St. Anthony the great (about 251-356), or "the great St. Anthony" or "the great St. Anthony". Egyptian Christians during the Roman Empire. He is a pioneer of Christian seclusion and a famous leader of the desert Godfather.

Early life
St. Anthony grew up in a wealthy Christian family. He was quiet and quiet since childhood, and often went to church with his family, which was different from the young people who despised faith at that time. When Saint Anthony was about 18 to 20 years old, his parents died one after another, and he handed over his huge property and his only sister to him. Once, when St. Anthony was walking on the road, he thought repeatedly about how the apostles abandoned everything and followed the Lord. As Saint Anthony thought about these things, he went into the church. At that time, someone was reading the gospel. Jesus said to the rich young man, "if you want to be perfect, go and sell what you have and give it to the poor, and there will be treasure in heaven; come and follow me." This sentence deeply inspired St. Anthony to retain part of his property to his sister, sell the rest and give it to the poor. Soon after, I heard another saying: "therefore, don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow has its own worries; one day's difficulties are enough." St. Anthony gave up all his possessions and entrusted his sister to the respected and reliable virgins, and then entered the hermit life.
Hermit period
At that time, the practice of concealment had not yet flourished, so everyone who expected to pay attention to spiritual life mostly practiced alone near his hometown. St. Anthony first retired near his home for 15 years and learned from the hermits who lived nearby how to live a good life. When St. Anthony was in his thirties, he crossed the Nile, went to a mountain called Mt. pispir in the desert, lived in a military Castle deserted for many years, and pursued prayer and independent life. When St. Anthony first moved, there were many snakes in the castle, so he drove them out first. This is true in the living environment and spiritual practice. Saint Anthony locked himself in the castle for twenty-five years. One of his friends gives him bread for half a year twice a year, because the local weather is dry and the bread is not easy to deteriorate; In addition, there is a spring water source in the castle to supply drinking water. For St. Anthony, as long as God is with him, water and bread are enough.
According to the records in the biography of St. Anthony by St. Athanasius, during this period, except meditating on God, St. Anthony did only two things: first, fight with the inner lust; 2、 Fight the power of the devil. It can be seen that in these 25 years, he spent two-thirds of his time fighting crime. Nevertheless, St. Anthony was not haggard because of his solo practice and war. As St. Anthony lived in the fortress for 25 years, his friends always cared about his health, so they broke into the castle after 25 years. They thought they would see a frail old man, but they saw that Saint Anthony looked more calm and healthy than twenty-five years ago. This matter has also attracted people's attention and appreciation.
Therefore, Saint Anthony's character and wisdom attracted many people to ask him for advice, which affected his independent practice life. At that time, the people who followed St. Anthony followed his example and built alone in caves or huts near pisbil mountain, while St. Anthony met and guided them regularly for five to six years.
Then Saint Anthony retired to the wilderness of Mt. colzim between the Nile and the Red Sea, where he spent his last 45 and a half years of solitary practice. Although St. Anthony attached importance to independent practice, he also cared for the lives of other Christians, so he often walked between his room and pisbil mountain. In 311, when the Roman Emperor Maximinus raised the church, St. Anthony twice went to Alexandria to die with the persecuted Christians at that time. He visited and comforted the imprisoned Christians. When the governor saw St. Anthony preaching his faith regardless of life and death, he ordered St. Anthony to leave Alexandria and even impose punishment. However, St. Anthony still firmly debated with the governor. Finally, the matter subsided, and St. Anthony returned safely to his hidden fortress. Later, St. Anthony no longer needed complete solitude, so he organized his followers into a hermit group. He became the abbot of this early monastery and connected similar groups into a network.
Die
In about 355, St. Anthony and St. Athanasius were committed to fighting against the heretical Asian fluidism that prevailed at that time. The following year, St. Anthony died. At that time, the funeral custom in Egypt was to bury the corpse with spices, so that the corpse could be preserved for a long time without decay. St. Anthony was very opposed to this, so before he died, he ordered that his body be buried in the earth by the two disciples of macalvos and Amadeus; The burial place shall be kept secret and shall not be told to outsiders. St. Anthony gave a sheepskin coat and a coat to St. Athanasius, indicating that he and St. Athanasius would always be united in faith. Another sheepskin coat was presented to bishop sanraben. The bitter clothes he wore were kept by the members as a souvenir.
St. Anthony's hermit style influenced Christians of future generations, especially St. Augustine. In his confessions, St. Augustine describes the impact on him when he saw St. Anthony's life (30 years after his death). St. Augustine said, "we are surprised to hear that in such a recent era, in our union, your miraculous signs have shown irrefutable evidence in the pure faith and in the church." Although St. Anthony was not the first hermit, his example promoted the prosperity of monastic life and made later generations respect him as "the father of monastic movement".