# Saint Patermuthius

Source: https://coptic-lore-forge.lovable.app/wiki/saint-patermuthius — Coptic Orthodox Wiki (updated 2026-10-03)

Saint Patermuthius was a desert father from Oxyrhynchus, also known as Dermatawus or Termoute, commemorated on 7 Kiyahk. He taught a group of disciples to cultivate purity, fear of God, freedom from jealousy, and mutual love. His commemoration is documented at several Egyptian monastic sites.

## Overview

**Saint Patermuthius** was a desert father, also known as **Dermatawus** and **Termoute**, whose feast day is **7 Kiyahk**. The dedicated entry in *The Coptic Encyclopedia* identifies him as a native of Oxyrhynchus and a teacher with a group of disciples; its shorter listing likewise identifies Patermuthius, or Termoute, as a desert father commemorated on that date.[^1][^2][^3]

## History and origins

Patermuthius came from **Oxyrhynchus**, for which the account also gives the names **Pemdje** and **al-Bahnasa**. His place of origin must be distinguished from his monastic residence: the encyclopedia explicitly states that it is not known where he lived as a monk.[^2]

The account nevertheless preserves an important feature of his monastic life: he had a group of disciples whom he exhorted in the spiritual life. It therefore presents him not simply as an individual ascetic, but as a teacher whose instruction addressed the conduct of others.[^3]

## Theology and meaning

The teaching attributed to Patermuthius comprises four closely related concerns: **purity**, **fear of God**, **abstention from jealousy**, and **love of one another**. These are presented as the subjects of his exhortations to his disciples, rather than as a separately titled written work.[^3]

His instruction joins personal spiritual discipline with responsibility toward others. Purity and fear of God stand alongside the rejection of jealousy and the positive obligation of mutual love; the preserved summary thus gives interpersonal conduct a place within his ascetic teaching, rather than describing asceticism only in terms of individual restraint.[^3]

## Liturgical and practical use

### Feast day

Both the dedicated article and the shorter notice in *The Coptic Encyclopedia* assign Patermuthius the feast day of **7 Kiyahk**. The shorter notice uses the alternative name Termoute, while the dedicated article opens with Dermatawus, but the date and identification as a desert father agree.[^1][^2]

### Monastic commemoration

Patermuthius was celebrated at **Dayr Anba Shinudah**, the White Monastery. The evidence cited for his celebration there consists of several *typika*, including material in the Institut français d’Archéologie orientale, identified as “Coptic, n.p.,” and Paris, National Library, **Copt. 12920, folios 166r and 171v**.[^5][^6]

His commemoration was also observed by the monks of **Dayr Apa Apollo at Bawit**, at **Saqqara**, and in the **hermitages of Isna**. These notices establish that his remembrance extended across several monastic settings; they should not be treated as evidence that he personally resided at those places, since the same account leaves his monastic residence unknown.[^2][^7]

## Texts and terminology

### Patermuthius, Dermatawus, and Termoute

The dedicated encyclopedia article supplies **Dermatawus** as an alternative name and explains the form **Termoute** through the transmission of the Copto-Arabic Synaxarion. In its Upper Egyptian recension, the saint’s name was abridged because its first syllable resembled the title **Apa**.[^2][^4]

This explanation makes Termoute a shortened form of the same saint’s name within a particular textual tradition. The encyclopedia’s index reinforces that identification by directing readers from “Termoute” to “Patermuthius, Saint.”[^4][^8]

### Documentary and bibliographical record

Patermuthius appears under his own name in the encyclopedia’s introductory list and its list of articles. The dedicated entry, written by **René-Georges Coquin**, brings together his origin, disciples, teaching, name variants, feast day, and evidence of monastic commemoration.[^2][^3][^4][^5][^7][^9]

Its bibliography identifies two further publications: volume 4 of S. Sauneron’s *The Christian Hermitages of the Desert of Esna*, in *Fouilles de l’Institut français d’Archéologie orientale* 29/4, and H. Thompson’s “The Coptic Inscriptions,” included in J. E. Quibell’s edited *Excavations at Saqqara (1908–1909)*, published in Cairo in **1912**.[^10]

## Variations and regional traditions

The evidence preserves two distinct regional dimensions of Patermuthius’s remembrance: a shortened name in the Upper Egyptian Synaxarion tradition and commemoration at several monastic sites. Together, these show how his identity was transmitted through both a regional textual form and local observance, while the uncertainty about his own monastic residence remains unresolved.[^2][^4][^5][^7]

## Frequently asked questions

**Who was Saint Patermuthius?**
Saint Patermuthius was a desert father from Oxyrhynchus, also called Pemdje or al-Bahnasa. He had a group of disciples whom he instructed in purity, fear of God, abstention from jealousy, and love of one another.

**When is Saint Patermuthius's feast day?**
His feast day is 7 Kiyahk.

**Why is Saint Patermuthius also called Termoute?**
The Upper Egyptian recension of the Copto-Arabic Synaxarion abridged his name to Termoute because its first syllable resembled the title Apa. Dermatawus is another name given for him.

**Where did Saint Patermuthius live as a monk?**
His monastic residence is not known. His commemoration is documented at Dayr Anba Shinudah, Dayr Apa Apollo at Bawit, Saqqara, and the hermitages of Isna.

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 132)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 520)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 520)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 520)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 520)
[^6]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 821)
[^7]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 520)
[^8]: The Coptic Encyclopedia — Index, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 429)
[^9]: The Coptic Encyclopedia — List of Articles, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 53)
[^10]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 520)
[^11]: The Coptic Encyclopedia — Introduction, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 19)
[^12]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 520)