Athanasius: The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus

This is a seminal work for any interested in Patristics and the early Christian Church. The work itself is really a keystone of Christianity and the translation is very accessible, but the introduction is not very helpful and seems to be written by someone who clearly does not understand the Faith in its context. Read the text, skip the preface and introduction, and instead track down C.S. Lewis' intro to Athanasius' On the Incarnation.

"The personalization of the mystical path begun with Philo's presentation of Moses and the patriarchs here reaches a new stage, as Athanasius portrays his contemporary, Anthony the Monachos, as the ideal mystic initiate." Bernard McGinn, The Foundation of Mysticism Antony, the Father of Monks: I was captivated when I first heard, at an early age of twelve, the Life of St. Antony, written by Athanasius, the heroic defender of church orthodoxy. The stories of Antony's battles with demons, and his toil and escape into the desert to avoid temptation, appeal to Coptic kids, even at early age and is used by the church to promote the monastic ideals in childhood. The Vita Antonini, which St Athanasius wrote as the hagiography of Saint Antony, unveils fascinating mystical encounters while living daily within the boundary of a world ruled by the Powers of darkness. Written about 357, three decades after his election for Papacy in the great church of Alexandria, the Megalopolice. Athanasius for more than a half century toiled to preserve Nicene Orthodoxy, championed by him and by his successors establishing the solid foundation upon which Christian faith of the Christian East was built. Antony's Pilgrimage: Antony's monastic pilgrimage was plagued with spiritual warfare during which Antony resisted temptation and became a target for renewed attacks. The rest of the work could be sorted as a manual of monastic instruction, with particular emphasis on resisting evil through self mortification. Within the same patristic tradition John Cassian and Evagrius Ponticus wrote their marvelous books for lay and monastics. Athanasius records Antony's struggles, and tells his readers how to recognize and fight the devil. St. Antony is believed to be a Thaumaturgies, the vehicle for many miracles, and those who sought healing were always instructed to give the glory to God, the source of all good. Antony became an icon of Christian humility and self-mortification. The life of Antony is an edifying biography to all Christians, at any stage of their spiritual pilgrimage. One wonders if the work that left its readers breathless in late antiquity could still be heard today. The Vita Antonini: The 'life' is recounted in the first fourteen chapters, giving particular details of his mystical schema (spiritual itinerary), while the following eighty illustrate the examples of Antony's Theognosis, his wisdom by knowing and experiencing the presence of the Lord. Anthony withdrew to the desert, living ascetically on bread and water. As a result of his prayerful life and self denial, he came to the attention of the faithful in outer world. Western scholars alleged that Athanasius might have been using the Vita as a polemical tool, to promote monasticism in the West. There are times when some still wonder if Athanasius, who was a gifted 'Orator and Preacher,' known as the 'Evangelical Doctor,' used his charming style of hagiographic story telling in persuasion for the holy cau

"You have entered upon a noble rivalry with the monks of Egypt by your determination either to equal or surpass them in your training in the way of virtue... in answer to your prayers God will give its fulfillment." Athanasius, 'to the brethren in foreign lands' "Athanasius's biography was not only a bestseller in its day, but a book that made people stop and think--and act." David Wright Antony the Anchorite: Third century persecutions in Egypt drove many Christians, into the desert -- but some didn't just use the wilderness as a refuge, but embraced it in the spirit of mortification and after the example of St. John the Baptist, whom they followed to triumph, over the two unavoidable enemies of human salvation, the flesh and the devil, by depriving them of their catalytic milieu, the world. The greatest among these pioneers was St. Anthony of Egypt (A.D. 251-356), who was made known as the Father of Monasticism, and Role Model by St. Athanasius. St. Anthony was born in upper Egypt, to rich Egyptian parents whose inheritance he gave up at age of twenty, after hearing the sermon on Our Lord's words to the young man in verses 19:21 Matt. He came to live in a tomb in the outer banks of his village, near the outskirts of the western desert. He assumed poverty and spent fifteen years studying the lives of other ascetics and practicing the virtues. He retreated further into the desert, living as a solitary in a deserted fort, seeing no one, conversing with no one for two decades, where he was tormented mentally, and brutalized physically by demons that illusively appeared as wild beasts, or seductive women. He was ultimately recognized, sought as virtuous, and disciples, to be flocked to the fort, beseeching him to come out and assume their spiritual advise, which he eventually did, teaching and directing them, for about five years before he resumed retreat again for the remainder of his life, though now receiving visitors and occasionally leaving his seclusion in order to help Christians who were being persecuted by Pagan or Arian emperors, support the Bishop of Alexandria, who later wrote his biography, and to seek out St. Paul the Hermit Coptic Life of Antony: "The life and conversation of our holy Father, Antony, written and sent to the monks by our Father among the Saints, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria to the brethren in foreign lands. "You have entered upon a noble rivalry with the monks of Egypt by your determination either to equal or surpass them in your training in the way of virtue. For by this time there are monasteries among you, and the name of monk receives public recognition. With reason, therefore, all men will approve this determination, and in answer to your prayers God will give its fulfillment. Now since you asked me to give you an account of the blessed Antony's way of life, and are wishful to learn how he began the discipline, who and what manner of man he was previous to this, how he closed his life, and whether the thi

The Life of St. Antony was very uplifting and encouraging. The Letter to Marcellinus really helped me view the Psalms in a different light. It was a great benefit to read this book. I highly recommend it to anyone searching for deeper understanding of the Christian life.

Although the preface is a bit lacking, the two works by St. Athanasius translated here are worth not only reading, but contemplating and wrestling with as well.The first work, The Life of Antony, is a work about the father of Christian asceticism, St. Antony of Egypt. It contains both narrative and doctrinal content; the doctrinal content is presented in the forms of discourses by Antony, usually to groups of monks. He teaches much on demons and the discernment of spirits, the fate of souls after death, the importance of staying within the Church and staying away from schismatics and heretics. The discourses are, at a few points, a bit polemical - like many works from the early Church - but not excessively overbearing.The uniqueness of the story is not just in Antony's doctrinal discourses, though. The narrative teaches things all its own. One of these things is that by separating one's self from the world the holy person becomes so much more indespensible to the world. Although Antony lived as a monk separate from the world, he was never separated from the world; in geographically and spiritually separating himself from the world, Antony became that much more involved in his world. He taught, healed, exorcised demons and engaged in debates with philosophers, all of this because of his reputation as a holy man.From this follows something else taught by the narrative: the pursuit of God truly transforms one and causes one to become a conduit for God's healing and redemption of the world. Antony received visions and words of knowledge about people and things about to occur and more people were converted to the Christian faith. The work of Antony, as the book repeatedly emphasizes, is the work of God.The second work contained in this volume, The Letter to Marcellinus, is a delightful exposition on praying the Psalms of David. St. Athanasius writes that regardless of one's experience, the Psalms provide words to express where one is at - whether in sorrow and despair or in joy. He also shows (through some rather creative interpretation) that the whole of Scripture is contained within the Psalter. It would have been nice if a translation of Psalm 151 (found only in the Greek Bible, which is what Athanasius used) had been included, as Athanasius references it in his Letter to Marcellinus. The work is found in the New Oxford Annoted Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version, though, so if you don't have one, buy one (isbn: 0195288009)!All in all, both works are absolutely charming.