Tall Brothers (early 5th Century)

The Tall Brothers were four brothers among the Egyptian monks of Nitria in the fifth century by the names of Ammonius, Dioscorus, Eusebius, and Euthymius.[1] They were referred to as the "Tall Brothers" because they were tall in stature and demanding in appearance.

They were famous for their strict fasting, chastity, and knowledge of the Bible. They were controversial in that they were supporters of the contested theology of Origen of Alexandria.[2]

The Tall Brothers were opposed in Alexandria by Patriarch Theophilus (the uncle of the future Saint Cyril of Alexandria).[3] The Tall Brothers subsequently fled Alexandria and were received by Saint John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople.[4] Theophilus exploited the well-known Origenism of the Tall Brothers in order to have Saint John Chrysostom condemned at the Synod of the Oak in AD 403...Tall Brothers (Wikipedia)

Fourth-century Egypt was the nerve center of that new emerging phenomenon we call monasticism. In 383, Evagrius settled in Nitria, a large cenobitic monastery at the desert's edge, some 40 miles from Alexandria. Two years later, he moved on to the more remote and more anchoritic monastic settlement of Kellia. There he spent the remaining 14 years of his life. While in Egypt, he apprenticed in the monastic life under two of the greatest of the Desert Fathers, Macarius the Alexandrian and Macarius the Egyptian. The ancient historian Socrates remarks that "Evagrius became a disciple of these men and acquired from them the philosophy of deeds, whereas before he knew only a philosophy of words."(4) Also, Evagrius joined a circle of remarkable intellectual monks known as the "Tall Brothers" (the nickname came from their unusual height). In 400, right after Evagrius's death, the Tall Brothers found themselves branded as "Origenists" and chased out of Egypt by Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria. They appealed their case to John Chrysostom, a move that precipitated John's eventual tragic downfall...1st-5th century AD...by William Harmless, Raymond R. Fitzgerald

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