Tag Archive for ‘Antony’
The Teachings of Pithyrion
After this we returned to the Thebaid to see a rugged mountain, overhanging a river, a very menacing, rocky apparition, fearful to look at, and in this precipitous place there were caves which were terribly difficult to approach. Many monks dwelt here, the leader of whom was a father called Pithyrion. He had been a [...]
The beginings of repentance
Abbot Sisois, sitting in his cell, would ever have his door closed. But it was told of him how in the day of his sleeping, when the Fathers were sitting round him, his face shone like the sun, and he said to them, “Look, the abbot Antony comes.” And after a little while, he said [...]
That one ought not judge any man
It happened that temptation fell upon a brother in the monastery of abbot Elias, and they cast him out: and he came to the mountain, to abbot Antony. After he had been with him for some time, Antony sent him back to the community whence he had come out. But when they saw him, they [...]
The enemies will do nothing to us
Let us likewise understand and take it to heart that while the Lord is with us, the enemies will do nothing to us. For when they come, their actions correspond to the condition in which they find us; they pattern their phantasms after our thoughts. Should they find us frightened and distressed, immediately they attack [...]
What is evil?
Abba Antony … learned that evil is the scattering of mind and spirit away from God’s presence. When the monk’s focus is deflected away from God he or she becomes subject to the demons. The demonic influences do not drive out God; they mask the awareness of God’s presence and transformative power. Patient endurance in [...]
Moderation in Our Work
A hunter in the desert saw Abba Antony enjoying himself with the brothers, and he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to meet the needs of the brothers, the old man said to him, “Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it.” So he did. And the old man [...]
Good Company?
Certain brethren, being minded to go from Scete to the abbot Antony, went aboard a ship that they might go to him: and they found in that same ship an old man who likewise was minded to go to Antony. But the brethren did not know him. And as they sat in the ship they [...]
What should I do to please God?
A brother had a question for Abba Antony: “What should I do to please God?” “Listen carefully to what I am telling you,” said the old man.”Always keep God before your eyes, and whatever you are doing, look in the divine Scriptures for your examples, and wherever you are living, don’t be in too much [...]
The Judgements of God
Abba Antony, failing to understand the judgments of God, asked, “Lord, why is it that some die young, and others live to a ripe old age, and why are some incompetent while others abound in all manner of skills, and why are some people unjustly rich while others live in the extremes of poverty?” And [...]
The Meaning of Scripture
Some old men once came to Abba Antony, among them Abba Joseph. Wishing to test them Abba Antony quoted some texts of holy Scripture and began to ask the younger among them what they meant. And each one had something to say. But he replied to them all, “You’re not quite there yet.” Then he [...]
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