Anthony the Great
c. 251 – 356 · Coma, Egypt
Also known as Antony of Egypt · Antonius · Anthony the Abbot
Feast: 17 January
Father of Christian monasticism; Egyptian hermit whose life was written by Athanasius. Withdrew to the desert c. 285 and helped pattern the eremitic life.
Anthony went into the Egyptian desert around AD 270 to be alone with God, and against his intention started a movement. Within fifty years there were thousands of monks living in cells in the desert, and the church had a new option besides bishop or martyr: monk. Athanasius's Life of Antony made him famous across the empire — Augustine read it and converted partly because of it. Every Christian monastic tradition, East and West, traces back to one Egyptian peasant who decided to live alone with God.
Notable works
- ·Sayings of the Desert Fathers · 300
Primary sources
- ·Athanasius, Vita Antonii
- ·Jerome, De Viris Illustribus 88
- ·Apophthegmata Patrum (Anthony)
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