Anthony the Great
c. 251–356
Feast: January 17
You don't need a stage, and you don't need an audience. But once you know something is true, you go all the way, no hedging, no safety net. That is Anthony: a wealthy heir in Egypt who hears a single word of the Gospel, and takes it literally. He sells everything and walks into the desert. For eighty years. According to tradition, he battles demons there night after night, and does not give ground. Around his solitude grows something he never planned: monasticism itself; to this day he is called its father. He dies at 105, hidden, just as he lived. So here is the question for you: what single word would have to strike you before you let go of everything?
From his life
- wealthy heir
- radical departure
- battles with demons, according to tradition
- father of monasticism
- dies at the age of 105
The bridge to tradition
Desert monasticism is the root of the entire monastic tradition.