St Anthony the Great

The Feast of St Anthony the Great is celebrated on 17 January. He lived in Egypt where at the time Christianity was flourishing. We learn about St Anthony from an account given by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. He was born around 251AD and lived a long life. Athanasius writes:

 “Anthony was born in a devout Christian family. His parents died leaving for him a little sister, which he took good care of. He heard one day the words of the Gospel (Mt. 19:21): ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ This word penetrated Anthony’s heart and changed his life. He sold his portion of his family’s wealth and distributed it to the needy and churches, after he gave to his sister her portion. Then he left the world, and went on visiting the hermits, spending his time in prayer, meditation, and reading the Sacred Scripture.”

St Anthony gave away all his possessions and withdrew to a cave near his village to live in absolute solitude. It was during the solitude that he was faced with great spiritual temptation from the devil and spent many years fighting the temptation with prayer and fasting.

After some time, people came to visit him seeking advice, healing and aspiring to live in his way. By the beginning of the fourth century, St Anthony started providing guidance to a community of hermits that that had grown around him and which established him a father of the monastics. He provided spiritual and practical advice to the disciples.

While St Anthony was probably not the first Christian monk, the legacy of the monastery that grew in the Egyptian desert around him and the inspiration of his great story inspired generations of monastics throughout the East. St Anthony taught that evil could be overcome through the prayer and with the sign of the cross.

Let us always remember during those times of our greatest despair and when we struggle even to pray, to make the sign of the cross and remember Gods greatest gift to us, the gift of salvation!