Life of Saint Anthony
Saint Anthony was born around 250 in the city of Coma in Upper Egypt, to wealthy and pious parents. He lived in the years of Roman emperors, such as Diocletian (284-305), Maximian (285-305) and Constantine the Great. From his childhood he was an oligarch and self-sufficient and showed interest in the devotional life of the church.
At the age of 20 he lost both his parents. Six months later he distributed his belongings to the poor, obeying the evangelical precept of the rich youth, and retired to a cave in the desert, where he lived an ascetic life for 25 consecutive years. His fame soon spread in the local churches, and many Christians fled to the same area to become ascetics and listen to his teaching.
In the year 311, during the persecution of the emperor Maximinus (307-313), he came to Alexandria to encourage and help the faithful of the local church. When the persecution ceased, Antony returned to the desert. However, he felt disturbed by the presence of many believers who went to meet him, so he sought a new refuge on Mount Colxim on the Red Sea. Even there, however, many Christians came to receive his blessing and to be healed. His fame reached even the upper echelons of the empire. Constantine the Great and his sons, Constantius and Constas, had regular correspondence with him and consulted him on various matters.
During his ascetic life he never changed his clothes, nor did he wash his body or feet with water. He taught his disciples not to consider anything higher than the love of Christ and not to think that because they abstain from worldly goods, they are deprived of something worthwhile. To give up earthly goods, he said, is like scorning a copper drachma to gain a hundred gold ones. He emphasized that we should not forget that human life is temporary compared to eternal life and that we should not strive for the acquisition of temporal goods, which we cannot take with us, but for the acquisition of eternal goods, that is, wisdom, justice, wisdom, courage, prudence and love.
Saint Anthony, named after the Megas church, fell asleep in 356 at the age of 105, in perfect physical and spiritual health. Shortly before his emigration, he gave his two most eminent students, Serapion and Athanasius the Great, his only possessions, a tunic and two mace (probies). In accordance with his wishes, his burial place remained a secret. Later, his remains were transferred to the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Alexandria under Justinian (561) and from there in 635 to Constantinople
Saint Anthony in popular culture
In popular tradition there is a belief that Saint Anthony punishes those who work on his memorial day. The inhabitants of Veria honor the saint as the doctor of psychopaths, the “demon-possessed”, who must have fasted for forty days and tied themselves, sacrilegiously and ritually, to the temple of the saint.
The feast of Saint Anthony is considered the center of winter, so it is also a day of deep winter. Due to the bad weather that usually prevails on this day and the cold, there is a curse: “May a bad gust of Saint Anthony find you”.
But it is also a landmark for the upcoming carnival, hence the exhortation of the people: “From St. Anthony and beyond / give your dress in the air”.
In the Western tradition, St. Anthony is the patron saint of those suffering from skin diseases, undertakers, basket weavers and pickpockets.