 Euthymius was educated by Bishop Otreius of Melitene, who afterwards ordained him and placed him in charge of all the monasteries in the Diocese of Melitene.At about thirty years of age he secretly set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and remained for some time in a cave near a settlement of monks at a "laura" called Pharan, about six miles east of Jerusalem, at Ein Fara in Wadi Kelt.In 411, Euthymius withdrew into the wilderness with a fellow-hermit, Saint Theoctistus (see below), living in a rough cavern on the banks of a torrent.