Institutional Christian monasticism seems to have begun in the deserts in fourth century Egypt as a kind of living martyrdom.
Scholars such as Lester K. Little attribute the rise of monasticism at this time to the immense changes in the church that had been brought about by Constantine the Great's acceptance of Christianity as the main religion of the Roman Empire.
[citation needed] Many Egyptian Christians went to the desert during the third century, and remained there to pray and work and dedicate their lives to seclusion and worship of God.
This was the beginning of the monastic movement, which was organized by Anthony, the world's first anchorite Macarius of Alexandria, and Pachomius in the fourth century.
[citation needed] Pachomius established his first monastery between 318 and 323 at Tabenna, Egypt, and when it grew too large, his second one, Pbow, was built in Fāw Qiblī.
Within a generation after his death, this number grew to 7000 and then expanding out of Egypt into Palestine and the Judaean Desert, Syria, North Africa and eventually Western Europe.
All Christian monasticism stems, either directly or indirectly, from the Egyptian example: Saint Basil the Great Archbishop of Caesaria of Cappadocia, founder and organizer of the monastic movement in Asia Minor, visited Egypt around 357 AD and his rule is followed by the Eastern Orthodox Churches; Saint Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin, came to Egypt, while en route to Jerusalem, around 400 AD and left details of his experiences in his letters; Benedict founded the Benedictine Order in the 6th century on the model of Saint Pachomius, but in a stricter form.
[citation needed] The Great Schema is made of a leather cord twisted in design and has five to seven small crosses along its length.