The Life of Saint Anthony
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The Life of Saint Anthony by St Athanasius “Proof of his virtue and that his soul was loved by God is found in the fact that he is famous everywhere and is marvelled at by everyone and is dearly missed by people who never saw him... For how is it that he was heard of, though concealed and sitting in a mountain, in Spain and Gaul, and in Rome and Africa, unless it was the God who everywhere makes his men known who also promised this to Anthony in the beginning? For even though they themselves act in secret, and may want to be forgotten, nevertheless the Lord shows them like lamps to everyone.” These words were written in the years directly following the death of one of history’s most famous monastics. The Life of St Anthony gained a remarkably ubiquitous popularity in the early Christian world. Beyond an exclusively monastic audience, the work was read and appreciated by everyone from the Emperors in Constantinople to the Hellenistic philosophers of Athens and Alexandria. St Athanasius the Great of Alexandria, a distinguished church father, who solidified his own place among the Church's greatest saints in his writings and battles against Arianism, was a close companion
of St Anthony and authored the text shortly after the Saint’s passing in 356 AD. The work was penned as a response to the eager inquiries of a group of monastics seeking information on the life of the great ascetic. St Anthony retreated as a young man to the Egyptian desert, living a long life of ascesis and holiness that culminated in the flocking of thousands to the desert, who were all inspired to search for this same angelic life. Whilst monasticism had a modest presence in Egypt already, St Anthony is rightly considered the founder of monasticism in the Egyptian desert. St Athanasius' vivid descriptions of the sufferings endured by St Anthony gained such renown that one is as likely to encounter depictions of the Saint and his trials in Orthodox monasteries as in art galleries. These trials and temptations, as recorded by St Athanasius, as well as the Saint’s miraculously ascetic feats, form a significant portion of the work. Despite countless demonic obstacles thrown in his way, St Anthony overcomes them all, repeating one message: the devil is powerless in the shadow of the cross. He who bears his cross and fears the Lord, has nothing else to fear. St Athanasius expresses regret that his exposition contains only a small amount of the vast number of miracles performed by the holy ascetic. Apart from recalling St Anthony’s myriad of miracles, the work is full of longer sections in which St Athanasius recounts the Saint’s teachings, the many visions he had, and the saintly manner of his death. This remarkably approachable work has stood the test of centuries, earning its place as a seminal writing of the Church. It is a true classic. ORTHODOX MISSION BOOKSTORE orthodoxbookstore.org.au 217 Bexley Rd, Kingsgrove, Sydney NSW (02) 9787 9779 | Monday – Saturday 10am–2pm