St. Anthony was born in 251 AD into a wealthy Egyptian family. Anthony, who once participated in the Mass, heard the Gospel read: “If you want to be perfect, sell all that you have and give to the poor.”
This word touched Anthony’s heart. Anthony, in his early twenties, immediately sold all his savings and gave them to the poor. He then appealed to an elderly monk to help him lead a spiritual life. Anthony accepted his advice and visited many forest dwellers. He did this with the aim of imitating the virtues that were enshrined in each one.
He went to the forest and lived in a dilapidated hut to serve God perfectly. Every three or four days he would eat a little. His biographer records that the saint, who prayed on his knees for most of the day from sunset to sunrise, was brutally tortured by demonic forces. Sometimes they appeared in the guise of monsters and were severely wounded. But the saint cast out the demons by drawing the sign of the cross, trusting in God. During this time many came to receive his advice. After completing twenty years of solitude, Anthony agreed to be their guide and established the first monastery in 305.
Many people were coming to God because of the many miracles God performed through the saint. So Anthony moved from there to lead a solitary life. Despite this solitary life, the saint sought to comfort the persecuted Christians and to convert the Aryan heretics. A.D. In 356, at the age of 105, the saint left this world and ascended to the presence of God.