monastery. He will make public penance according to the established way. !f a brother flees and his chairman does not let the father of the monastery know til after three hours, the chairman will be considered as guilty of the lost, unless he finds him. This will be the punishment that the person who lost one of the brothers will suffer: during three days he will make penance publicly. &ut if he came up to the father of the monastery when this brother fled, he will not be responsible for that. !f a chairman, having stated about a loss in the house, did not admonish the guilty one and did not come up to the father of the monastery, he will be put under the expected penance. !n the afternoon, they will pray in each house the six prayers and the six psalms, according to the rite of the sinaxis that all of the brothers celebrate in common. The chairmen will give two conferences each week. "o not let anyone at the house do anything without the order of the chairman.

!f the brothers of the same house state that their chairman is very negligent, that he reprimands the brothers with hardness, exceeding the measure observed in the monastery, they will tell the father of the monastery who will reprimand him. !n principle, the chairman will not do anything but what the father of the monastery has told him to do, mainly in the area of the innovations, because, for the habitual matters, will be rely on the rules of the monastery. The chairman is not supposed to get drunk (0ph. >,4?) He cannot sit in the most humble places, close to where they place the supplies of the monastery. He cannot break the bonds that 8od created in heaven so that they are respected upon the earth. He cannot be sad on the day when the 2ord saves. He is supposed to control his flesh like the rule of the saints (:om. ?:45) He cannot sit in the most honorable seats, as it is habitual among the gentiles. (2k. 4@:?). His faith should be without fluctuation. He should not follow the thoughts of his heart but the law of 8od. He should not oppose the superior authorities with a prideful spirit (:om. 45:A) He should not get angry or impatient with the weakest. He should not cross over the limits ("t. A6:46) He should not feed his spirit with fraudulent9deceitful thoughts. He should not neglect the sin of his soul. He should not let himself be overcome by the lust of the flesh (8al. >:4B) He should not walk in la$iness. He should not hurry to pronounce idle words (<t. 4A:5C). He should not put bows on the feet of the blind (2ev. 4B:4@) He should not teach his soul voluptuousness. He should not let himself be dissipated by the laughter of the fool or by %oking. He should not let anyone influence his heart by using flattering words and sugar coating the truth. He should not let people win him over by gifts (0x. A5:?) He should not allow himself to be seduced by the word of children. He should not be troubled by trials (A =or. @:?) He should not fear death, but 8od (<t. 4D:A?) The fear of an imminent danger should not make him sin. He should not abandon the true light for a little bit of food. He should not hesitate or be undecided in his actions. He should not be versatile in his language; his decisions should be firm and founded; he should be %ust, cautious, one that %udges according to the truth without expecting his glory, he should show before 8od and men %ust as he is, moved away from all fraud. He should not ignore the conduct of the saints and should not be blind before their science. He should not hurt anyone by selfishness. He should not let himself be carried away by the concupiscence of the eyes. He should not be dominated by the ardor of the vices. He should never walk ahead of the truth. He should hate in%ustice.

He should not show preferential treatment in his %udgments, because of the gifts that they may give him. He should not condemn pride an innocent out of pride. He should not have fun with children. He should not abandon the truth under the empire of fear. He should not eat bread that he has obtained by lying. He should not covet other peoplesE land. He should not put pressure over a soul to undress others. He should not look away from the one who has need of mercy. He should not give false testimony, seduced by the profit. (0x. AD:4C) He should not lie because of pride. He should not sustain anything that is contrary to the truth by exaltation of his heart. He should not abandon %ustice by fatigue, he should not lose his soul for human respect. He should not put his attention in the delicacies of a sumptuous table. He should not desire beautiful clothing. He should not neglect to always consult the elders to be able to discern his thoughts. He should not get drunk with wine, he should put humbleness together with the truth. When he %udges he should follow the precepts of the elders and the law of 8od, preached in the whole world. !f the chief of the house violates one of this precepts, they will use him the measure that he used (<t. 6:A) and he will be repaid according to his deeds, because he committed adultery with the log and the stone (3n. 5:B), because the shine of the gold and the gloss of silver made him abandon his duties of administrating %ustice, and the desire of a temporary profit made him fall in the trap of the wicked. The punishment of Heli and his descendants will reach that man ( amuel @:?), the curse of "oeg (+salm >4) he implored against "avid; he will take the sign with which =ain was marked (8en. @:4>), he will have the funeral worthy of a donkey, as 3eremiah says (AA:4B), that because of the perdition he will deserve the fate of the sinners (the ones who were swallowed by the earth); he would be broken by the fountain of waters like a pitcher (0cl. 4A:C), and will be beaten like the sands of the coast, beaten by the brackish waves, he will be broken by the dominating scepter that !saiah talks about (4@:>) and he will stay blind, obligated to estimate the walls with his hand (!s. >B:4D) 'll of these calamities will come upon him if he does not observe the truth of his %udgments and if he builds with ini,uity in everything that constitutes the work he received -from the elders to work on..

Prescriptions and Sentences also from our Father Pachomius The fullness of the law is charity; for us that know which times we are living in, it is the time for us to wake up from sleep, salvation is much closer to us than when we began to believe. The night is almost over and the daylight is near, so let us discard the works of darkness (:om 45:4D9AD): discussions, murmuring, hatred and pride that inflates the heart (8al >:AD).

!f a brother, ,uick to defame and say whatever is not true is surprised in flagrant crime, they will warn him twice. !f he refuses with contempt to listen to the observations, he will be separated from the community of the brothers for seven days and will not have more food than bread and water until he commits himself formally to abandon his vice and proves it (because of his behavior), then he will be forgiven. !f a choleric and violent brother gets upset often without a reason because of things that do not have any importance, he will be rebuked six times. The seventh time he will be told to get up from the place where he usually sits and will be placed between the last people. 2ike that, he will learn to purify himself from that disorder of his soul. When he can present three sure witnesses that promise in their names that he will not do anything like that, he will recover his position. &ut if he perseveres in the vice, he will remain among the last ones. Then he will have lost his former rank. That one who desires to impute something false to another to oppress somebody innocent will receive three warnings, then he will be considered guilty of sin, whether he is among the most prominent or among the most humble. Whoever has the hateful vice of deceiving his brothers by using perverting words with the simple ones he will be warned three times: if he gives proofs of his sin, is obstinate and persevering in hardness of his heart, he will be put apart outside the monastery and he will be beaten with twigs at the door. Then they will take him food, but only bread and water, until he purifies his spots. !f a brother has the habit of whispering or lamenting himself, with the excuse that he is overwhelmed by a heavy load, he will be told up to five times that he whispers without a reason and they will make reality clear to him. !f after this he disobeys, and if this is an adult, they will consider him sick and they will install him at the infirmary, he will eat there as an unemployed person until he returns to reality. &ut if his laments are %ustified and he has been oppressed with wickedness by his superior, this one, that has induced him to sin, will be under the same punishment. !f anyone is disobedient, stubborn, contradictory or a liar, if he is an adult, he will be warned ten times to get rid of his vices. !f he will not listen, he will be reprimanded depending on the rules of the monastery. &ut if he falls in his sins for the lack of another person and if this is proven, the guilty one will be the one who was the cause of the sin of his brother. !f a brother is fond of laughing andFor playing freely with children; if he has a friendship with the younger ones, he will be warned three times that he should break those ties and remember the honor and fear of 8od. !f he does not abandon such behaviour, he will be lectured as he deserves, with the most severe punishment. The ones who underestimate the precepts of the elders and the rules of the monastery (that have been established by the order of 8od), and the ones who do not pay attention of the warnings of the elders, will be punished according to the established form until they correct themselves. !f the one that %udges concerning the sins abandons the truth with perversity of spirit or by negligence, twenty, ten or even five holy men who are fearful of 8od, accredited by the testimony of all of the brothers, will sit to %udge him and will degrade him; and he will be assigned the last place until he reforms himself.

The one who troubles the hearts of the brothers and has a ,uick word to seed discords and ,uarrels will be warned ten times, and if he does not reform himself, he will be punished according to the rule of the monastery until he corrects himself. !f a superior or a chairman, seeing one of his brothers on trial, refuses to seek the cause and in doing so disvalues him, the aforesaid %udges will put in the clear the matter between the brother and the chairman. !f they find out that the brother has been oppressed by the negligence or the selfishness of the chairman and this one takes his decisions not according to the truth but according to people, they will degrade his rank for not having taken into consideration the truth but instead taking into consideration people and for having made himself a slave of the vileness of his heart before the %udgment of 8od. !f anyone promised to keep the rules of the monastery, he started to practice them and then he abandoned them only to immediately return to them, repentant, excusing himself on the pretext that the weakness of his body did not allow him to carry on with what he had promised, they will place him among the sick brothers, until he fulfills what he has promised, after having made penance. !f in the house, the children give themselves to the idleness without effective punishments, the chairman himself will admonish them and punish them for thirty days. !f he states that they persevere in their wrong dispositions and discovers any sin but does not inform the father of the monastery, he himself, in his place, will be put under a proportional punishment to the sin that he discovered. The one who %udges un%ustly will be punished by the others due to his in%ustice. !f one, two or three brothers have been scandali$ed by any thing and leave their house but return afterwards, they will in,uire what has scandali$ed them and when they have discovered the guilty one, they will correct him according to the rules of the monastery. The one that becomes an accomplice with the ones who sin and defends a brother who has committed any fault, he will be cursed by 8od and the men, and will be punished with the most severe correction. !f he has let himself be taken by ignorance, without thinking that he was actually doing that, he will be forgiven. !n the beginning, all the ones who sin by ignorance will obtain forgiveness easily, but the one who sins with knowledge will be put under a punishment proportional to his action. Prescriptions and "a s of our Father Pachomius concernin# the si& Pra%ers of the e'enin# and the Sina&is of Si& Pra%ers that are cele!rated in each house The chief of the house and his second in command would weave twenty five armfuls of palm leaves so that everybody else will ad%ust their work to follow their examples. !f they are absent at that moment, the one who replaces them will be applied to fulfill this measurement of work. The brothers should go to the sinaxis after having been summoned; before the signal, no one will leave their cell. !f anyone transgresses these prescriptions he will receive the usual reprimand. /ou should not force the brothers to work more than they really need to; a task exactly measured to stimulate everybody at work is all that is needed; and the peace and concord will reign among them; if you follow this rule they will submit gladly to their superiors whether they are seated, walking or standing in their places and together they will compete in humility.

!n the presence of any sin all of the fathers of the monasteries will be able and should reprimand and set the deserved correction. The chief of the house and his second in command will only have the right to obligate the brothers to submit to penance (by the individual sins) in the sinaxis of the house and at the great sinaxis, namely the one that all of the brothers celebrate. !f a chairman has gone on a trip, his second in command will occupy his place to receive the penances of the brothers as well as for anything that is necessary at the house. !f in the absence of the chairman and his second somebody comes to another house, to another brother of another house, to borrow a book or any other ob%ect, and if such thing is proven, he will be rebuked according to the rule of the monastery. The one who wants to live without fault and without contempt in the house that has been assigned to him will have to observe before 8od everything that has been prescribed. When the chief of the house is busy, the second in command will provide everything necessary in the monastery and at the fields. The supreme happiness is to celebrate the six prayers in the evening upon the model of the great sinaxis that reunites all of the brothers at the same time; it is celebrated with so much %oy that the brothers do not find anything shameful in it nor experience any misfortune. !f anyone has endured the heat and comes in from outdoors at the moment when the other brothers are celebrating the prayers, he will not be obligated to attend if his situation allows it. When the chiefs of the house instruct the brothers about the way to have a holy life (in the community), no one will restrain from attending without having a good reason. The elders that are sent outside with the brothers will have, during the time that they spent outside, the powers of the chairmen and will determine all of the things by their own initiative. They will give the catechesis to the brothers all of the set days, and if it happens that there is some rivalry and competition the brothers, the elders will be the ones to listen and to %udge about the matter; they will reprimand the guilty one and the brothers who receive their orders will receive peace with all of their hearts. !f any of the brothers experiences resentment against the chief of the house, or the same chairman has any complaint against a brother, those brothers of observance and solid faith should listen and %udge about their matters. !f the father of the monastery is absent and if he has left for a short period of time, they will wait for him, but if they see that his absence is prolonged for some more time, then they will hear the chairman and the brother for fear that a long time of waiting will be the cause of a deeper resentment. The chairman and the brother, as well as the ones who listen, need to do according to all that the fear of 8od re,uires and to not give occasion to discord. !n the area of clothing, if anyone has more clothes than what the rule authori$e, he will send it to the one that keeps it in the clothing room without waiting for a warning from their superior and will not be able to go to ask for it because those articles will be at the disposition of the chairman and his second in command.