“If you are able, and have received power against me, delay not to attack; but if you are unable, why trouble me in vain? For faith in our Lord is a seal and a wall of safety to us.” These words Antony spoke in mockery of the demons, when he lay there, groaning from bodily anguish but with unshaken soul, as he was often beaten by them but never defeated.
This is the fascinating biography of the fourth-century Egyptian who came to be known as St. Antony the Great, St. Antony of Egypt, St. Antony of the Desert and the Father of all Monks, and who is regarded to be one of the first and greatest of the Desert Fathers.
When one day, as a young man who had just lost both his parents, he heard Our Lord in the Gospel admonish the rich man, he considered the passage had been read on his account. Coming out from Church he gave all his earthly possessions to the poor, withdrew deep into the Egyptian desert and led a life of prayer and penance. Despite facing demonic temptations and physical attacks in the harsh desert, Anthony remained steadfast through prayer and mortification. His solitary existence continued for several decades, marked by a complete denial of self and trust in God.
He fearlessly preached against heresy, encouraged and strengthened the persecuted Christians, confuted the pagan philosophers, advised emperors and performed numerous miracles. He lived to 105 years old and is revered as the Father of Monasticism, both in the East and the West. His biographer was none other than St. Athanasius, the father of Orthodoxy, whom he counted among his personal friends.