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Life of Antony

St. Athanasius of Alexandria

3h 5m read
Nicene

The founding text of Christian hagiography: Athanasius's biography of St. Antony the Great, whose flight to the Egyptian desert and lifelong ascetic warfare shaped the monastic imagination of East and West.

Table of Contents

1Prologue2Birth and beginnings of Antony3His early ascetic life4Early conflicts with the devil5Details of his life at this time (271-285?)6His life in the tombs, and combats with demons there7He goes to the desert and overcomes temptations on the way8How Antony took up his abode in a ruined fort across the Nile, and how he defeated the demons. His twenty years' sojourn there9How he left the fort, and how monasticism began to flourish in Egypt. Antony its leader10His address to monks, rendered from Coptic, exhorting them to perseverance, and encouraging them against the wiles of Satan11The growth of the monastic life at this time (about A.D. 305)12How Antony renewed his ascetic endeavours at this time13How he sought martyrdom at Alexandria during the Persecution (311)14How he lived at this time15How he delivered a woman from an evil spirit16How at this time he betook himself to his 'inner mountain.'17How he there combated the demons18Of the miraculous spring, and how he edified the monks of the 'outer' mountain, and of Antony's sister19How humanely he counselled those who resorted to him20Of the case of Fronto, healed by faith and prayer21Of a certain virgin, and of Paphnutius the confessor22Of the two brethren, and how one perished of thirst23Of the death of Amun, and Antony's vision thereof24Of Count Archelaus and the virgin Polycration25Strange tales of the casting out of demons26Of Antony's vision concerning the forgiveness of his sins27Of the passage of souls, and how some were hindered of Satan28How Antony reverenced all ordained persons29How he rejected the schism of Meletius and the heresies of Manes and Arius30How he confuted the Arians31How he visited Alexandria, and healed and converted many, and how Athanasius escorted him from the city32How he reasoned with divers Greeks and philosophers at the 'outer' mountain33How he confuted the philosophers by healing certain vexed with demons34How the Emperors wrote to Antony, and of his answer35How he saw in a vision the present doings of the Arians36That his healings were done by Christ alone, through prayer37How wisely he answered a certain duke38Of the Duke Balacius, and how, warned by Antony, he met with a miserable end39How he bore the infirmities of the weak, and of his great benefits to all Egypt40Of his discernment, and how he was a counsellor to all41How, when now 105 years old, he counselled the monks, and gave advice concerning burial42Of his sickness and his last will43Of Antony's death44How Antony remained hale until his death, and how the fame of him filled all the world45The end