Memorial Day of St. Anthony the Great

On January 30, Orthodox Christians remember the father of hermit monks, Anthony the Great This monk is considered the founder of desert living, or hermitage Born in 251 in Egypt, Anthony the Great (Egyptian) was raised according to Christian precepts from childhood His family lived in prosperity, but the boy could not be called spoiled: he was an easy-going child who often attended religious services At the age of 18-20 he was left without parents Housekeeping and caring for his younger sister fell on his shoulders It is worth saying that he carried this cross with dignity Once, while visiting a temple, Anthony heard the words of a clergyman that in order to achieve perfection one must abandon everything and follow the Savior Taking these words to heart, the young man sold all his property and distributed the money to those in need Leaving his little sister in the care of noble maidens, he indulged in solitude and prayer Anthony the Great occasionally left his place of hermitage to talk with the righteous He did not disdain physical labor, earning a living, and sharing his excesses with those in need The hermit ate only salted bread and water, and slept on bare ground But the devil did not leave Anthony The evil one came either in the form of thoughts about his allegedly abandoned sister, then in the form of a woman trying to lure him, or in the form of demons brutally beating the monk The devil tried to arouse love of glory or love of money in the hermit - and was left with nothing Wild hyenas and wolves attacked the recluse - Anthony was able to cope with everything, praising the Lord Then the monk decided to go even further away from people Anthony locked himself in the tomb and blocked the entrance with a boulder An acquaintance brought him bread from time to time So, glorifying God, the monk lived in the tomb for another 15 years Afterwards, he completely went to a mountain near the Nile, filled with reptiles People were drawn to Anthony, settling near him in hermitages and imitating his way of life The voluntary recluse rarely came out to see them If he met people, they were healed, and demons were completely cast out of some The monk performed many miracles while struggling with his own flesh For example, one day he caught one animal and asked him to tell the others not to spoil Anthony’s garden: since then, wild animals have avoided the plantings Once, when on the way to the monastery he ran out of water and his spiritual comrades were already dying of thirst, the power of Anthony’s prayer helped a clean spring break through The life of the saint and his struggle with temptation formed the basis for paintings and literary works Prayer to St Anthony in the Middle Ages helped fight the disease named after him - Anton's fire He was depicted with a staff with bells to scare away the evil spirits The image of an ascetic, according to legend, saves from fires The saint knew about his death in advance: on January 30 (new style), 355 or 356, he gave up the ghost On the day of memory of Anthony the Great, clergy and ordinary people read the troparion (a short song about the essence of the holiday) and kontakion (sermon) to St Anthony the Great