The Letters Of St Antony

This book revolutionizes our understanding of the life and thought of the great anchorite father of the Egyptian desert. It is a signal contribution to our knowledge of Egyptian Christianity in the third and fourth centuries.—Birger Pearson, Institute for Antiquity and Christianity Samuel Rubenson, by means of a fresh analysis of the letters of St. Antony, exposes the distortion of the picture of early Christian monks as unlettered and primitive. Rubenson describes the desert monasteries as centers of theological reflection in Egypt, showing how they combined the speculative philosophy of the Greeks and the biblical tradition. Included in this volume is a new translation of the letters themselves, which are shown to be authentic and an important source for the study of the desert fathers and the early monastic tradition. The later image of Antony is demonstrated to be influenced by church politics of the latter part of the fourth century. Samuel Rubenson is Associate Professor at Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

These seven letters were addressed by St Antony (251-356 AD) to his disciples. This hermit of the Egyptian desert draws our attention to those things which are essential in the spiritual life. Among the main themes are the witness of the Holy Spirit in the conscience of each person, the need for self-knowledge, the call to follow Christ, the unity of the Church, and our mutual co-inherence as members of the Body of Christ.

Athanasius (c. 295-373) Bishop of Alexandria, spiritual master and theologian, was a major figure of 4th-century Christendom. The Life of Antony is one of the foremost classics of asceticism. The Letter to Marcellinus is an introduction to the spiritual sense of the Psalms.

The biographic text of St. Anthony is presented complete in this edition for the reader's absorption and contemplation. First published in the 4th century A.D., Anthony the Great's biography was authored by Christian Saint Athanasius of Alexandria. Since its release, the book has helped spread the beliefs, practices and arduous faith of Anthony the Great. A significant progenitor of the monastic tradition, Saint Anthony lived an ascetic lifestyle in the arid lands of Egypt. Although not the earliest of religious figures committed to this tradition, through actions and preaching Anthony helped popularise and spread principles that would contribute heavily to the establishment of Christian monasteries in Europe and beyond. One event in St. Anthony's life was his encounter with the supernatural in the remote Egyptian desert. This occurrence, where the otherworldly presence tried to tempt him from his spartan philosophy of living, is much recreated in Western art and literature.

The most important document of early monasticism, written in 357, this is a biography of the recognized founder and father of monasticism. +