Tag Archives: Evagrius Ponticus

The most renowned of all western desert solitaries was St. Antony of Egypt (251-356 CE). He was a disciple of St. Paul of Thebes and began to live an ascetic lifestyle at the age of 20 and 15 years later left for complete isolation in a mountain near the Nile called Pispir (now Dayr al-Maymūn). During his retreat, he conducted a legendary battle with the Devil and defeated a series of temptations which are known by Christian theology and iconography. When 305 arrived, Antony departed his retreat to educate and lead a monastic life. After Christian persecution ended through the Edict of Milan (313), he went to a mountain between the Nile and Red Sea where the monastery Dayr Mārī Antonios still stands. He kept receiving visitors there; he also traversed across deserts to Pispir twice. The last time he visited Alexandria was c. 350 when he proclaimed against Arianism heresy which declared that Christ was not of equal essence as God the Father. (Britannica) read more