A Story for our times
Saint Anthony the Great
by Ed Rizkallla
“I sought and I found, I asked and I was given, I knocked and I believed, that itwill be opened to me.”
From the Coptic Doxology of Saint Anthony
The Christians of Egypt, the Copts, commemorate the departure of Saint Anthony the Great (c251-356AD) on Tobi 22nd, 1726 AM on the Coptic calendar, which coincides with January 30th, 2010 AD.
Saint Anthony the Great is recognized as the father of the world-wide Christian monasticism and several Western churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church commemorate his departure on January 17th. The life of Saint Anthony the Great was first and foremost a Christ-centered life, which over the centuries has provided inspiration for Christians all over the world. His life has provided a role model for many Christians and even saints, e.g. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) is known to have been influenced by reading of the “Life of Anthony” written by Saint Athanasius the Apostolic (c293-373 AD), the 20th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The life of Saint Anthony the Great is a story that begins and ends with the love and devotion for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When he was about 18-20 years old, he heard the gospel at the local church, in which Christ admonished the rich man “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give to the poor and come and follow me, and you will have a treasure in heaven”.
Anthony took the admonishment as a personal command, and devoted his life to follow Christ under the guidance of a recluse who lived nearby his village. Anthony followed on the path of ascetic life as a young man of 18-20 years old until his death at a ripe old age of 105. His was a life of love, faith, faithfulness, perseverance, and steadfastness. His life has provided a role model for a Christ-centered life for both the elect few who follow the calling to lead a celibate monastic life, as well as the vast majority of Christians leading married lives and raising children.
The story of Anthony provides inspiration to lead a life of virtue and victory. Our modern mass media glamorizes celebrities, athletes, and the like. However many of these celebrities lead scandalous lives and some end up defeated by the pursuit of bad habits, if not ending utter ruin. They cannot provide positive role models. Perhaps an apt commentary on modern life as compared with the life of Anthony is best described by Tim Vivian, an Episcopal priest and a contemporary American scholar
(1) “Sometimes the whole purpose of our modern era-whether expressed in communism, capitalism, materialism, consumerism, scientism- seems to be to draw us away from God…The Life (of Anthony) unflinchingly insists that faith is a sure guide and that with hard work and perseverance, it will lead the faithful to their goal…the Life of Anthony is an affirmation of light.”
The story of Saint Anthony the Great continues to be a story for our times. It provides the inspiration to a life of virtue and victory. He provides a role model for a Christ-centered life, which leads to virtue and victory. An ancient doxology of the Coptic Orthodox Church for Saint Anthony
(2) illustrates a Christ-centered life, faith, steadfastness, perseverance and ultimate victory:
Marentajron qen pinah]@ etcoutwn qen oume;myi@
`nte pinis] antonioc@ enws `ebol `enjw `mmoc.
Let us truly be confirmed, in the upright faith,
of the great Anthony, proclaiming and saying.
ÝáäËÈÊ ÈÇáÍÞíÞÉ Ýí ÇáÇíãÇä ÇáãÓÊÞíã ÇáÐí ááÚÙíã ÃäØæäíæÓ ÕÇÑÎíä ÞÇÆáíä
Je aikw] ouoh aijimi@ ai`eretin ouoh ai[i@
aikwlh ouoh ]nah]@ je cena`aouwn nyi.
I sought and I found, I asked and I was given,
I knocked and I believed, that it will be opened to me.
ØáÈÊ ÝæÌÏÊ ÓÃáÊ ÝÃÎÐÊ ÞÑÚÊ æÃæãä ÃäÉ ÓíÝÊÍ áí
The peace of the Lord be with you all. Irene Passe.
References:
(1) The Life of Antony, by Athanasius of Alexandria
The Coptic Life and the Greek Life, translated by Tim Vivian and Apostolos Athanassakis, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2003.
(2) The Holy Psalmody, a reprint by Saint Mary and Saint Antonios Coptic Orthodox Church, Ridgewood, NY,
Acknowledgement: The writer would like to acknowledge and thank the staff of the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, for their assistance with research for background material for this article.
Ed Rizkalla is a management consultant and freelance writer. He is the founder of Pharos on the Potomac Group (POPG), a non-profit organization at Annandale, VA.