Stephen of Thebes

Although virtually nothing is known about his life and he is scarcely studied in recent times, his works were once widely disseminated, translated and excerpted.

[1] His writings belong to the same Nitrian literary milieu as the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and the works of Evagrius Ponticus.

[2] Stephen's writings stress the close relationship between the ascetic and his cell, which is typical of the quasi-anchoritic Nitrian asceticism.

Ibn Kabar, in his Lamp of Darkness, written in Arabic, places the annual remembrance of Stephen the Anchorite on Pashons 17 (May 7).

Two are certainly by him: In addition, Georg Graf assigned a sermon On Penitence, found only in Arabic in six manuscripts, to Stephen of Thebes.

A copy (dated 1493) of an Arabic epitome of Stephen's Sermo asceticus . The text is in Syriac script and the red text ( rubric ) marks the start of the work.