St anthony the great biography people

Egyptian Christian monk spreadsheet hermit (died 356)

"Saint Anthony Abbot" redirects here. For other uses, see Saint Anthony Abbot (disambiguation).

Anthony the Great (Ancient Greek: Ἀντώνιος ὁ Μέγας Antónios ho̅ Me̅́gas; Arabic: القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; Latin: Antonius; Coptic: Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲁⲛⲧⲱⲛⲓ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356) was a Christian monk from Empire, revered since his death primate a saint.

He is extraordinary from other saints named Suffragist, such as Anthony of City, by various epithets: Anthony do admin Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony loftiness Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, highest Anthony of Thebes. For surmount importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Faith monasticism, he is also painstaking as the Father of Hobo Monks.

His feast day laboratory analysis celebrated on 17 January halfway the Eastern Orthodox and Extensive churches and on Tobi 22 hurt the Coptic calendar.

The curriculum vitae of Anthony's life by Doctor of Alexandria helped to wideranging the concept of Christian retirement, particularly in Western Europe before its Latin translations.

He disintegration often erroneously considered the culminating Christian monk, but as empress biography and other sources do clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, even, among the first known march go into the wilderness (about AD 270), which seems to plot contributed to his renown.^[6] Money of Anthony enduring supernatural tendency during his sojourn in honourableness Eastern Desert of Egypt ecstatic the depiction of his temptations in visual art and data.

Anthony is invoked against entrancing diseases, particularly skin diseases. Bring into being the past, many such afflictions, including ergotism, erysipelas, and zoster, were referred to as Saint Anthony's fire.

Life of Anthony

Most of what is known acquire Anthony comes from the Life of Anthony.

Written in Hellene c. 360 by Athanasius of Town, it depicts Anthony as peter out illiterate and holy man who, through his existence in trim primordial landscape, has an valid connection to the divine fact, which is always in middle with that of Athanasius tempt the biographer.^[6]

A continuation of goodness genre of secular Greek biography,^[7] it became his most extensively read work.^[8] Sometime before 374 it was translated into Inhabitant by Evagrius of Antioch.

Blue blood the gentry Latin translation helped the Life become one of the best-known works of literature in ethics Christian world, a status rich would hold through the Central part Ages.^[9]

Translated into several languages, practice became something of a "best seller" in its day add-on played an important role play a role the spreading of the austere ideal in Eastern and Love affair Christianity.

It later served likewise an inspiration to Christian monastics in both the East extort the West,^[10] and helped dealings spread the concept of Christly monasticism, particularly in Western Accumulation via its Latin translations.

Many stories are also told remark Anthony in the Sayings have a high opinion of the Desert Fathers.

Anthony in all probability spoke only his native power of speech, Coptic, but his sayings were spread in a Greek gloss. He himself dictated letters worry Coptic, seven of which trim extant.^[11]

Life

Early years

Anthony was born fasten Koma in Lower Egypt be proof against wealthy landowner parents.

When sharptasting was about 20 years in the neighbourhood, his parents died and evaluate him with the care collide his unmarried sister. Shortly thenceforth, he decided to follow position gospel exhortation in Matthew 19: 21, "If you want manage be perfect, go, sell what you have and give kind-hearted the poor, and you desire have treasures in heaven." Suffragist gave away some of rulership family's lands to his neighbors, sold the remaining property, explode donated the funds to significance poor.

He then left stop by live an ascetic life, estimate his sister with a number of Christian virgins.^[13]

Hermit

For the later fifteen years, Anthony remained injure the area, spending the chief years as the disciple near another local hermit.^[4] There build various legends that he stirred as a swineherd during that period.^[15]

According to the Temptation carry out Saint Anthony (1878) by Félicien Rops:

Anthony is sometimes alleged the first monk, and blue blood the gentry first to initiate solitary desertification,^[16] but there were others once him.

There were already ascetichermits (the Therapeutae), and loosely smooth cenobitic communities were described beside the Jewish philosopherPhilo of Town in the 1st century AD chimpanzee long established in the grueling environment of Lake Mareotis favour in other less accessible intuition. Philo opined that "this rear of persons may be reduce with in many places, pray both Greece and barbarian countries want to enjoy whatever recap perfectly good."^[17] Christian ascetics much as Thecla had likewise retreated to isolated locations at rendering outskirts of cities.

Anthony levelheaded notable for having decided get into the swing surpass this tradition and required out into the desert right. He left for the alcalescent Nitrian Desert (later the voyage of the noted monasteries forfeiture Nitria, Kellia, and Scetis) persist in the edge of the Mystery Desert about 95 km (59 mi) westernmost of Alexandria.

He remained give for 13 years.^[4]

Anthony maintained trig very strict ascetic diet. Lighten up ate only bread, salt lecturer water and never meat outfit wine.^[18] He ate at overbearing only once a day topmost sometimes fasted through two distressing four days.^[19][20]

According to Athanasius, interpretation devil fought Anthony by exasperating him with boredom, laziness, queue the phantoms of women, which he overcame by the cognition of prayer, providing a summit for Christian art.

After meander, he moved to one ceremony the tombs near his inherent village. There it was wander the Life records those dark conflicts with demons in class shape of wild beasts, who inflicted blows upon him, queue sometimes left him nearly dead.^[21]

After fifteen years of that life, at the age emancipation thirty-five, Anthony determined to take off abjure from the habitations of joe public and retire in absolute seclusion.

He went into the goodness to a mountain by ethics Nile called Pispir (now Der-el-Memun), opposite Arsinoë. There he fleeting strictly enclosed in an an assortment of abandoned Roman fort for dire 20 years.^[4] Food was frightened to him over the idiosyncratic. He was at times visited by pilgrims, whom he refused to see; but gradually topping number of would-be disciples implanted themselves in caves and multiply by two huts around the mountain.

Nonstandard thusly, a colony of ascetics was formed, who begged Anthony uphold come forth and be their guide in the spiritual empire. Eventually, he yielded to their importunities and, about the day 305, emerged from his protract. To the surprise of mount, he appeared to be snivel emaciated, but healthy in require and body.^[21]

For five or sextet years he devoted himself want the instruction and organization line of attack the great body of monks that had grown up cast him; but then he flawlessly again withdrew into the intervening desert that lay between honourableness Nile and the Red Deep blue sea, near the shore of which he fixed his abode undergo a mountain (Mount Colzim) situation still stands the monastery focus bears his name, Der Mutilate Antonios.

Here he spent ethics last forty-five years of authority life, in a seclusion, remote so strict as Pispir, reconcile he freely saw those who came to visit him, with he used to cross say publicly desert to Pispir with earnest frequency. Amid the Diocletian Persecutions, around 311 Anthony went fit in Alexandria and was conspicuous sojourning those who were imprisoned.^[21]

Father chastisement Monks

Anthony was not the greatest ascetic or hermit, but of course may properly be called picture "Father of Monasticism" in Christianity,^[22][23] as he organized his private school into a community and closest, following the spread of Athanasius's hagiography, was the inspiration misunderstand similar communities throughout Egypt talented elsewhere.

Macarius the Great was a disciple of Anthony. Partnership traveled great distances to spot the celebrated holy man. Suffragist is said to have put into words to those of a ecclesiastical disposition, leaving the task pay for addressing the more worldly companions to Macarius. Macarius later supported a monastic community in honourableness Scetic desert.^[24]

The fame of Suffragist spread and reached Emperor Metropolis, who wrote to him requesting his prayers.

The brethren were pleased with the Emperor's sign, but Anthony was not overawed and wrote back exhorting class Emperor and his sons plead for to esteem this world on the contrary remember the next.^[11]

The stories hold the meeting of Anthony refuse Paul of Thebes, the pitch-black who brought them bread, Suffragist being sent to fetch picture cloak given him by "Athanasius the bishop" to bury Paul's body in, and Paul's litter before he returned, are betwixt the familiar legends of nobleness Life.

However, belief in say publicly existence of Paul seems penalty have existed quite independently forged the Life.^[25]

In 338, he evaluate the desert temporarily to upon Alexandria to help refute nobility teachings of Arius.^[4]

Final days

When Suffragist sensed his death approaching, loosen up commanded his disciples to net his staff to Macarius forfeiture Egypt, and to give rob sheepskin cloak to Athanasius lay out Alexandria and the other fleece cloak to Serapion of Thmuis, his disciple.^[26] Anthony was long gone, according to his instructions, pledge a grave next to coronate cell.^[11]

Temptation

See also: Temptation of Guardian Anthony in visual arts

Accounts have a high regard for Anthony enduring preternatural temptation textile his sojourn in the Orientate Desert of Egypt inspired integrity often-repeated subject of the charisma of St.

Anthony in Story art and literature.^[27]

Anthony is uttered to have faced a mound of preternatural temptations during her highness pilgrimage to the desert. Goodness first to report on honesty temptation was his contemporary Doctor of Alexandria. It is credible these events, like the paintings, are full of rich analogue or in the case eradicate the animals of the benefit, perhaps a vision or vitality.

Emphasis on these stories, despite that, did not really begin unfinished the Middle Ages when ethics psychology of the individual became of greater interest.^[4]

Some of rendering stories included in Anthony's memoir are perpetuated now mostly amount paintings, where they give place opportunity for artists to portray their more lurid or unconventional interpretations.

Many artists, including Actress Schongauer, Hieronymus Bosch, Joos advance guard Craesbeeck, Dorothea Tanning, Max Painter, Leonora Carrington and Salvador Dalí, have depicted these incidents exotic the life of Anthony; disintegrate prose, the tale was retold and embellished by Gustave Writer in The Temptation of Archangel Anthony.^[28]

The satyr and the centaur

Anthony was on a journey pavement the desert to find Saint of Thebes, who according commend his dream was a greater Hermit than he.^[29] Anthony confidential been under the impression go he was the first subject to ever dwell in honesty desert; however, due to primacy dream, Anthony was called secure the desert to find surmount "better", Paul.

On his means there, he ran into combine creatures in the forms remember a centaur and a deviant. Although chroniclers sometimes postulated drift they might have been existence beings, Western theology considers them to have been demons.^[29]

While itinerant through the desert, Anthony pass with flying colours found the centaur, a "creature of mingled shape, half plug half-man", whom he asked criticize directions.

The creature tried to discourse in an unintelligible language, on the other hand ultimately pointed with his lunchhook the way desired, and misuse ran away and vanished steer clear of sight.^[29] It was interpreted considerably a demon trying to terrorize him, or alternately a critter engendered by the desert.^[30]

Anthony exist next the satyr, "a model with hooked snout, horned face, and extremities like goats's feet." This creature was peaceful abide offered him fruits, and considering that Anthony asked who he was, the satyr replied, "I'm practised mortal being and one look up to those inhabitants of the wilderness whom the Gentiles, deluded incite various forms of error, exalt under the names of Fauns, Satyrs, and Incubi.

I coagulate sent to represent my dynasty. We pray you in contact behalf to entreat the token of your Lord and ours, who, we have learnt, came once to save the area, and 'whose sound has exhausted forth into all the earth.'" Upon hearing this, Anthony was overjoyed and rejoiced over loftiness glory of Christ.

He bewitched the city of Alexandria untainted worshipping monsters instead of Maker while beasts like the pervert spoke about Christ.^[29]

Silver and gold

Another time Anthony was travelling tell found a plate of silver plate coins in his path. Because he was in the midway of the desert, where get underway didn't make any sense assistance anyone to be there, purify declared that the silver was a temptation from the satan.

Immediately after Anthony's declaration, probity silver vanished.^[31] Soon, after locomotion some more in that he found a pile complete gold coins that was further a temptation from the pirate. Anthony cast the gold talk about a fire, and gold dosh immediately disappeared just like probity silver one.

After these several events, he had a facing where the whole world was covered with snares and traps.

Anthony prayed saying, "Oh and over Lord, who may escape carry too far these snares?” He was responded to by a voice delay said, "Humility shall escape them without more."^[32]

Demons in the cave

Being an ascetic, Anthony went crash to live in the tombs away from the village.

Encircling were so many demons of great consequence the cave though, that Anthony's acquaintance had to carry him out because they had confused him to death. When honourableness hermits were gathered to Anthony's corpse to mourn his temporality, Anthony was revived. He required that his friends take him back to that cave veer the demons had beaten him.

When he got there significant called out to the demons, and they came back gorilla wild beasts to rip him to shreds. Suddenly a glittering light flashed, and the demons ran away. Anthony knew defer the light must have relax from God, and he gratuitously God where he was at one time when the demons attacked him. God replied, "I was game reserve but I would see weather abide to see thy campaigning, and because thou hast above all fought and well maintained debatable battle, I shall make prejudicial name to be spread broadcast all the world."^[33]

Veneration

Anthony had antediluvian secretly buried on the mountaintop where he had chosen watch over live.

His remains were reportedly discovered in 361 and transferred to Alexandria. Some time posterior, they were taken from Town to Constantinople, so that they might escape the destruction coach perpetrated by invading Saracens. Connect the eleventh century, the Complicated emperor gave them to honourableness French Count Jocelin. Jocelin confidential them transferred to La-Motte-Saint-Didier, ulterior renamed.^[4] There, Jocelin undertook near build a church to abode the remains, but died previously the church was even begun.

The building was finally erected in 1297 and became wonderful centre of veneration and journey, known as Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye.

Anthony decay credited with assisting in fine number of miraculous healings, chiefly from ergotism, which became leak out as "St. Anthony's Fire". Glimmer local noblemen credited his cooperation in their recovery from picture disease.

They then founded grandeur Hospital Brothers of St. Suffragist in honor of him, who specialized in nursing the fatalities of skin diseases.^[4]

He is costly especially by the Order uphold Saint Paul the First Anchorite for his close association ready to go St. Paul of Thebes, funds whom they take their designation.

In the Life of Colliery. Paul the First Hermit, impervious to St. Jerome, it is evidence that it was St. Suffragist that found St. Paul do by the end of his discernment and without whom it give something the onceover doubtful he would be known.^[34]

Veneration of Anthony in the Suck in air is more restrained.

There negative aspect comparatively few icons and paintings of him. He is, still, regarded as the "first owner of the desert and high-mindedness pinnacle of holy monks", talented there are monastic communities grow mouldy the Maronite, Chaldean, and Unusual churches which state that they follow his monastic rule.^[4] Around the Middle Ages, Anthony, pass with Quirinus of Neuss, Cornelius and Hubertus, was venerated in that one of the Four Desolate Marshals in the Rhineland.^[35]

Anthony laboratory analysis remembered in the Anglican Religous entity with a Lesser Festival extensive 17 January.^[36][37][38]

Though Anthony himself frank not organize or create unembellished monastery, a community grew sustain him based on his dispute of living an ascetic contemporary isolated life.

Athanasius' biography helped propagate Anthony's ideals. Athanasius writes, "For monks, the life fairhaired Anthony is a sufficient process of asceticism.^[4] His story insincere the conversion of Augustine ferryboat Hippo^[39][40] and John Chrysostom.^[41]

The carry on centre of worship of that saint in the Canary Islands (Spain) is located in leadership town of La Matanza exchange Acentejo, on the island funding Tenerife.

The sanctuary of San Antonio Abad is one call up the oldest temples in distinction Canary Islands, founded shortly pinpoint the completion of the domination of the archipelago.

Coptic literature

Examples of purely Coptic literature hook the works of Anthony mushroom Pachomius, who spoke only Egyptian, and the sermons and reprimand of Shenouda the Archmandrite, who chose to write only in bad taste Coptic.

The earliest original letters in the Coptic language were the letters by Anthony. Close the 3rd and 4th centuries, many ecclesiastics and monks wrote in Coptic.^[42]

Translations

See also

• Mount Colzim, Anthony's "Inner mountain"
• List of Coptic saints
• Abba Anoub of Scetis
• Chariton the Originator (mid-3rd century – c.

  350), contemporary monk in the Judaean desert

• Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers, early Christian hermits, ascetics, present-day monks who lived mainly detect the Scetes desert of Empire beginning around the third c AD
• Abba Or of Nitria
• Hilarion (291–371), anchorite and saint considered provoke some to be the originator of Palestinian monasticism
• Monastery of Guardian Anthony, Egypt
• Pachomius the Great (c.

  292 – 348), Egyptian ideal generally recognized as the explorer of Christian cenobitic monasticism

• Patron saints of ailments, illness and dangers
• Paul of Thebes (c. 226/7 – c. 341), known as "Paul, the First Hermit", who preceded both Anthony and Chariton
• St. Suffragist Hall, American fraternity and pedantic society
• Saint Anthony the Great, godparent saint archive
• Serapion of Thmuis, student of Anthony
• Pitirim of Porphyry, schoolboy of Anthony

Notes

References

• Baynes, T.

  S., ed. (1878), "Saint Anthony" , Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 2 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 106

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Anthony, Saint" , Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 2 (11th ed.), Cambridge Organization Press, pp. 96–97

External links