Saint John of Choziba, originally known as John of Thebes, was a monk who was born in Egypt around the year 440–450 CE. He abandoned

monophysitism Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the incarn ...

around 480 and moved to

Wadi Qelt Wadi Qelt ( ar, وادي القلط‎; Qelt is also spelled Qilt and Kelt, sometimes with the Arabic article, el- or al-), in Hebrew Nahal Prat ( he, נחל פרת), formerly Naḥal Faran (Pharan brook), is a valley, riverine gulch or strea ...

, a

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

in the

Judaean Desert The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( he, מִדְבַּר יְהוּדָה, Midbar Yehuda}, both ''Desert of Judah'' or ''Judaean Desert''; ar, صحراء يهودا, Sahraa' Yahuda) is a desert in Palestine and Israel that lies east of Jerusa ...

, where he reorganized the existing

lavra A lavra or laura ( el, Λαύρα; Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. It is erected within the Orthodox and other Eastern Chr ...

into a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

known as the monastery of Choziba. In 516, he became

Bishop of Caesarea The archiepiscopal see of Caesarea in Palaestina, also known as Caesarea Maritima, is now a metropolitan see of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and also a titular see of the Catholic Church. It was one of the earliest Christian bish ...

, but soon resigned and returned to the monastery of Choziba, where he died between 520 and 530. He has been

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

as Saint John of Choziba.

References

440s births 520s deaths 5th-century Byzantine monks 6th-century Byzantine monks 5th-century Egyptian people 6th-century Egyptian people 6th-century Syrian bishops 6th-century Christian saints Saints from the Holy Land Bishops of Caesarea {{saint-stub