Anthony the Great
Patronage | Animals, skin diseases, farmers, butchers, the poor, basket makers, brushmakers, gravediggers,[4] Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, Rome[5] |
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Anthony the Great (
The biography of Anthony's life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe via its Latin translations. He is often erroneously considered the first Christian monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, among the first known to go into the wilderness (about AD 270), which seems to have contributed to his renown.[6] Accounts of Anthony enduring supernatural temptation during his sojourn in the Eastern Desert of Egypt inspired the depiction of his temptations in visual art and literature.
Anthony is appealed to against infectious diseases, particularly skin diseases. In the past, many such afflictions, including
Life of Anthony
Most of what is known about Anthony comes from the Life of Anthony. Written in Greek c. 360 by Athanasius of Alexandria, it depicts Anthony as an illiterate and holy man who, through his existence in a primordial landscape, has an absolute connection to the divine truth, which is always in harmony with that of Athanasius as the biographer.[6]
A continuation of the genre of secular Greek biography,[7] it became his most widely read work.[8] Sometime before 374 it was translated into Latin by Evagrius of Antioch. The Latin translation helped the Life become one of the best-known works of literature in the Christian world, a status it would hold through the Middle Ages.[9]
Translated into several languages, it became something of a "best seller" in its day and played an important role in the spreading of the
Many stories are also told about Anthony in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
Anthony probably spoke only his native language, Coptic, but his sayings were spread in a Greek translation. He himself dictated letters in Coptic, seven of which are extant.[11]
Life
Early years
Anthony was born in
Hermit
For the next fifteen years, Anthony remained in the area,[14] spending the first years as the disciple of another local hermit.[4] There are various legends that he worked as a swineherd during this period.[15]
According to the Temptation of Saint Anthony (1878) by Félicien Rops:
Anthony is sometimes considered the first monk,
Alexandria. He remained there for 13 years.[4]
Anthony maintained a very strict ascetic diet. He ate only bread, salt and water and never meat or wine.[18] He ate at most only once a day and sometimes fasted through two or four days.[19][20]
According to
After fifteen years of this life, at the age of thirty-five, Anthony determined to withdraw from the habitations of men and retire in absolute solitude. He went into the desert to a mountain by the
Father of Monks
Anthony was not the first ascetic or hermit, but he may properly be called the "Father of Monasticism" in Christianity,
The fame of Anthony spread and reached
The stories of the meeting of Anthony and Paul of Thebes, the raven who brought them bread, Anthony being sent to fetch the cloak given him by "Athanasius the bishop" to bury Paul's body in, and Paul's death before he returned, are among the familiar legends of the Life. However, belief in the existence of Paul seems to have existed quite independently of the Life.[25]
In 338, he left the desert temporarily to visit Alexandria to help refute the teachings of Arius.[4]
Final days
When Anthony sensed his death approaching, he commanded his disciples to give his staff to
Temptation
Accounts of Anthony enduring preternatural temptation during his sojourn in the Eastern Desert of Egypt inspired the often-repeated subject of the temptation of St. Anthony in Western art and literature.[27]
Anthony is said to have faced a series of preternatural temptations during his pilgrimage to the desert. The first to report on the temptation was his contemporary Athanasius of Alexandria. It is possible these events, like the paintings, are full of rich metaphor or in the case of the animals of the desert, perhaps a vision or dream. Emphasis on these stories, however, did not really begin until the Middle Ages when the psychology of the individual became of greater interest.[4]
Some of the stories included in Anthony's biography are perpetuated now mostly in paintings, where they give an opportunity for artists to depict their more lurid or bizarre interpretations. Many artists, including Martin Schongauer, Hieronymus Bosch, Joos van Craesbeeck, Dorothea Tanning, Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington and Salvador Dalí, have depicted these incidents from the life of Anthony; in prose, the tale was retold and embellished by Gustave Flaubert in The Temptation of Saint Anthony.[28]
The satyr and the centaur
Anthony was on a journey in the desert to find Paul of Thebes, who according to his dream was a better Hermit than he.[29] Anthony had been under the impression that he was the first person to ever dwell in the desert; however, due to the dream, Anthony was called into the desert to find his "better", Paul. On his way there, he ran into two creatures in the forms of a centaur and a satyr. Although chroniclers sometimes postulated that they might have been living beings, Western theology considers them to have been demons.[29]
While traveling through the desert, Anthony first found the centaur, a "creature of mingled shape, half horse half-man", whom he asked about directions. The creature tried to speak in an unintelligible language, but ultimately pointed with his hand the way desired, and then ran away and vanished from sight.[29] It was interpreted as a demon trying to terrify him, or alternately a creature engendered by the desert.[30]
Anthony found next the satyr, "a manikin with hooked snout, horned forehead, and extremities like goats's feet." This creature was peaceful and offered him fruits, and when Anthony asked who he was, the satyr replied, "I'm a mortal being and one of those inhabitants of the desert whom the Gentiles, deluded by various forms of error, worship under the names of
Silver and gold
Another time Anthony was travelling in the desert and found a plate of silver coins in his path.[31]
Demons in the cave
An ascetic, Anthony went out to live in the tombs away from the village. There were so many demons in the cave though, that Anthony's servant had to carry him out because they had beaten him to death. When the hermits were gathered to Anthony's corpse to mourn his death, Anthony was revived. He demanded that his servants take him back to that cave where the demons had beaten him. When he got there he called out to the demons, and they came back as wild beasts to rip him to shreds. Suddenly a bright light flashed, and the demons ran away. Anthony knew that the light must have come from God, and he asked God where he was before when the demons attacked him. God replied, "I was here but I would see and abide to see thy battle, and because thou hast mainly fought and well maintained thy battle, I shall make thy name to be spread through all the world."[32]
Veneration
Anthony had been secretly buried on the mountaintop where he had chosen to live. His remains were reportedly discovered in 361 and transferred to
Anthony is credited with assisting in a number of miraculous healings, primarily from
He is venerated especially by the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit for his close association with St. Paul of Thebes, after whom they take their name. In the Life of St. Paul the First Hermit, by St. Jerome, it is recorded that it was St. Anthony that found St. Paul towards the end of his life and without whom it is doubtful he would be known.[33]
Veneration of Anthony in the East is more restrained. There are comparatively few icons and paintings of him. He is, however, regarded as the "first master of the desert and the pinnacle of holy monks", and there are monastic communities of the Maronite, Chaldean, and Orthodox churches which state that they follow his monastic rule.[4] During the Middle Ages, Anthony, along with Quirinus of Neuss, Cornelius and Hubertus, was venerated as one of the Four Holy Marshals (Vier Marschälle Gottes) in the Rhineland.[34]
Anthony is remembered in the Anglican Communion with a Lesser Festival on 17 January.[35][36][37]
Though Anthony himself did not organize or create a monastery, a community grew around him based on his example of living an ascetic and isolated life. Athanasius' biography helped propagate Anthony's ideals. Athanasius writes, "For monks, the life of Anthony is a sufficient example of asceticism.[4] His story influenced the conversion of Augustine of Hippo[38][39] and John Chrysostom.[40]
Coptic literature
Part of a series on |
Christian mysticism |
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Examples of purely
Translations
- Saint Anthony the Great. SAGOM Press. 2019. ISBN 978-1-9456-9901-6.
See also
- Mount Colzim, Anthony's "Inner mountain"
- List of Coptic saints
- Abba Anoub of Scetis
- Chariton the Confessor (mid-3rd century – c. 350), contemporary monk in the Judaean desert
- Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers, early Christian hermits, ascetics, and monks who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt beginning around the third century AD
- Abba Or of Nitria
- Hilarion (291–371), anchorite and saint considered by some to be the founder of Palestinian monasticism
- Monastery of Saint Anthony, Egypt
- Pachomius the Great (c. 292 – 348), Egyptian saint generally recognized as the founder 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. Anthony Hall, American fraternity and literary society
- Saint Anthony the Great, patron saint archive
- Serapion of Thmuis, disciple of Anthony
- Pitirim of Porphyry, disciple of Anthony
Notes
- ISBN 0-8118-4767-5.
- ISBN 978-0-8192-2345-6.
- ^ Liechtenstein, the Princely Collections, catalogue of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, p. 276 [1]
- ^ ISBN 0-06-069299-5.
- ^ "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica, Cenni storici (1701–2001)". Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica (in Italian). Vatican, Roman Curia. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4331-0181-6.
- ^ "Ashgate Research Companion to Byzantine Hagiography. Volume I: Periods and Places. Ashgate research companions – Bryn Mawr Classical Review". Bryn Mawr Classical Review.
- ^ "Athanasius of Alexandria: Vita S. Antoni [Life of St. Antony] (written bwtween 356 and 362)". Fordham University. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
- ISBN 0-8129-7421-2.
- ^ "Athanasius". Christian History | Learn the History of Christianity & the Church. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ a b c ""Saint Anthony of Egypt", Lives of the Saints, John J. Crawley & Co., Inc".
- ^ a b c EB (1878).
- ISBN 0-8146-2377-8.
- ^ a b c EB (1911).
- ^ Sax, Boria. "How Saint Anthony Brought Fire to the World". Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ "A few words about the life and writings of St. Anthony the Great". orthodoxthought.sovietpedia.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ Philo. De Vita Contemplativa [English: The Contemplative Life]..
- ISBN 978-0707305561"His food consisted of bread, salt and water: meat and wine he never touched at all. He slept upon a mat, and sometimes upon the bare ground; and never washed or cleansed his body with oil and strigil."
- ^ Smedley, Edward; Rose, Hugh James; Rose, Henry John. (1845). Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. Volume 20. London. p. 228. "He never tasted food till sunset, and sometimes fasted through two or even four days; his diet was of the simplest kind, bread, salt and water, his bed was straw, or frequently bare ground."
- ISBN 0-19-516222-6
- ^ a b c One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Butler, Cuthbert (1907). "St. Anthony". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ "Britannica, Saint Anthony".
- ^ "Saint Anthony Father of the Monks". coptic.net.
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Healy, Patrick Joseph (1913). "Macarius the Egyptian (or "Macarius the Elder")". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 16. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bacchus, Francis Joseph (1911). "St. Paul the Hermit". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Cross, F. L., ed. (1957) The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford U.P., p. 1242
- LCCN 67-29080
- ^ Leclerc, Yvan. "Gustave Flaubert – études critiques – Le saint-poème selon Flaubert : le délire des sens dans La Tentation de saint Antoine". flaubert.univ-rouen.fr. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ a b c d Vitae Patrum, Book 1a- Collected from Jerome. Ch. VI
- ^ Bacchus, Francis. "Catholic Encyclopedia: Saint Paul the Hermit". Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ "Venerable and God-bearing Father Anthony the Great". oca.org. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ "The Golden Legend: The Life of Anthony of Egypt". Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ "Liturgical Calendar". The Australian Province of the Order Of Saint Paul The First Hermit. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Quirinus von Rom" [English: Quirinus of Rome] (in German). Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "For All the Saints / For All the Saints – A Resource for the Commemorations of the Calendar / Worship Resources/ Karakia/ ANZPB-HKMOA / Resources / Home – Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia". www.anglican.org.nz. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Antony of Egypt, Monastic, 356". The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ Confessions – Book VIII Chapters 1-6
- ^ On Christian Doctrine – Preface Section 4
- ^ The Homilies of John Chrysostom/Homily 8 verse 7 on Gospel of Matthew
- ^ "Coptic Literature". Retrieved 4 January 2013.
References
- Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878), Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 2 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 106 ,
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), , Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 2 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 96–97
External links
- "Spiritual Considerations on the Life of Saint Antony the Great" is a manuscript, from 1864, in Arabic, that is a translation of a Latin work about the life of Saint Anthony
- "Saint Anthony Abbot" at the Christian Iconography website
- "Of the Life of Saint Anthony" from Caxton's translation of the Golden Legend
- Colonnade Statue in St Peter's Square
- Life of Anthony public domain audiobook at LibriVox