Anthony was eighteen years old when his parents died, leaving him with a considerable inheritance and the care of his younger sister. He was a quiet young man, an Egyptian Christian who attended church faithfully but had not yet encountered the radical call that would make him the father of Christian monasticism.
God Speaking Through Scripture
That encounter came, as Athanasius records in his Life of Antony, during an ordinary church service. "Not six months after the death of his parents, going according to custom into the Lord's House, he communed with himself and reflected as he walked how the Apostles left all and followed the Savior; and how they in the Acts sold their possessions and brought and laid them at the Apostles' feet for distribution to the needy."
At that moment, the Gospel was being read: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
Anthony knew instantly that Jesus was speaking directly to him. He left the church and immediately gave his inherited land—three hundred acres of fertile Egyptian farmland—to his village. He sold all his movable possessions, gave the money to the poor, and kept back only enough to care for his sister.
Complete Surrender to God's Call
But God was not finished. At another service, Anthony heard: "Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself." He gave away even what he had reserved for his sister, entrusted her to a community of consecrated virgins, and began his life of solitude.
Life in the Desert
For the next eighty years, Anthony lived in the Egyptian desert—first near his village, then in an abandoned fort, and finally in a mountain cave near the Red Sea. He battled demons, mentored disciples, and emerged periodically to encourage persecuted Christians or challenge heretics.
A Legacy That Changed Christianity
When he died in 356 AD at approximately 105 years old, Anthony had become the most famous Christian in the world. His example inspired countless others to seek God in solitude, and the monasticism he pioneered would preserve civilization through the dark ages to come.
The voice he heard in church that day echoed across centuries.
