Pachomius founded Christian community monasticism which was different to the solitary form of hermits practiced by St.Anthony of Egypt. Pachomius came from a relatively wealthy family from upper Egypt and served in the Roman army before becoming a Christian. He founded a monastery at Tabennesi, on the west bank of the Nile in Egypt. Recruits came from many places. The monks had to work at agriculture and basic crafts including mat making, weaving and pottery to earn a modest living. There was a central church and kitchen to serve the whole monastery and an infirmary with its own kitchen. Life was simple and austere, with one main meal a day.

The day was organised around liturgical observance, inter spread with manual work and devotional reading. The psalms were often repeated, just as their repetition still forms the basis of the daily monastic office today. Pachomius wrote a rule for the monastery, containing 2500 quotations from the bible. The movement grew rapidly and by the time of his death there were 9 such monasteries for men and 3 for women.