Ep. 22—Anthony of the Desert: The Solitary Celebrity
By Mike Aquilina ( bio - articles - email ) | Aug 26, 2020 | In Way of the Fathers (Podcast)
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Through one man’s witness, monasticism took the world by storm. Anthony of Egypt became history’s least probable celebrity. He gave up his money and possessions. He couldn’t read or write. He fled to the desert to be alone with God. Yet he drew disciples wherever he went. His desert became a city populated by monks and hermits. Philosophers and emperors sought his sage advice. In the course of his life he exercised a profound influence on the history of religion.
Links
St. Athanasius, Life of St. Anthony (audio) https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-athanasius-life-st-anthony-full/
St. Athanasius, Life of St. Anthony (text) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3080
Episode on the Temptation of St. Anthony in art history https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/90-temptation-st-anthony-elizabeth-lev/
Palladius, The Lausiac History—a fifth-century history of monasticism http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/palladius_lausiac_02_text.htm
Peter H. Gorg, The Desert Fathers, a recent introduction to the lives of the solitaries https://www.ignatius.com/The-Desert-Fathers-P545.aspx
More works by the Fathers
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/
Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com
Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org.
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Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics. He is executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. See full bio.
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