Anthony the Great Quotes

Saint Anthony or Antony , was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets of his own: Anthony the Great, Anthony of Egypt, Antony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. His feast day is celebrated on 17 January among the Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Coptic calendar.

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 , which seems to have contributed to his renown. Accounts of Anthony enduring supernatural 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.

Anthony is appealed to against infectious diseases, particularly skin diseases. In the past, many such afflictions, including ergotism, erysipelas, and shingles, were referred to as St. Anthony's fire.



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✵ 251 – 17. January 357
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Anthony the Great: 7   quotes 17   likes

Famous Anthony the Great Quotes

“If we would despise the enemy, our thoughts must always be of God and our souls always glad with hope.”

Book II, Chapter 10
From St. Athanasius' Life of St. Antony

“Whoever hammers a lump of iron, first decides what he is going to make of it, a scythe, a sword, or an axe. Even so we ought to make up our minds what kind of virtue we want to forge or we labour in vain.”

The Living Testament: The Essential Writings of Christianity Since the Bible (1985), p. 66.
From St. Athanasius' Life of St. Antony

“To one whose mind is sound, letters are needless.”

Book IV, Chapter 17
From St. Athanasius' Life of St. Antony

“To those who have an active belief, reasoned proofs are needless and probably useless.”

Book IV, Chapter 17
From St. Athanasius' Life of St. Antony

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