Saint Anthony of Egypt Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Saint Anthony of Egypt - Research Paper Example He was born in 250AD to a well to do hermitic family in the middle of Egypt and died in 356 AD having lived for more than 100 years . His Christian parents protected him from dangerous worldly examples by watching him carefully in their home away from any pagan literature. He was born during the time Roman Catholicism was vast spreading, but the pagan doctrines were still profound in Rome . When he was 20 years old, he was orphaned and he inherited the vast wealth of his parents. Because of his desire to live an apostolic life, he gave up the wealth to the poor and devoted his life to serving God. Saint Anthony placed his sister in a house of virgins which was the first reference to modern Christian nunnery and later started living in solitude .As a disciple of Saint Paul of Thebes, Anthony began his practice of austere life at the age of 20 and later withdrew for complete solitude to a remote tomb in the desert. When he was 35 years old, he journeyed further into the wilderness to F ort Pispir across the Nile . During his retreat, he began his legendary work overcoming the devil's temptations famous in Christianity theology and iconography. In 305, he reemerged from his retreat to share with his monistic life fellow hermits, whom he successfully converted to his ways. After the end of the Christian persecution, he moved to a mountain in the desert where he established modern-day monastery, Dayr Mari Antonios . He visited Alexandria twice in his life and his second venture was to preach against Arianism.