Isidore of Alexandria

Venerable Isidore of Alexandria was born in 319 in Alexandria in Egypt and was a disciple of Venerable Anthony the Great and a fellow ascetic of Venerable Macarius. He went with Saint Athanasius to Rome and from there set out with Saint Melania for the desert of Egypt. He was distinguished by gentleness and, besides the gift of tears, by the ease with which he fell into ecstasy even while eating. With the Desert Fathers Macarius and Pambo he rebuked the monk who was not unacquisitive: "May your silver go with you to perdition."

He suffered much from Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria, who at first wanted to make him a bishop and then drove him out not only from the Church of Alexandria but also from the desert where he struggled. The venerable father, with his monk disciples, then sought the protection of Saint John Chrysostom. He fell asleep in peace in 404.