St. Athanasius: The Life of Saint Antony
Overview
This biography of St. Anthony—the recognized father of monasticism—is widely considered the most important document of early monasticism. Athanasius' The Life of Antony is one of the foremost classics of Christian asceticism. It tells the spiritual story of St. Antony, the founder of Christian monasticism. Written at the request of the desert monks of Egypt to provide "an ideal pattern of the ascetical life," it immediately became astonishingly popular. This work contributed greatly to the establishment of monastic life in Western Christianity. From a literary perspective, it created a new Christian genre for the lives of saints.
For a excellent collection of other ancient Christian writiers that includes sixty-five additional volumes, see the Ancient Christian Writers Bundle (66 vols.).
Key Features
- The finest writing from a giant of Christian spirituality
- Fully integrates and cross references with other resources from your Logos library
- A primary source that is useful for research and historical study of ancient and early medieval Christian thought
Top Highlights
“there were not yet so many monasteries in Egypt, and no monk even knew of the faraway desert” (Page 20)
“there he was a daily martyr to his conscience, ever fighting the battles of the Faith” (Page 60)
“Then he assimilated in himself what he had obtained from each and devoted all his energies to realizing in himself the virtues of all.” (Page 21)
“going to Alexandria and publicly denouncing the Arian heretics and ‘Christ-fighters’” (Page 6)
“They should flee conceit and pray continually, sing Psalms before sleeping and after, commit to heart the commandments enjoined in the Scriptures, and hark back to the deeds of the saints, that the soul by keeping in mind the commandments might train itself on the example of their zeal.” (Page 67)
Product Details
- Title: St. Athanasius: The Life of Saint Antony
- Author: Athanasius of Alexandria
- Translator: Robert T. Meyer
- Series: Ancient Christian Writers
- Publisher: Paulist Press
- Publication Date: 1950
- Pages: 166
- Christian Group: Catholic
- Resource Type: Ancient Texts
- Topic: Theology
About St. Athanasius
Athanasius of Alexandria, also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor or, primarily in the Coptic Orthodox Church, Athanasius the Apostolic, was the 20th bishop of Alexandria. His on-again-off-again episcopate spanned 45 years, of which over 17 encompassed five exiles, when his episcopate was replaced on the order of four different Roman emperors. Athanasius was a Christian theologian, a Church Father, the chief defender of Trinitarianism against Arianism, and a noted Egyptian leader of the fourth century.