Anthony of Egypt

Life

Anthony's life is known chiefly through the Life of Anthony, written shortly after his death by Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria. He was born into a Christian farming family in Egypt and lost his parents when he was between eighteen and twenty years old.

Not long afterward, he heard the story of the rich young man (Matthew 19:16–26) read in church. Upon hearing the words "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor" (Matthew 19:21), he gave the land and property he had inherited to his neighbors and to the poor. He entrusted his sister to a community of believers. He then began an ascetic life near his village. According to tradition, he later moved to a burial ground and then to an abandoned fort on the east bank of the Nile, where he lived alone for about twenty years.

As his reputation spread and followers gathered around him, he guided them for a time. He later withdrew deeper into the desert, to Mount Colzim near the Red Sea, where he spent the rest of his life. During times of persecution and during the Arian controversy, he is said to have come to Alexandria to encourage the martyrs and to support the orthodox faith. He is reported to have died in 356 at more than one hundred years of age.

Ministry and Achievements

• Model of the eremitic life: The eremitic life is one of withdrawal from the world to live alone in prayer. Anthony was not the first hermit, but as accounts of his life circulated widely, the desert monastic movement spread significantly. Communal (cenobitic) monasticism, in which monks live together in community, is credited to his contemporary Pachomius.
• Spiritual direction: He taught a way of life centered on prayer, fasting, manual labor, and meditation on Scripture. Some of his teachings are preserved in the collection known as the Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
• Involvement in doctrinal controversy: He sided with Athanasius against Arianism.
• Influence on later generations: Augustine wrote in his Confessions that hearing the story of Anthony influenced his own conversion.

Influence on the Korean Church

Korean Protestantism did not adopt monasticism. As a result, Anthony is known mainly through church history courses, translations of spiritual classics, and sermon illustrations. He is frequently cited in sermons on the rich young man as an example of literal obedience to the Word.

More recently, those who promote contemplative prayer and spiritual formation have referred to him as a representative figure of the Desert Fathers tradition. By contrast, some leaders in conservative denominations warn that contemplative prayer can drift into mysticism. Views on how he should be received therefore differ according to denomination and theological orientation.

Assessment

The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church venerate him as a saint. He is also reportedly commemorated in some Anglican and Lutheran liturgical calendars.

Protestants value his resolve to renounce wealth in obedience to the Word, as well as his life of prayer. However, within the Protestant tradition since the Reformation, critics have argued that monastic vows can foster a theology of merit and devalue one's calling in the world. Martin Luther's critique of monasticism is the most prominent example.

Historians hold that Athanasius's biography idealized Anthony. In particular, scholars point to its many accounts of battles with demons and suggest that it was intended in part to support Athanasius's own theological position. Scholars are also divided over whether the seven letters transmitted under Anthony's name were actually written by him.