Around the year 270 C.E., while attending the liturgy, the twenty-year-old Anthony heard the words of Jesus: “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). The words struck the young man to the heart. He sold his inheritance and went off into the desert. First he locked himself up in an abandoned fort, cut off from all contact with the outside world. There he was alone with God. But he encountered more than God; he encountered himself. And then he felt an uproar going on inside him. He was confronted with his shadow side. The people who passed by the fort heard some sort of tumult: it was the struggle with the demons, the fight with the forces of the unconscious, which were carrying on like wild animals. The demons hurled themselves at Anthony with a loud scream, but he stood up to them. Trusting in God’s support, he withstood their onslaught. And when alarmed passers-by broke into the fort, they were met by a man who had been “initiated into profound mysteries and full of the spirit of God.” As Athanasius writes in his famous biography:
“The makeup of his inner life was pure. For he would become neither sullen in displeasure nor boisterous in his joy; nor did he have to struggle with laughter or bashfulness. For the sight of large crowds did not bewilder him; yet one never noticed any expressions of joy at being hailed by so many people. Rather he was completely even-tempered, as if he were led by his reflections and assured in his peculiar way. Through him the Lord healed many of those present who had bodily sufferings, and he set others free from demons. He also shared his friendly conversation with our Anthony. And thus he consoled many grieving persons. He reconciled others who were at odds with one another, so that they became friends.”
Anthony withdrew still more deeply into the desert, but even there he did not remain alone. His example started a trend. Around the year 300 we find hermits everywhere in the desert, some of them disciples of Anthony. The longing to seek God in solitude as a monk evidently became so strong in this era that kellia (that is, small religious houses) came into existence, monastic cells that lay at some distance from one another. Around this time Christianity had become an established religion, and the power of faith was growing shallow. So the monks wanted to live the imitation of Christ in a radical fashion as “martyrs,” that is, witnesses to faith. Thus the monastic movement arose in various places.
It had its roots in early Christian ascetical circles. The early church was, as a group, so otherworldly that one could almost say that everyone back then was a monk. In the second century ascetics formed the core of the communities around which believers gathered in order to continue living as Christians in the hostile atmosphere of the Roman Empire.
Anselm Gruen, Heaven Begins Within You: Wisdom from the Desert Fathers
“Somebody asked Antony, ‘What shall I do in order to please God?’ He replied, ‘Do what I tell you, which is this: wherever you go, keep God in mind; whatever you do, follow the example of holy Scripture; wherever you are, stay there and do not move away in a hurry. If you keep to these guide-lines, you will be saved.’” ~ Saint Antony the Great
The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks, translated by Benedicta Ward
