Saint Anthony the Great

From the Coptic Synaxarium -- 22 Tubah

St. Anthony the Great, the star of the wilderness, and the father of all the monks, was born in the year 251 A.D. in the city of Qimn El-Arouse, to rich parents who loved the church and the poor. They raised him up in the fear of the Lord. When he was twenty years old, his parents departed, and he had to take care of his sister. Once, he entered the church, and he heard thewords of Christ in the gospel, saying, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven: and come, follow Me." (Matthew 19:21).

He returned to his house, decided to fulfill this commandment and considered it directed to him personally. He gave his wealth to the poor and needy, and he took his sister and placed her with some virgins. At that time, monasticism had not yet been established. All those who wanted to live a solitary life went and lived on the outskirts of the city. This was what St. Anthony did as he dwelt alone, worshipping and living an ascetic life.

The devil fought him there by afflicting him with boredom, laziness, and the phantoms of women. He overcame the devil's snares by the power of Jesus Christ. After that, he went to one of the tombs, and he resided therein and closed the door on himself. Some of his friends used to bring him food. When the devil perceived his ascetic life and his intense wor-ship, he was envious of him, and he beat him mercilessly, then left him unconscious. When his friends came to visit him and found him in this condition, they carried him to the church. After slightly recovering, he went back to the same place. The devil again resumed his war against him, only this time the phantoms were in the form of wild beasts, wolves, lions, snakes and scorpions. They appeared as if they were about to attack him or cut him into pieces. But the saint would laugh them to scorn saying, "If any of you have any authority over me, only one would have been sufficient to fight me." At his saying this, they disappeared as though in smoke. God gave him the victory over the devils. He was always singing this psalm, "Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also who hate Him flee before Him." (Psalms 68:1)

He used to prepare a quantity of bread that would sustain him for six months. He did not allow anyone to enter his cell, and whoever came to him, stood outside and listened to his advice. He continued in this condition of solitary worship for twenty years. Then by God's command, he went to Fayyoum and confirmed the brethren there in the faith, then returned to his monastery.

During the time of persecution, he longed to become a martyr. He left his monastery and went to Alexandria. He visited those who were imprisoned for the sake of Christ and comforted them. When the governor saw that he was confessing the Lord Christ publicly, not caring what might happen to him, he ordered him not to show up in. the city. However, the saint did not heed his threats. He faced him and argued with him in order that he might arouse his anger and cause him to inflict pain upon him and he would therefore be tortured and become a martyr. But God preserved him all along, according to His will, for the benefit of many, and so the governor left him alone. Then the saint went back to his monastery, and many came to hear his teachings. He saw that this would keep him away from worship. As a result, he went far away to the eastern desert. He travelled with some bedouins to the inner wilderness; that took three days. He found a well and some palm trees and that is where he chose to settle. At this spot is the monastery of St. Anthony the Great now. The bedouins came to him with bread, and the Lord drove away all the wild beasts from this place, for his sake.

On occasions, he would go to the monastery on the outskirts of the desert by the Nile to visit the brethren, then return to his inner monastery. His fame spread abroad and it reached Emperor Constantine. The emperor wrote him, offering him praise and asking him to pray for him. The brethren were pleased with the emperor's letter, but St. Anthony did not pay any attention to it, and he said to them, "The books of God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, commands us everyday, but we do not heed what they tell us, and we turn our backs on them." Under the persistence of the brethren who told him, "Emperor Constan-tine loves the church," he accepted to write him a letter blessing him, and praying for the peace and safety of the empire and the church.

One time, he was bored, and he heard a voice telling him, "Go out and see." He went out and saw an angel who wore a tunic with a cross, one resembling the tunic of monks (E1-Eskiem), and on his head was a head cover (Kolansowa). He was sitting while braiding palm leaves, then he stood up to pray, and again he sat to weave again. A voice came to him saying, "Anthony, do this and you will rest." Henceforth, he started to wear this tunic that he saw, and began to weave palm leaves, and never got bored again.

St. Anthony predicted the persecution that was about to happen to the church and the control of the heretics over it, and the church's recovery, and the end of the age. When he was visited by St. Macarius, he clothed him with the monk's garb, and he told him, in advance, what would happen to him.

When the day of the departure of St. Paul, the first hermit in the desert, drew near, St. Anthony went to him. St. Anthony buried St. Paul the hermit after he had clothed him in a tunic which was a present from St. Athanasius the Apostolic, the twentieth Pope of Alexandria.

When St. Anthony felt that the day of his departure had approached, he commanded his disciple to hide his body and to give his staff to St. Macarius, and to give the sheepskin cloak to St. Athanasius, and his other sheepskin cloak to Anba Serapion his disciple. He stretched himself on the ground and gave up his spirit. The angels and the saints took his spirit and carried it to the place of perpetual rest. This saint lived for one hundred and five years, struggling in the way of holiness and purity.

May his prayers be with us all and Glory be to God forever. Amen.



For more on the life of St. Anthony the Great see, "The Life of Antony" by St. Athanasius in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers collection at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library:  http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xvi.ii.i.html