Anthony the Great's web
Anthony the Great
St. Athanasius the Great
St. Athanasius the Great
c. 296–373
St Anthony and the Rise of Desert Monasticism, c. 270–356
A young Egyptian hears the Gospel in church, gives everything away, and the desert of Egypt fills with monks.
From the Life of St. Athanasius the Great
He knew St. Anthony the Great, and after the hermit's repose he wrote the Life of Antony, the book that carried the monastic ideal across the whole Empire and set countless souls, Augustine among them, on the path to God.