Ep. 22 - Anthony of the Desert: The Solitary Celebrity

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/audiobook_authors_titles.cfm

Episode on the Temptation of St. Anthony in art history https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/90-temptation-st-anthony-elizabeth-lev/

St. Athanasius, Life of St. Anthony (text) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3080

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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