A Benedictine Communion of Saints
Bishop Elias R. Lorenzo, O.S.B.
Saint Anthony the Abbot—often called Anthony the Great—stands at the very beginning of the Christian monastic tradition. Living in the deserts of Egypt during the third and fourth centuries, he became known as one of the earliest figures to embrace a life of radical solitude and prayer. While he did not found a formal religious order in the later sense, his example inspired countless others to pursue a similar path. Over time, his life helped shape what would eventually become the wider monastic movement within Christianity.
Anthony was born around the year 251 in Egypt to a prosperous Christian family. After the death of his parents, he inherited a considerable amount of property. According to the famous biography written by Athanasius of Alexandria, Anthony once heard the Gospel passage in which Christ tells the rich young man to sell everything and give to the poor. Taking the words quite literally, he distributed his possessions and entrusted the care of his younger sister to a community of Christian women. He then withdrew from ordinary society to pursue a life centered entirely on prayer, fasting, and spiritual discipline.
In the early stages of his solitude, Anthony lived near his village under the guidance of experienced ascetics. Eventually, however, he moved farther into the Egyptian desert, seeking greater silence and isolation. Stories from this period often describe intense spiritual struggles, including temptations and visions that tested his resolve. In the telling of Athanasius, these struggles became symbolic of the broader spiritual battle faced by anyone attempting to live a life fully devoted to God. Anthony’s perseverance through these trials gradually established his reputation as a man of extraordinary spiritual strength.
Despite his desire for solitude, Anthony’s example soon attracted others who wished to follow the same path. People traveled to the desert to seek his advice, ask for prayers, or simply observe his way of life. Over time, small communities of hermits began forming near the places where he lived. Anthony did not organize them into a structured monastery, but his presence and guidance gave shape to their spiritual practices. Through these informal communities, the foundations of Christian monasticism began to take clearer form.
Anthony’s influence extended beyond the desert as well. During times of persecution and theological controversy within the Church, he occasionally returned to the city of Alexandria to support fellow Christians. Athanasius describes him encouraging believers during the persecutions under the Roman emperors and later defending orthodox teaching during disputes about the nature of Christ. Even in these public moments, however, Anthony remained deeply committed to the quiet life of prayer that had defined his vocation from the beginning.
Saint Anthony died around the year 356 after a remarkably long life spent largely in solitude. Yet the impact of his witness proved far-reaching. His example inspired generations of monks and hermits throughout the Christian world, particularly in Egypt, Palestine, and eventually Europe. More than any single rule or institution, it was the power of his personal example that shaped the early monastic imagination.
Let us pray:
Lord our God,
you called Anthony of Egypt
to renounce the world and serve you in the solitude of the desert.
By his prayers and example,
may we learn to deny ourselves and love you above all things.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Jan 17: St. Anthony. Life of Anthony by St. Athanasius, Butler’s Lives of the Saints, Encyclopedia Britannica
