Macarius' piety, he ordained him a priest. Later, Macarius was accused by a village woman of impregnating her. He did not defend himself, but the woman had a difficult labor and did not deliver until she confessed that Macarius was not the father. Following this incident, he fled to the Scetis Valley to live as a desert hermit. Soon, he began to attract followers. He sought the advice of Saint Anthony, who inspired him to become a teacher and to found a monastic community. That monastic community reflected Macarius's own thoughts on the need for solitude and contemplation and allowed monks to live for the most part separated from one another, coming together when needed for Mass on the weekends and in times of trouble. He was exiled by Emperor Valens to an island in the River Nile over a dispute about the Nicene Creed. The exile was short-lived, and he returned to his monastery where he lived until the time of his death in 391. After his death his body was stolen and brought to his home village of Shabsheer, but his remains were later taken back to the Monastery of Saint Macarius in the Scetis Valley where they remain to this day. Daily life in early Skete monasteries The Skete monastery system is thought of as a middle path of monastic life because it is a middle ground between extreme isolation that is exemplified by the anchorite eremitic lifestyle, and it is less communal than coenobitic monastic system. In the early days of the Skete monasteries there was usually a central house for communion and weekend Mass, but the monks did not live there. Instead they lived in small cells, constructed by themselves or by a communal effort with one monk bringing bricks, another mortar, another bringing water and so forth. Such a building would usually consist of two rooms, a front room for work, sleep, and receiving visitors, and another room for prayer and contemplation. An early church leader complained that some monks built larger than necessary cells, some as big as four or five rooms. Saint Macarius' cell was said to be two small rooms, but it was rumored he had a small tunnel dug in the back that led to a cave where he could escape from the throngs that came to visit him. Another style of cell was to dig into the sides of