Saint Anthony the Great

Anthony was born to wealthy Christian parents in Coma, Egypt. At about eighteen, orphaned and responsible for his younger sister, he heard the Gospel reading: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor." Taking this literally, he distributed his wealth, entrusted his sister to a community of virgins, and withdrew into the desert.

For over twenty years Anthony lived in complete solitude, battling demonic temptations that have become legendary in Christian literature and art. When disciples broke down the door of his desert fortress expecting to find a broken man, they instead found him radiant, peaceful, and filled with divine wisdom.

He emerged to organize loose communities of hermits, giving the earliest form to Christian monasticism. He briefly left the desert twice: once to encourage the martyrs in Alexandria during persecution, and once to support Athanasius in his fight against Arianism. He died at the remarkable age of 105.