Icon of St. Anthony of the Desert or St. Anthony the Great and Short History
St. Anthony was the forerunner and shaper of the monastic movement. He was born about 250 in a village near Heracleopolis, Egypt, of rich and noble parents. After the death of his parents, he secured his sister's position preserving her half of their inheritance for her. He gave his half away and retreated into the desert near the Red Sea. He spent 20 years in the company of no one but God. After that, others were retreating to the desert and discovering his great wisdom. He discipled many ascetics in the deserts of Egypt. Only twice did he leave the desert to enter Alexandria, once to seek martyrdom, the second time to refute the charge that he was Arian. He was unable to read, yet confounded the philosophers with his great wisdom. He reposed at the age of 105, leaving behind a multitude of monastics, in the year 356. With the toleration of Christianity and the threat of martyrdom greatly reduced, many men and women sought the martyrdom of asceticism in their pursuit of holiness. St. Anthony was there to give order and lead the way. His scroll reads: "I no longer fear God, but I love Him."
St. Anthony in the desertHe was about thirty-five years old when he left his retreat to move to the east bank of the Nile to the "Outer Mountain" at Pispir (Vista) where he lived in complete solitude. As Saint Anthony lived in solitude, he was tempted by boredom and discouragement. His soul fell into such weariness and confusion of thought that he began saying, "Lord, I want to be saved but these bad thoughts do not leave me alone; what shall I do? How can I be saved?". After a little while, he began to walk in the open and saw someone as if it was himself, sitting and working - making mats of palm leaves - and then rising to pray. This was an angel sent by the Lord to teach Anthony how to live in the desert. The angel repeated what he was doing several times until Anthony understood that he had to combine manual work and prayer in order to overcome boredom.
After twenty years, his reputation attracted many followers who settled near him, and wished to copy his holy life. Saint Anthony became their spiritual leader, teaching them constantly by word and by example the ascetic life. From every part of the world, people came to him, even to the innermost part of the desert, seeking cures of the body, mind, and soul; and as they did at Pispir, monks came to him for his sympathy and practical advice.Living in solitude (anchoritism) made Saint Anthony a spiritual father beyond all others. He escaped from cares of the world but not from the love for his brothers. During that time, many came to live near him and copy his holy life. He became their spiritual leader, teaching them by word and by example the life of the ascetic. Anthony also taught them to perform manual labor between prayer times as an additional contribution to society.
The Hermit in Alexandria
When the persecutions began again against the Christians in Egypt at the hands of Maximinus Daia in the early 300s, St. Anthony went to Alexandria and ministered to those in prison. After the persecutions ended, he returned to his life of solitude. Once Saint Athanasius had invited Anthony to Alexandria to support him against the Arian Heresy in 352. Many came to see the aged holy man as he walked through the city. Didymus, a man of great learning who had lost his eyesight, joined them. The conversation turned to the Holy Scriptures, and Anthony could not help admiring the blind man's ability and praised his insight. The he said, "You do not regret the loss of your eyes, do you?". At first Didymus was reluctant to answer, but when the question was repeated, he frankly admitted that his blindness was a great grief to him. Whereupon, Anthony said, "I am surprised that a wise man like you should grief at the loss of a physical organ which he shares with everyone, and not rejoice rather in having the gift which only saints and apostles have been thought worthy." He returned to his desert soon after, society no longer having any hold on him, for he felt like a fish out of the water.
St Anthony and the Evil
In his solitude he was fighting off the temptations of the flesh and attacks of demons. The enemy, however, could not endure to behold the likeness of Christ shining forth from this creation of dust and ashes, and he was determined to destroy this 'house of virtue. Satan frequently attacked the saint in spirit and body, often appearing in the form of a pig. (In many countries today ham is the traditional meal on the feast of Saint Anthony). A friend who brought Anthony bread, found the saint beaten and near death from Satan's attacks.
The first campaign was waged on the battlefield of the mind. Anthony experienced a barrage of unsettling thoughts--flattery, the allurement of the world and all the pleasures his former wealth could buy, concern for his sister's welfare, the difficulties of the path he had chosen. The vicious net was craftily woven, but the Saint recognized it as the handiwork of his adversary and tore it apart by means of intense prayer and vigilance, deflecting any and all disturbing thoughts before they took hold in his mind. The battle grew more intense when the Enemy, taking advantage of the Saint's youth, assailed him with lustful thoughts, inflaming the natural appetites of the flesh until the Saint was burning with his own lust. He manfully fought back by mortifying his body with increased fasting to quench the passions of the flesh, and by meditating on death and the eternal torments which await those who give themselves over to the spirit of fornication. And so be escaped unharmed, even strengthened by this experience.
When the Evil One found himself so disgraced, he took on a human voice and complained bitterly to Anthony: "I have deceived and conquered many in my time; but now in your case, as in that of many others, I am defied by your ascetic labors."
Knowing that his antagonist would continue to stalk him as a roaring lion after his prey, Anthony did not allow himself to relax his vigilance on account of his victory. Not to be defeated by Satan during his sleep, St Anthony hung a bell to his stick on what he took a rest while praying up to remain heedful and not to give a chance to Satan to defeat it even while sleeping. Thus, when he was asleep, the stick fell and the bell sounded. St Anthony woke up to continue his prayer and his fight against Satan. (St Anthony's picture shows the bell hung to his stick). He passed many nights without sleep, en grossed in prayer, and limited his bodily nourishment to bread and water, of which he partook once a day at evening. For, he said, by weakening the pleasures of the body the mind is strengthened. Such disregard did he have for the body as to imitate the nature of the fleshless ones, i.e., the angels. The severity of his labors and his accumulated virtues astonished the older ascetics, but Anthony never thought about his spiritual progress and regarded each day as the beginning of his spiritual journey, thereby shielding himself from pride and vainglory.
