After five years spent in Pharan, (the Great Euthymius) went out to (the desert of) Koutila with the blessed Theoctistus, at their customary time <on 14 January 411>, and, passing through the desert, they came upon a fearsome ravine, very deep and inaccessible. As they examined the place and explored the over-hanging cliffs all around, as though guided by God, they found a great and wonderful cave on the northern cliff of the ravine. Then, dangerously scaling the steep face (of the rock), they manage with difficulty to climb up there, and overjoyed, as though this cave had been made ready for them by God himself, they settled in it, feeding on whatever herbs they found. That cavern had been a den of wild beasts before (their arrival), but, reclaimed by the divine hymns and unceasing prayers of the two saintly men, it received the sanctity of a church of God.
(transl. Leah di Segni)